Fort Leavenworth soldiers learn "Hold Me Tight"

Ottawa counsellor offers hope for couples after the horrors of war
Shelley Page , Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, May 03, 2008
OTTAWA - Some soldiers come home from battle with war in their heads and numbness in their hearts. They can't escape the death they've witnessed - or caused - or the nagging uneasiness that comes from fighting in a land with no front or back lines.

The bridge from war back to love is impossible for many to cross. They must shut off their "battle brains" in order to hug their children and hold their wives. Relationships falter. At greatest risk are marriages that endure multiple deployments.

In a bid to support these fragile relationships, the U.S. army has called in Ottawa-based therapist Dr. Sue Johnson. Last weekend, the University of Ottawa professor was in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to run the fourth of five retreats for military couples using Emotionally Focused Therapy. Johnson developed the program when she was a graduate student at the University of British Columbia and then refined it here in Ottawa as director of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute. Now it's used around the world by marital therapists. About 200 couples will go through the military's pilot program.

Johnson's work has achieved a 75 per cent success rate in several studies. By comparison, other forms of couple therapy have been shown to be about 35 per cent effective. While Johnson has discussed her therapy with the military chaplains in this country, she has not provided similar support to Canadian troops.

The clinical psychologist describes her work in Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love. The new book was not written for a military audience, though it was distributed to the Fort Leavenworth couples.