A New Phenomenon - Old Wounds
SOUL WOUNDING - PSYCOLOGICAL TRAUMA'S MOST DIFFICULT CHALLENGE
"Welcome caregivers of our men and women in uniform... Hello !.... Thank you to all my mental healthcare groups, peers, and colleagues ...social workers, nurses, and counselors for asking for more feedback regarding trauma and moral injury/soul wounding therapy. In fact, over the years my most valuable tool in "my toolbox" has been the use of reflective journaling. I use 'Heart to Heart Resuscitation-My Journal...by Victor Montgomery, III ' ( Amazon) as a proven and tested workbook . I have found it very successful and affective for group therapy." ... Vic
Recent on line Feedback: Maria Gao wrote on March 27, 2025... " Thank you so much, Victor. I completely agree—there’s incredible power in shared storytelling and reflective journaling, especially in group settings. It’s encouraging to hear how you’re using these tools to create meaningful breakthroughs for veterans. Your work is deeply needed and appreciated". . hearttoheartresuscitation.net/home
Peer Review Feedback
Steven Jordan, PhD., E.D. gave feedback to me on chat 6/24/2024 ...
"Victor hello! It’s truly heartwarming to see your dedication to enhancing mental healthcare, particularly in the realms of trauma and moral injury/soul wounding therapy. Your open request for feedback and your sharing of valuable tools like Affecting Journaling exemplify your commitment to both personal growth and the improvement of the field. The use of "Heart to Heart Resuscitation-My Journal" by Victor Montgomery, III sounds like an incredibly impactful resource. Thank you for not only utilizing such effective tools but also for sharing these resources with peers and colleagues. Your efforts are crucial in forging paths toward healing and understanding, and they inspire a deeper, more compassionate approach to mental health care. Keep up the excellent work, and may your journey continue to influence and uplift those around you. Dr. J"
1st Responder Caregivers AT HOME
Counselors and nurses, trauma crisis interventionists and social workers. I thank YOU. So much damage is done psychologically and soulfully , to our men and women in uniform: police, border patrol, firemen, veterans, special ops, FBI...and more. I pray for YOU. Thank you for all that you do. My books are written for you! hearttoheartresuscitation.net
120,000 WORLDWIDE
What are the 120,000 U.S. troops serving around the world today doing in the war zones? How many are at war with the Mexican Cartels on the borders.? How many of our men and women ICE Agents are going after the bad guys illegally in our country? How many Special Ops men and women in uniform first responders are behind the scenes in foreign countries around the world 24/7 keeping us safe everyday? What about our cops on the "beat" everyday?
Silent Killers
How many of our warriors and first responders will need mental health care when they return home to their families suffering from the effects of shell shock or hypervigilance from unrelenting sniper fire, ambushes, mortar and missile attacks , road side bombing , booby-traps and rioting protester at home.
December 2024 Current Events
November 5th - Trump elected President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has increased its military presence in the Middle East by several thousand troops, sending an array of fighter jets and other aircraft to bolster the protection of U.S. forces and allies.
The decision brings the total number of American troops in the region to as many as 43,000, including more than a dozen warships.
Israel’s latest surge in attacks in Lebanon, including strikes that killed Iran-backed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders, and Iran firing at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel are significant escalations that have fueled fears of all-out war in the Middle East.
* U.S. nuclear -powered submarine heading toward Iran...
The threat comes hours after Washington confirmed a nuclear-powered submarine, USS Georgia, is heading to waters close to Iran amid surging tensions in the region. August 2024
* The US Air Force also announced on Wednesday that F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets had been deployed to an undisclosed location.
* Sgt. Major of the Army Michael Grinston told military.com of the current operational tempo compared to the War on Terror " in a report Monday. Grinston’s comments come as the Army has about 120,000 soldiers deployed abroad, according to data compiled by military.com a number that is comparable to those seen during the peak of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. August 2024
* The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah was promising to retaliate for deadly attacks on its communication devices after Israel's defense minister announced a " new phase ".
