Basic Training for PTSD Treatment

Tony Clark, December 19, 2025 

Why "Basic Training" for the Mind is the Missing Link in PTSD Treatment

We are facing a silent crisis in mental health care, particularly among those who have served. The rate of PTSD among veterans is currently double the rate in the general population.  

While these numbers are staggering, the deeper issue lies in how we treat trauma. The hard truth is that our current "de-facto" standard of care is not working for enough people. 

Today, the typical path for a PTSD patient involves medication for stabilization, followed by trauma exposure counseling, and then more medication for maintenance. Yet, drop-out rates for trauma exposure therapy are running as high as 60%.

Why are so many walking away from help? Because they are not being properly prepared for the intense work required of trauma exposure therapy. 

🔬 The Problem with the "Medication-First" Approach

Reliance on medication for stabilization presents significant challenges. While drugs may dull acute symptoms, they often fail to actually prepare a patient’s mind for the hard work required in exposure counseling.

Furthermore, medications are rarely curative. They can be addictive, leading patients to be stuck on them for decades. They can impair a person's ability to work and function daily. Worst of all, many come with severe unwanted side effects, including increased risks of cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, and even suicide.

Clearly, we need a better approach for stabilization—one that builds tolerance rather than just dulling the senses.

🌍 Tactical Calm™: Basic Training for Exposure Therapy

If trauma exposure therapy is the "deployment," where the hard mission is accomplished, then "basic training" is needed before we send people in.  That is the concept behind Tactical Calm. 

Generally, treatment for all cases progresses through three phases:

1. Stabilization

2. Counseling

3. Maintenance

Tactical Calm is a drug-free innovative approach, which emphasizes distress-tolerance conditioning. It is learned during the stabilization phase and is continued throughout all trauma treatment phases. It goes beyond just treating symptoms; it paves the way to actual recovery.  By coaching individuals on how to achieve a calm, focused mental state precisely when they feel distressed, it increases their perceived control over their own reactions.

Crucially, this training decreases "distress intolerance," which is the primary reason patients drop out of trauma counseling.  For example, for the military’s limited duty population, it could be the difference between a quick return to duty or a stint on long-term disability.

💡 Technology in Action:  The 2-Dooz Implementation

At 2-Dooz, we are pioneering a technological ecosystem to implement Tactical Calm—one that can effectively deliver the basic training that is a prerequisite for exposure therapy.  Our real-time system for measuring and intervening post-trauma-distress and for tracking Mental Fitness (a measure of distress-tolerance), combines three innovative tools:

• The 2-Dooz smart ring continuously monitors and measures a wearer's physiological distress.

• Upon the detection of distress, the DSM App guides the user through a meditative breathing session, a clinically-proven method for reducing the severity of distress-induced symptoms.

• The DSM App displays the OH•AI•SYS AI Model’s real-time tracking of a user’s current mental fitness along with any assessed clinical referrals.

The result is drug-free, distress-tolerance conditioning that prepares a user for follow-on exposure therapy. The acquired skills are usable long-term as part of a post-trauma-distress maintenance therapy. 

➡️ The Path Forward

We must move beyond merely managing symptoms to building distress-tolerance / resilience.  Tactical Calm represents a hopeful step toward a future where trauma treatment is more effective, less reliant on lifelong medication, and more empowering for members of the military, veterans, and all other patients.

2-Dooz is currently conducting a PTSD Clinical Trial to explore the efficacy of our Tactical Calm implementation. 

Interested in a non-drug path to managing PTSD symptoms? [ Apply to the study here ]

Disclaimer: This article provides general information and does not constitute medical advice. Treatment decisions for PTSD and related conditions should always be made in consultation with a qualified healthcare professional.  If you are, or if you know someone who is in crisis, please seek immediate help by calling or texting the Crisis Line at 988.