USSOCOM Care Coalition Director visits USF Nursing

Mr. Kevin McDonnell, Col. (ret) US Army, Director of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Care Coalition, visited the University of South Florida College of Nursing on Feb. 13, 2012. While at the College, he was introduced to Senior Associate Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the College of Nursing, Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN to discuss ways in which the College of Nursing could support the mission of the Care Coaltition in serving military members. The primary focus of this conversation was on Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), a revolutionary intervention used in one of the five sub-studies of the RESTORE LIVES grant funded by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (TATRC). The ART study specifically targets treating symptoms of psychological trauma and employs a technique known as Voluntary Memory/Image Replacement in which a negative memory is reinterpreted or replaced with a positive memory.

Dr. Elk has worked with SOCOM in several capacities including serving  a PTSD subject matter expert and instructor for the USSOCOM’s Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) at MacDill AirForce Base in Tampa, where senior officers receive training in preparation for their promotion to the highest rank for unlisted officers in the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy.

Through the ART study, College of Nursing researchers have aimed to treat 80 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), and are looking to enroll 50 more participants by Aug. 2012.

For more information about RESTORE LIVES visit www.RESTORE-LIVES.org.