Sarasota Veterans Organization Builds Support Network with Brain-Based Healing

October 26, 2022 – Sarasota

U.S. military personnel are trained to be flexible and rapidly adapt to new situations. They are also tough, both physically and mentally. But when they return to civilian life, many veterans find it hard to readjust. One local organization has tapped into the strength of veterans to enable them to find the health and wellness they deserve after serving our country.

Since 2018, Operation Warrior Resolution has been helping veterans heal by providing mental health therapy and brain-based healing techniques, also known as The Cortina Method. The group was started by veteran therapist and wellness expert Kendra Simpkins, who saw a need for this type of support in the community.

“After my struggles reintegrating after a career as a Military Intelligence Analyst, I found that the traditional methods of therapy through the VA were just not making progress for me,” says Simpkins.

It wasn’t until Simpkins built a network of student veterans at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee while studying for her degree in psychology that she found a space to process her own trauma.

This group of student veterans, including many struggling with PTSD, anxiety, and depression, found kinship and support in each other. They also began to see improvements in their mental health. “It was like night and day,” Simpkins says.

This experience inspired her to start Operation Warrior Resolution. The organization provides free therapy services to veterans using a combination of innovative techniques, such as brain-based healing, and alternative therapies like yoga, meditation, and equine therapy. Operation Warrior Resolution’s therapy sessions are designed to keep the client present. With this method, they don’t have to revisit their trauma. 

Brain-based therapies are still relatively new, but the popularity of these treatments has been largely due to the demand from American veterans of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. After exploring experimental therapies for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, addiction, and depression, many former military members have become fervent advocates for the broader use of alternative healing methods.

“We work on building new neural pathways so they respond optimally to stressors,” Simpkins says.

Dr. George Rozelle, at MindSpa Integrative Wellness Center, has begun researching the organization’s treatment modality with brain-mapping techniques that measure electrical activity in the brain. By doing this, they can understand how each veteran’s brain functions before and after the brain-based healing sessions. With the information, they have evidence supporting the effectiveness of how brain-based healing optimizes brain functioning.

“Physical wounds can be seen, and they watch the healing process with their own eyes, but it hasn’t been the case with psychological and emotional wounds until now,” Simpkins explains. “With brain mapping, we can show our clients what their cognitive activity looks like before one of our retreats. After just one weekend which includes two brain-based healing sessions of The Cortina Method, they can see how their brains calm down and no longer respond to trauma.”

In a recent survey of participants, 100% said they would recommend the program to others. The results have been promising, with many veterans finding relief from the symptoms of PTSD and other mental health issues, but it’s not just the veterans who benefit. The organization has also taken an active role in engaging with its clients’ spouses and families.

Thanks to funding from Manatee Community Foundation, Operation Warrior Resolution brought in a spouse coordinator who helps provide additional services to their clients’ families, such as support groups, therapy, and opportunities for both veterans and their spouses to attend couples’ retreats focused on reconnecting, healthy living, and marriage counseling.

“Trauma doesn’t just affect the veteran; it spreads to those around them like spouses and children,” says Simpkins. “You have to bring them along throughout the journey of healing.”

Operation Warrior Resolution has helped more than one hundred clients through their retreat program and almost one thousand veterans and their families through other activities and events in the Sarasota area. The organization is funded through grants, donations, and fundraisers. It also partners with local businesses to provide discounts on services for veterans.

In honor of National Veterans and Military Families Month in November, Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation is providing a 1:1 match of all donations up to $50,000 until the end of the year.

“We want to make sure that every veteran who needs our help can get it,” Simpkins says. “We help veterans process their trauma so they can live more fulfilling lives.”

The organization can be found online at www.operationwarriorresolution.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OperationWarriorResolution.