Warriors' Ascent

Warriors’ Ascent is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Kansas City, Missouri founded to help veterans, service members, and first responders who are struggling with post-traumatic stress (PTS).  Our program provides our attendees the tools to heal and tend the mind, body, and soul.  Using three primary healing modalities (cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, and emotion-focused therapy) as well as self-care practices focusing on movement, nutrition, meditation, breathing, and enhancing restorative sleep, we put our attendees on the path to healing where they are empowered to take control of the quality of their lives while offering a sense of community and kinship with those sharing similar experiences.  Attendees pay nothing to attend other than travel costs to and from the facility.  See www.warriorsascent.org for further details.

Focus areas:

• Establishing an environment of unconditional positive regard:
  • Developing and maintaining an emotionally supportive community.
  • Bonding through emotionally open experiences with fellow participants.
  • Becoming attuned to different social styles of interaction and communication.
• Tending the mind:
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Mindfulness-Based Therapy
  • Meditation
• Tending the body:
  • Yoga
  • Nutrition
  • Sleep improvement
  • Breathing
• Tending the soul:
  • Emotion-Focused Therapy
  • Cathartic activities: catharsis, ceremony for the dead, leap of faith
  • Finding our true selves, wholeness, individuation, self-actualization 
• Post graduation:
  • Encourage participants to seek and attend therapy when needed.
  • Impress upon participants the need to take ownership of their own healing by continuing the practices they learned.
  • Membership in an established alumni community of graduates with further outreach and activities.