Date
1-14-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Fred Volk
Keywords
Trauma, PTSD, Moral Injury, Spirituality, Faith
Disciplines
Counseling
Recommended Citation
Fall, Roger, "A Phenomenological Study to Describe the Lived Experiences of U.S. Military Veterans Diagnosed with PTSD Who Have Completed a Spiritually Integrated Treatment Program" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7895.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7895
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of U.S. military veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who completed a spiritually integrated treatment program. Schlossberg’s transition theory formed the study’s primary theoretical framework, through which the following research questions were answered: 1) How do U.S. military veterans diagnosed with PTSD describe their experiences before attending a spiritually integrated treatment program? 2) How do the participants describe their expectations for the program prior to their participation? 3) How were the participants’ expectations met, and were any unexpected outcomes experienced while participating in the program? and 4) How do the participants describe the immediate and long-lasting effects of the program experience? The data collection involved an online survey, recorded one-to-one virtual and telephone interviews, and participant reviews of the interview transcripts. The data were primarily analyzed using coding, thematic development, and phenomenological reflection. The findings showed that the participants described their changes as mainly spiritual in nature, crediting their spiritual transition and their renewed relationship and understanding of God in their lives as the reason for seeing their PTSD from a different perspective. The theoretical and practical implications of this study support the idea that spiritually integrated approaches to treating veterans with PTSD, as well as including clergy in the treatment process, can be as effective as non-spiritually integrated programs, and potentially more so in cases involving moral injury (MI). Future research remains to be undertaken to confirm if similar results can be found in non-veteran groups.
