The REBOOT Combat Recovery Program: Health and Socioemotional Benefits

Abstract

Spiritual care for combat trauma seeks to help military personnel heal by finding meaning and purpose in their warzone experiences. Although prior work suggests that spiritual care for combat trauma is potentially beneficial, questions remain about whether health and socioemotional benefits hinge on intrinsic religiosity. We evaluated these questions in conjunction with the REBOOT Combat Recovery program, which offers Christian-based spiritual care for combat trauma via a 12-week manualized course. We collected self-report data from 111 U.S. service members and veterans during Week 3 and Week 12 of the program. Findings showed gains in pain interference and intensity (|d| = .30 to .37), sleep health (|d| = .44 to .52), mental health (|d| = .68 to .75), and social health (|d| = .54). Socioemotional improvements in anger (|d| = .76), meaning and purpose in life (|d| = .58), social connectedness (|d| = .50), and forgiveness (|d| = .44) also were apparent. Gains were largely unmoderated by intrinsic religiosity, demographic characteristics, and military characteristics. A key direction for future research is to employ a pretest/post-test control group design to further evaluate whether REBOOT Recovery is broadly useful as a spiritual care program for combat trauma.