Date of Award

10-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Amy Ford

Second Advisor

Daniel Lioy

Third Advisor

Jeff Saville

Abstract

Veterans with combat-related PTSD often report a loss of hope due to their traumatic experiences. Chaplains and mental health practitioners seek to improve functioning among veterans suffering from mental health disorders, but need common language and methods to work together toward clinically meaningful gains. Among all the theories of hope reviewed, Hope Theory most closely supports criteria established to provide a framework from which interventions can be developed to increase hope among veterans with combat-related PTSD. Further, Hope Theory principles align with biblical theology, providing opportunity for collaborative efforts between Christian chaplains and clinicians to develop and use interventions based on the theory. Currently, there is a paucity of hope enhancement interventions for PTSD. Current evidence-based therapies for PTSD support the development of a brief, single- session treatment to improve hope, which could be used to augment existing cognitive and behavioral treatments. This paper proposes testing the efficacy of a novel hope enhancement strategy called the Warrior Journey Intervention. An experiment is designed and described that offers proof of concept that the Warrior Journey Intervention can increase levels of hope.

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Christianity Commons

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