thedrifter
03-22-08, 05:19 AM
Counselor helps troops with emotional wounds
By K.C. MYERS
STAFF WRITER
March 22, 2008 6:00 AM
HYANNIS — Dannon D. Tarpley met the Marine in Iraq. The soldier was traumatized and couldn't stop shaking.
"He had extreme guilt because he couldn't fight, but he physically couldn't do it," Tarpley said.
Stationed on the front lines with the medical corps, it was Tarpley's job to help him.
A former Navy psychiatric technician who treated Marines during two deployments in Iraq in 2003 and 2004-2005, Tarpley now works as a readjustment counselor at the new Hyannis Vet Center.
His focus is helping veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
In Iraq, Tarpley worked to combat the macho military mindset that seeking help is an admission of weakness.
"I don't want to wish for patients, but if anyone needs help, I hope they come to me," said Tarpley, of Mashpee. "I know they're out there."
When veterans return to civilian life, they find themselves wondering if they have PTSD when, for example, a loud noise triggers the impulse to run for cover.
Of the 800,000 veterans separated from the military following service in Iraq and Afghanistan, 120,000 have sought treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs for psychological disorders. About half of those, or 60,000, have a preliminary diagnosis of PTSD, said Peggy Willoughby, spokeswoman for the VA's National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Vermont.
Tarpley's duties in Iraq gave him the kind of hands-on experience no one would really want. Tarpley was among the first round of Marines that invaded Iraq in 2003. Along with providing counseling to Marines, he helped the doctors and nurses in his medical units cope with the carnage.
"Dead and dying children, guys with missing legs and limbs," Tarpley recalled. "The civilians were the hardest to see."
Worked as litter bearer
As part of the Navy's medical corps, he also acted as a litter bearer when the wounded were coming in 40 at a time during his first deployment. In this capacity, he carried soldiers and civilians off ambulances and helicopters.
"The hardest thing for me," Tarpley said, "was a woman who was 35 or 40 (years old) with kids. I was carrying her litter and I can still hear her screaming to this day."
Seated in his orderly office in the new Hyannis Vet Center, which opened last fall, Tarpley seems younger than his 37 years. He is trim, due to a fitness regime instilled during his eight years in the military, and has a closely shaved head and a gentle demeanor. Large photographs of the California coastline — where he lived for a while — hang around his office.
A folder on his desk is labelled "PTSD screening."
Little else about the place reveals the memories that will stay with him and with those he treats.
The woman he cannot get out his mind was wounded when her family's vehicle came upon a fire fight in 2003. Several members of her family, including her teenage children, were injured with her.
"To this day, I don't know what happened to her," he said.
Tarpley initially pursued "psych tech" training in the military, which involved an extra five months of education beyond basic medical corpsman training, in order to better understand people in stressful situations. He thought the knowledge would be useful for a potential career as a police officer.
Counseling became calling
As he got into it, however, he realized he'd rather counsel people, particularly veterans, than do police work, he said.
Now his task is to help veterans return to civilian life. He helps them apply for jobs, or deal with anger or PTSD.
The Vet Center also has a licensed clinical social worker and a clinical psychologist.
Vet Centers that deal specifically with mental disorders, and simply readjusting to civilian life, have sprung up in all 50 states since the first one in 1979. Today there are 209, according to Veterans Affairs.
"The VA has expanded specialized PTSD services immensely since Vietnam, Willoughby said.
Leaving a combat situation requires a major mental leap for even a completely healthy person, Tarpley said.
Common daily tasks are skewed by the intense stress of wartime. Driving, for instance, was a life-and-death gamble in Iraq, Tarpley said.
"You're going full-bore, looking for I.E.D.s (improvised explosive devices)," he said. "Here, when you see someone driving at you very fast, for a few seconds you're back in Iraq."
Many reactions are completely normal and harmless, Tarpley said. For those with more severe reactions, medical attention is critical.
According to a study by the VA's National Center for PTSD, remission from the disorder can be achieved in 30 to 50 percent of cases, if they receive treatment. Partial improvement can be expected with most patients, the study concluded.
