Veteran U.S. Army Captain John Kirby IV uses his experience with post-traumatic stress disorder to help other Veterans cope with it. He is vice commander of American Legion Post 14 in Southlake, Texas, and a lead trainer in the Military Veteran Peer Network.
He said he lived with PTSD for almost 30 years before seeking the mental health support he needed. To manage his PTSD symptoms, Kirby sought psychiatric care from his local VA facility and started using VA’s PTSD Coach app. The app provides education about PTSD, information about professional care, a self-assessment for PTSD, opportunities to find support and tools that can help Veterans manage their symptoms in daily life.
“PTSD Coach helps me reflect on my trauma by journaling and having the ability to release my story and work through the healing process for myself,” said Kirby. “It’s helped me a lot just by reading some of the tips and completing daily tasks built into the app.”
Through his work with The American Legion, Kirby provides support for Veterans with PTSD by lending an ear and encouraging them to seek support through VA care and virtual tools such as PTSD Coach. “If I see a Veteran stressing out, I bring up PTSD Coach and share my experience and how they can make the same decision to get help.”
