Wounded Warrior Project Brings Couples Together at Mental Health Workshop

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Aug 24, 2017, 11:15 ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Warrior couples from across the nation recently attended a Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) mental health workshop at Historic Banning Mills in Whitesburg, Georgia. These gatherings are often the first time warriors leave their homes to connect with others in their communities.

Warrior couples from across the nation recently attended a Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) mental health workshop at Historic Banning Mills in Whitesburg, Georgia.

"For many years I drank a lot and wasn't very active," said Luke Herbst, U.S. Army wounded warrior from the Nashville, Tennessee, area. "Wounded Warrior Project contributed to my recovery, and this workshop allowed me and my wife to have some hard talks. It was important to have a safe place for her to voice concerns. I am just thankful for the opportunity to spend some quality time with her."

Through the generous support of donors, WWP offers veterans specialized mental health programs and services – tailored to each warrior's specific needs and free of charge. WWP and its supporters believe warriors already paid their dues on the battlefield.

One program is its multi-day mental health workshops that are offered as all-male, all-female, or all-couples. These workshops provide safe, private environments for warriors to express themselves and share their combat experiences.

WWP staff incorporate local activities in a recovery model that allows warriors to be vulnerable to the unknown and identify and work through anxieties together. By the end, warriors share lessons learned from the activities that impacted their personal struggles most and set achievable goals for their recoveries.

"It was invaluable for me to hear the struggles the other spouses were experiencing," said Jenna Herbst, Luke's wife and caregiver, "but it was even more meaningful that my spouse could hear them as well because many of those things I was afraid to bring up myself. With encouragement from staff, I opened up more. Since we left, I have more confidence in my everyday life because of what I learned and experienced. One of the hardest things about being married to a warrior is always worrying if I'm taking care of him well enough. So a confidence boost like that goes a long way."

To learn and see more about how WWP's mental health workshops connect, serve, and empower wounded warriors, visit http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/, and click on multimedia.

About Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) connects, serves, and empowers wounded warriors. Read more at http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/about-us.

SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project