The SPARTA Project treats the underlying causes of PTSD to deliver personal growth.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES, July 15, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Phoenix, Arizona: The great writer C.S. Lewis once said; “Hardship often prepares ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny”. Fifteen years of constant war has created unimaginable hardships and stress in the lives of U.S. Service members and veterans.

The stress of war is now both predictable and altogether normal as seen in the number of veterans experiencing symptoms related to post-traumatic stress or PTS. The SPARTA Project is a unique program that not only relieves PTS symptoms but also uses the experience as a catalyst for transformation. The program’s alumni have traded their debilitating symptoms for personal growth and many are now living what C.S. Lewis described as “extraordinary destinies.”

SPARTA Project Alumni Rich Verdone is a former US Army Ranger who spent the first half of his 14-year military career as a member of an elite unit on dangerous and often deadly missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. “There is no time out in war; we had to be vigilant 24/7.” The stress of war carried over into his civilian life. “I had no idea that I even had an Autonomic Nervous System, let alone that it was turned on full-blast in fight or flight mode after I discharged.”

As a civilian, Mr. Verdone experienced classic symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress often referred to as PTSD. “There was sleeplessness, anger, guilt, shame, daily self -medicating with alcohol, a few run-ins with the law, the downward spiral continued until I felt hopeless. My family watched me suffer and I felt it all needed to end.” It was as this moment that one of Mr. Verdone’s former commanders suggested that he take part in the 5-day SPARTA Project Program. “The program was like nothing that I have ever heard of or experienced before, it was physical; including adventure exposure with rappelling, we stepped into closed pens with horses, it was emotional, spiritual, there was history, anthropology, anatomy, and physiology that unpacked the war trauma, the pre-war trauma, and the physical symptoms. I exited the program with a new sense of purpose and personal enlightenment.

Mr. Verdone now works as a full-time business analyst for a hedge fund and has taken on the position of Program Director for the SPARTA Project; both roles are a direct result of his experience with the SPARTA Project. "I did seek treatment at the VA, and like many other veterans, I quickly discovered that pills would not heal my wounds. The SPARTA Project is the Holy Grail of PTSD Treatment. I feel like I am now living an extraordinary life and what’s ironic is that it came as a byproduct of PTSD.”

The SPARTA Project’s evidence-based approach is modeled after the work of neuroscientist Andrew Newburg, M.D., the Director of Research at the Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. “We knew that Dr. Newburg’s work using fMRI technology to clearly show physical changes to the brain without the use of drugs or surgical intervention was exactly what we were after. His work is the foundation of the SPARTA program”, stated Dr. Michael Salonius, Clinical Director and Co-Founder of The SPARTA Project.

To date, The SPARTA Project has served 340 war-fighters, veterans and first responders in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The organization also offers female-only programs. “Our mission is to transform the stress and trauma caused by war and violence into resiliency, empowerment, personal growth and individual greatness. The need is urgent; we are one of a small number of programs successfully treating the spiritual and moral wounds associated with war and trauma. We hope to expand our work to offer our program to 300 participants in 2017 alone.” stated Robert Vera, Executive Director.

The SPARTA Project is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and the nation's premiere program for treating warriors, veterans and first responders with spiritual and moral wounds, PTS(D) and suicidal ideology.

Tawny Biggs
The SPARTA Project
661-309-5408
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