Anthony,

I understand what you’re saying about ordering military that are returning back from a front line position to undergo counseling or a debriefing. Even police, EMTs and fire rescue have similar things when they’ve gone through something above and beyond the usual for their job.

But I ask this: What about those of us who have not been or no longer in the military? Do you want to use the same required counseling standards for us? Or to use myself as an example-my initial trauma happened when I was ten. I didn’t remember it for years. It wasn’t until almost 30 years after the event that the stresses in my life caused my symptoms to go out of control. Where do I fall in this plan? Yes, I am in therapy…by my choice because I want to heal. Others may not want therapy and choose medication instead. Or choose to ‘go it alone’.

Here’s how I see it. It all comes down to a choice of how you want to live your life, how badly you’re willing to work to heal and what quality of life you want for yourself. These are words that you have said again and again on this forum…that it’s a choice to heal. Well, if it’s a choice to heal (and do everything that goes along with it), then it’s also a choice not to.

Also, if made to take therapy, there is no guarantee that the person made to go will be the active participant required for help to be affective (too many people would expect the therapist and/or medication to solve all of their problems for them) AND do the hard work on their own that is required to have any degree of healing and learning to live with PTSD.

Forced therapy is a no-sum gained proposition unless you’re in a field that it can be required (i.e. military, police, etc.). When it comes to dealing with humans, there are too many variables to count.

I’m sorry, but what you’re proposing is reminiscent of eugenics. This was a program of forced sterilization of men and woman starting in the early part of the last century and was most popular through the end of WWII. It was so popular in fact, that the Nazi’s adopted the practice in the early 30’s. The people who were selected were ‘feebleminded, insane, criminalistic, epileptic, inebriate, diseased, blind, deaf; deformed; and dependent’. I’m sure if they’d known about it at the time, PTSD would have been added to the list.

Forcing a person into therapy violates their right as human being to make their own decisions and choices. Couching it in the terms like ‘for the greater good’ is a tried and true way to open the door for abuses of people to start. When a plan starts with the idea of ‘Forcing someone to …’ the plan is dead wrong from the get-go.

Again…just my opinion.
Lisa