Israel Air Force conducted waves of bombing attacks on Beirut, Lebanon this morning. Leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah was reported killed. September 27, 2024
* Hezbollah and the Israeli military traded new strikes over the border on Thursday. Fears are increasing that 11 months of exchanges of fire between the two sides will escalate into all-out war.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader(deceased), said Israel crossed a “red line” this week after bombings widely blamed on Israel in which hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah were remotely detonated in Lebanon and Syria, killing hundreds and wounding thousands of Hezbollah military. September 2024
* Middle East Crisis- Israeli Military at ‘Peak Readiness’ as U.S. Warns Iran could attack ‘This Week’ August 2024
* Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza. September 2024
* The US carried out airstrikes in Iraq targeting facilities used by Iranian-backed militias in the country on Tuesday following repeated attacks on US forces, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in a statement. The strikes targeted three facilities used by Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah and other Tehran-affiliated groups in Iraq. September 2024
* A US military base in Syria has been attacked by missiles fired from Iraq. The five missiles launched from Zummar in northern Iraq toward a US base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, reports. August 2024.
* Are we mental health care professionals and caregivers prepared for a crisis intervention when our warrior returns home.? Issues as PTSD, TBI, hypervigilance reactions to sights, sounds, and smells, depression, anxiety, self-medication, family reintegration , moral Injury, soul wounding, and suicide? Are your resources and training up-to-date?
* The moral injury and soul wounds can come back home to haunt our brave warriors...these silent killers destroy family relationships - going as far back as wars and conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf war , Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and today, in the Middle East. How are you doing? Do you have any military clients that need special help? Do you know a friend in uniform? Family members serving? Neighbors hiding inside their houses when they return from a war zone? Acting strangely? Acting differently than you knew them before? They may need your help! Awareness is the key! I have resources for you...
Heart to Heart Resuscitation - A Memoir & My Journal has proven to be a lifeline and beacon of light for many warriors. Welcome!
H2H - MY JOURNAL
Trauma Groups
SPECIAL PRICING of a bundle of 8 journaling books discounted for your group dynamic.
My Journal is a 110 pages of insightful reflection . This journal was written to accompany the book, Heart-to-Heart Resuscitation: A Memoir. It contains 12 different prompts for reflection and affective journaling opportunities. There is also space for "additional journaling" should it be needed. Powerful for group interaction and discussion. Excellent 'denial buster' techniques'. Write about it ...
See MSI Press pricing & ordering
A Current Crisis
Written For YOU Battle Buddy's 1st Responders ... and Your Caregivers
Written For YOU Battle Buddy's 1st Responders ... and Your Caregivers
Written For YOU Battle Buddy's 1st Responders ... and Your Caregivers
If you are…
- Active Military
- ICE Agents
- ATF Agents
- FBI Agents
- Border Patrol
- Veteran
- Family Member
- RN
- Graduate Student
- LPN
- Therapist
- Psychiatrist
- Educator
- Medical Doctor
- Combat Medic
- Battle Buddy
- Friend
- Counselor
- Addiction Therapist
- EMT
- Co-worker
- Psychologist
- Social Worker
- Ambulance Drivers
- Fireman
- A veteran missing your buddies, with no one to have your back?
- A care
If you are…
- Active Military
- ICE Agents
- ATF Agents
- FBI Agents
- Border Patrol
- Veteran
- Family Member
- RN
- Graduate Student
- LPN
- Therapist
- Psychiatrist
- Educator
- Medical Doctor
- Combat Medic
- Battle Buddy
- Friend
- Counselor
- Addiction Therapist
- EMT
- Co-worker
- Psychologist
- Social Worker
- Ambulance Drivers
- Fireman
- A veteran missing your buddies, with no one to have your back?
- A care giver who is sick and tired of being sick and tired when your veteran just keeps relapsing?
- A family members feeling like giving up?
- A friend, coworker, or neighbor of a veteran that needs someone to reach out to them?
Welcome! This book was written for you.
"I Have Your Six" The buddy system
Written For YOU Battle Buddy's 1st Responders ... and Your Caregivers
Written For YOU Battle Buddy's 1st Responders ... and Your Caregivers
"The memoirs in my book give straightforward, down-to-earth advice about encouragement and hope. While revitalizing the therapeutic approach I used to overcome the combat veterans’ immediate life-threatening darkness of depression and suicidal thoughts, I define my distinctive tried-and-true method of crisis intervention as a matter of “h
"The memoirs in my book give straightforward, down-to-earth advice about encouragement and hope. While revitalizing the therapeutic approach I used to overcome the combat veterans’ immediate life-threatening darkness of depression and suicidal thoughts, I define my distinctive tried-and-true method of crisis intervention as a matter of “heart-to-heart resuscitation”, as I call it. The window of opportunity to make a difference for you or someone close to you can literally be a matter of seconds, whether over a telephone or face-to-face, you, your loved ones or your friend’s life may hang in the balance. The process of heart-to-heart communicating is one I suggest and utilize. I believe through encouraging, motivating and mentoring, suffering veterans can be helped to find the strength, self-determination, and support to get help and out of danger. My number one priority is to get veterans and their families to safety."
