Can Hiking Help Heal Veterans with PTSD? Researchers Seek to Find Out

Written by

Suzanne O’Brien · REI · October 25, 2022

Featuring Gregory Bratman, member of the Center’s Research Collaborative and Steering Committee

Members of the Hound Summit Team stand atop Mount Baker during the group’s first successful summit in 2011. Photo Courtesy: Josh Brandon
Members of the Hound Summit Team stand atop Mount Baker during the group’s first successful summit in 2011. Photo Courtesy: Josh Brandon

 

One fall day on Washington’s Mount Rainier, Josh Brandon and a group of fellow active duty platoon leaders discovered something about the outdoors that could improve the lives of veterans.

It was September 2009 and the group had decided to make a late-season summit attempt of Washington’s highest peak as part of a team-building exercise. The platoon leaders, who were all members of the same infantry company, began their climb in the early morning hours. Conditions were windy—a storm was forecast for later that day. About halfway up Disappointment Cleaver, the team paused to collect their bearings and a leader was hit in the neck with a boulder, resulting in a spinal contusion. Drawing on their previous military training, the group treated his injury and evacuated him to safety by nightfall.

“We figured out that mountaineering replicated the best parts of combat,” said Brandon. “A small, tight group. Taking risks. Facing adversity. Out there in nature.”

Miles of Medicine: When War Leads to Trauma, Trails May Lead the Way Out

Written by

Charlie Wakenshaw · Washington Trails Magazine · Spring 2021

Featuring Howard Frumkin and Gregory Bratman
Nature and Health researchers and Steering Committee members

In 2008, Joshua Brandon was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the military base near Tacoma, between his second and third tours of duty in Iraq. He could see Mount Rainier every day and he started hatching plans to climb to the summit.

“Getting out here was my first real touch of being exposed to wilderness,” he said. “You’re surrounded by mountains. Rainier is staring at you every day and I’m like, it’s there, we gotta go climb it.”

Joshua commanded the 32nd Stryker Brigade at the time and got his platoon leaders involved with his plan. They formed a climbing team and got to work.

A New Bill Could Provide Better Outdoor Recreation Programs for Veterans

Written by

Jenni Gritters · REI · November 10, 2020

Featuring Gregory Bratman, member of the Center’s Research Collaborative

Time in nature has been shown to help people of varying backgrounds with mental health issues by reducing depression and anxiety and increasing overall happiness. For veterans, in particular, time outside appears to decrease symptoms of PTSD and may help former service members reintegrate into civilian life. At the University of Washington, an ongoing study, which started in 2018 with support from REI, aims to test the benefits of wilderness hiking as a treatment for PTSD among veterans. Lead researcher Greg Bratman is currently looking at the effects of nature on veterans’ mental and physical health in urban settings (like walks in city centers) compared with more rural settings, like mountainscapes. In Austin, Texas, researcher David Scheinfeld is doing similar work, focusing on how veterans respond to Outward Bound programs. Early results suggest the programs may improve interpersonal relations, boost resilience and improve a sense of purpose among veterans.

A Soldier and a Doctor on the Power of Nature

Written by

Joshua Brandon · REI · November 10, 2016

Featuring Dr. Howard Frumkin, co-founder of the Center and member of the Center’s Research Collaborative

As we give thanks for their service on Veteran’s Day, REI has asked one vet and a nationally renowned medical researcher to share their views on the healing power of the outdoors. It’s a reminder of how opting outside can help each of us rejuvenate and reconnect.