K.C. Myers can be reached at kcmyers@capecodonline.com.
Ellie
By K.C. MYERS
STAFF WRITER
March 22, 2008 6:00 AM
HYANNIS — Dannon D. Tarpley met the Marine in Iraq. The soldier was traumatized and couldn't stop shaking.
"He had extreme guilt because he couldn't fight, but he physically couldn't do it," Tarpley said.
Stationed on the front lines with the medical corps, it was Tarpley's job to help him.
A former Navy psychiatric technician who treated Marines during two deployments in Iraq in 2003 and 2004-2005, Tarpley now works as a readjustment counselor at the new Hyannis Vet Center.
His focus is helping veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
In Iraq, Tarpley worked to combat the macho military mindset that seeking help is an admission of weakness.
"I don't want to wish for patients, but if anyone needs help, I hope they come to me," said Tarpley, of Mashpee. "I know they're out there."
When veterans return to civilian life, they find themselves wondering if they have PTSD when, for example, a loud noise triggers the impulse to run for cover.
Of the 800,000 veterans separated from the military following service in Iraq and Afghanistan, 120,000 have sought treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs for psychological disorders. About half of those, or 60,000, have a preliminary diagnosis of PTSD, said Peggy Willoughby, spokeswoman for the VA's National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Vermont.
Tarpley's duties in Iraq gave him the kind of hands-on experience no one would really want. Tarpley was among the first round of Marines that invaded Iraq in 2003. Along with providing counseling to Marines, he helped the doctors and nurses in his medical units cope with the carnage.
"Dead and dying children, guys with missing legs and limbs," Tarpley recalled. "The civilians were the hardest to see."
Worked as litter bearer
As part of the Navy's medical corps, he also acted as a litter bearer when the wounded were coming in 40 at a time during his first deployment. In this capacity, he carried soldiers and civilians off ambulances and helicopters.
"The hardest thing for me," Tarpley said, "was a woman who was 35 or 40 (years old) with kids. I was carrying her litter and I can still hear her screaming to this day."
Seated in his orderly office in the new Hyannis Vet Center, which opened last fall, Tarpley seems younger than his 37 years. He is trim, due to a fitness regime instilled during his eight years in the military, and has a closely shaved head and a gentle demeanor. Large photographs of the California coastline — where he lived for a while — hang around his office.
A folder on his desk is labelled "PTSD screening."
Little else about the place reveals the memories that will stay with him and with those he treats.
The woman he cannot get out his mind was wounded when her family's vehicle came upon a fire fight in 2003. Several members of her family, including her teenage children, were injured with her.
"To this day, I don't know what happened to her," he said.
Tarpley initially pursued "psych tech" training in the military, which involved an extra five months of education beyond basic medical corpsman training, in order to better understand people in stressful situations. He thought the knowledge would be useful for a potential career as a police officer.
Counseling became calling
As he got into it, however, he realized he'd rather counsel people, particularly veterans, than do police work, he said.
Now his task is to help veterans return to civilian life. He helps them apply for jobs, or deal with anger or PTSD.
The Vet Center also has a licensed clinical social worker and a clinical psychologist.
Vet Centers that deal specifically with mental disorders, and simply readjusting to civilian life, have sprung up in all 50 states since the first one in 1979. Today there are 209, according to Veterans Affairs.
"The VA has expanded specialized PTSD services immensely since Vietnam, Willoughby said.
Leaving a combat situation requires a major mental leap for even a completely healthy person, Tarpley said.
Common daily tasks are skewed by the intense stress of wartime. Driving, for instance, was a life-and-death gamble in Iraq, Tarpley said.
"You're going full-bore, looking for I.E.D.s (improvised explosive devices)," he said. "Here, when you see someone driving at you very fast, for a few seconds you're back in Iraq."
Many reactions are completely normal and harmless, Tarpley said. For those with more severe reactions, medical attention is critical.
According to a study by the VA's National Center for PTSD, remission from the disorder can be achieved in 30 to 50 percent of cases, if they receive treatment. Partial improvement can be expected with most patients, the study concluded.
K.C. Myers can be reached at kcmyers@capecodonline.com.
Ellie