Vic
I say to them and to you, “Oh yes, you do have a reason to live, and I will tell you why!”
Vic
Getting Help YOU are not alone
Written For YOU Battle Buddy's 1st Responders ... and Your Caregivers
Getting Help YOU are not alone
Veterans of Vietnam and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are today living on city streets, in cars and in the nation’s homeless shelters. Some are so desperate they commit crimes and are going to prison. Many struggling vets or family and friends in the neighborhood finally end up calling hospital emergency rooms, psychiatric nurses, 911, 21
Veterans of Vietnam and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are today living on city streets, in cars and in the nation’s homeless shelters. Some are so desperate they commit crimes and are going to prison. Many struggling vets or family and friends in the neighborhood finally end up calling hospital emergency rooms, psychiatric nurses, 911, 211 or the VA hotline for help and advice. Many are reluctant to contact anyone. Account after account report veterans locking themselves in their bedrooms, some barricading themselves in their rooms, not coming out for days at a time. When they do reach out for help to a hotline or emergency department, they explain, “Asking for help is like saying I’ve failed my mission." Most of us cannot bring ourselves to ask for help. If you or someone close to you is feeling depressed and has thoughts about harming yourself or others, it’s important that you recognize that feeling this way is a serious but treatable condition. Depression is a treatable disorder as well. Certain signs and symptoms, of which I’ll later get into, will tell you that you need to ask for help. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness or something to be ashamed of; it is your right to seek help “It takes the courage and strength of a warrior to ask for help” states a popular VA poster slogan. Your military buddies will be proud of your showing the courage to face the obstacles in your life.
How You Can Make A Difference: "Make the Call."
What People Are Saying about Vic's first book - Healing Suicidal Veterans (New Horizons Press 2009)
Getting Help YOU are not alone
When veterans call my clinic expressing symptoms of depressive illnesses that interfere with their everyday life functioning, they are made aware that professional medical treatment teams may be needed and should be sought. A call for help is highly recommended if you or someone you care about has thoughts of or mentions a plan or intent
When veterans call my clinic expressing symptoms of depressive illnesses that interfere with their everyday life functioning, they are made aware that professional medical treatment teams may be needed and should be sought. A call for help is highly recommended if you or someone you care about has thoughts of or mentions a plan or intent to harm him or herself. Even if there is no suicide ideation, you or a vet close to you may be experiencing a “crisis” of a different nature: unrelenting psychological (mental) and physiological (body) pain, the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, substance abuse or other addictions, feeling out-of-control or in need of anger management. If you feel trapped and see no way to escape, these are very good reasons to call or come in for help. Mental health clinicians around the country are seeing significant substance abuse cases, particularly alcohol dependency, among veterans.
Real Stories of Raw Emotions
Vic Montgomery's book Interview with Truthout editor.
Healing Suicidal Veterans new book released in 2009.
What are the answers? In this book I will try to answer difficult questions for you about what is happening to you or someone close to you, our veterans, and why so many are dying by their own hands. I will introduce you to the psychological wounds of war, use some terms that may be unfamiliar, high-risk signs for suicide, and put in plain words with careful description how to recognize what defines a veteran’s need for counseling, what signs to look for and what to do when you discover them.
In the following chapters you also will find real stories of raw emotion, expressed by men and women veterans, family members and friends and callers pleading for help before it is too late. I will move you through the poignant, uncensored personal stories shared to me by desperate veterans coming into Group Room #2 at the clinic, representing many war and conflict experiences from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Some have already hurt themselves and need immediate emergency rescue while others are confused and cannot find their way in life. And some just want someone to listen.
Most importantly, I will try to point out the steps and strategies in each veteran's story, that will help you recover and heal. Then I will do my utmost, drawing on my long experience with other veterans, to guide you on a path that will lead you and your loved ones from the darkness and anguish of pain and suffering to growth and resuscitation. I know our journey together calls for strength and courage, but I also know you have both. You or your loved one is a genuine American hero.
Escaping The Trap "Ask for help"
What People Are Saying about Vic's first book - Healing Suicidal Veterans (New Horizons Press 2009)
What People Are Saying about Vic's first book - Healing Suicidal Veterans (New Horizons Press 2009)
Did you know? Some veterans exposed to trauma and negative experiences in the war zones are using alcohol and other drugs at a high rate to “self-medicate.” After coming home, they seldom report, at least at the beginning, any mental health problems. Often it is not until several months to several years after veterans settle into their li
Did you know? Some veterans exposed to trauma and negative experiences in the war zones are using alcohol and other drugs at a high rate to “self-medicate.” After coming home, they seldom report, at least at the beginning, any mental health problems. Often it is not until several months to several years after veterans settle into their lives at home and work that delayed symptoms of anxiety, panic, rage, anger, depression and trouble sleeping begin to appear or become recurrent and repetitive in their daily routines. Increasing alcohol intake and the taking of other illicit street drugs, such as marijuana, opiates, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamines, and over prescribed pain killers often become daily scourges. Domestic violence, marital and family disputes are other ways veterans show their pain and depression. Marriages are in jeopardy, jobs are lost or never found, financial difficulties surface and children begin to fear for their safety in their own homes. An increasing number of veterans come home from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan already diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury (TBI).
If you find yourself or someone close to you increasingly depressed and despondent after months and even years of experiencing tours of nighttime firefights, picking up enemy bodies, finding baby toys and articles of children’s clothing on the floors of suspected terrorists’ houses, you are not alone. The number of combat veterans taking antidepressants daily to control and ease the effects of lengthy and repeated tours is rapidly increasing. Heart to Heart Resuscitation has important information for you or someone you care about to identify recognizable signs and symptoms that may increase risk, veteran-specific risk factors.
What People Are Saying about Vic's first book - Healing Suicidal Veterans (New Horizons Press 2009)
What People Are Saying about Vic's first book - Healing Suicidal Veterans (New Horizons Press 2009)
What People Are Saying about Vic's first book - Healing Suicidal Veterans (New Horizons Press 2009)
Amazon's Book Reviews and Seminar , Conference critiques for Healing Suicidal Veterans by Victor Montgomery, III
George M: "Not a therapist, I am the father of a combat veteran. One who remained totally a-symptomatic for 7 years post combat only to take his own life for reasons well described within these pages. I highly recommend this b
Amazon's Book Reviews and Seminar , Conference critiques for Healing Suicidal Veterans by Victor Montgomery, III
George M: "Not a therapist, I am the father of a combat veteran. One who remained totally a-symptomatic for 7 years post combat only to take his own life for reasons well described within these pages. I highly recommend this book for everyone who is close to a combat vet from any era. That includes most everyone! The insight, resources, signs to look for and comprehensive treatment model are thoroughly discussed within the pages of this book. If you’re looking at this, you need to buy it."
Samantha H: "I have just qualified as a PTSD Therapist in the UK. I counsel Falklands War and Gulf War military personnel; this book is essential reading for those in our line of work. It is well written and gives great advice for those who wish to help our brothers and sisters in arms. "
Kathy P: "Dear Victor, I came across your book recently at our local library, thanks for writing it. I have been a nurse at our local VAMC for the past 3 years. Your book should be required reading for all nurses coming into the VA. We so often take care of veterans with PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, borderline personality, chemical dependency, etc. Your book offered much insight into the reasons for these disabilities... Thanks Again."
The Midwest Book Review
“Healing Suicidal Veterans should be on the shelf of any and every psychologist who treats veterans.”
Foreword Magazine
“Montgomery lets American veterans know that they are not alone and offers hope and practical strategies to help veterans and those who love them.”
Conferences & Seminars with Victor Montgomery
Tessa H (Program Manager): "Dear Victor Montgomery, I want to take this opportunity to appreciate you for all the eminent work you have done with addiction studies."
Helena D (Director): "Dear Victor,
Vic, thank you so much for participating in the panel presentation that was part of MHANYS’ Annual Conference on October 30th… The vast majority of participants rated all aspects of the presentation as excellent. One participant remarked that she appreciated how you spoke from the heart. Your perspective is unique and one that participants really needed to hear.”
Radio Interview
POW/MIA Radio – the American Freedom Network – KHNC-AM – Johnstown, CO
“Healing Suicidal Veterans” is a very informative book. Victor Montgomery makes sure veterans will never again have to feel they are alone. All soldiers coming home from war need to read this book.” Suzie Wiley, “Valley Happenings” – WYAM TV 51 – Decatur, AL
Magazine Article
55 Plus (Sept/October 2014) Feature Article - "Community of Veterans: Ex-Marine and Honeoye resident helps start program that will help veterans across the country."
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