It’s time to heal. It’s time to rest.
VOA|ReST (Resilience-Strength-Time) is designed to alleviate the pain, suffering and isolation that accompany existential crises resulting from moral conflicts that are well known to devastate mental health and wellbeing, such as:
- cumulative experiences of trauma
- being subjected to harm by others or unjust systems
- witnessing violence or irreversible harm to others
- failing to or being prevented from doing what is right
- perpetrating harm
VOA|ReST uses confidential, small support groups facilitated by trained peer specialists who understand moral healing and offer both the compassion and space needed to process negative moral emotions.
VOA|ReST Virtual is a confidential, group process that supports resilience in people struggling with isolation, fatigue, frustration, anxiety, and a sense of inadequacy or failure.
VOA|ReST Immersive alleviates moral distress and supports people’s resilience through a day long, small-group, peer-facilitated process within a workplace or organization.
VOA|ReST Intensive is an evidence-based, 50-hour program that helps people process their moral injury through peer-facilitated small groups and a variety of recovery strategies.
Moral distresses and moral injuries, as the terms indicate, are the consequence of a healthy conscience when its core values are violated. Negative moral emotions, including guilt, blame, shame, sorrow, outrage, despair, humiliation, helplessness and hopelessness can take over a life. If unaddressed, such feelings commonly lead to avoidance strategies such as overwork, substance misuse to numb pain, toxic anger, abandonment of a career, emotional isolation from family, and suicidality.
Not surprisingly, afflictions of conscience cannot be addressed with vacations or medications or traditional therapies. Instead, they require time, safe space, and emotional support from others to fully integrate memories of devastating experiences, redefine meaning, recover goodness and restore resilience.
All VOA|ReST programs use copyrighted materials drawn from our evidence-based Immersive program.
VOA|ReST Virtual
What can I expect from VOA|ReST Virtual?
Sessions of up to ten participants are scheduled nearly every day, for an hour. People may attend alone or with others they trust. Peer facilitators guide the conversations. As participants share difficult experiences and listen to each other, they feel understood, empathize with others, and recover a sense of commitment and gratitude for their relationships and work.
How is VOA|ReST Virtual effective?
Our VOA-trained peer facilitators support people experiencing feelings of moral distress, using skills and strategies developed in VOA’s evidence-based program for military veterans called Resilience Strength Training. Unlike the medicalized model of mental health, which some experience as stigmatizing, VOA|ReST Virtual enables individual resilience through grounding, empathetic listening, and the support of peers. Our facilitators guide a process that leaves participants calmer, better connected to others and themselves, and more resilient.
94%
of session participants report feeling significantly calmer after a session.
83%
of session participants would attend another session in the future.
81%
of session participants would recommend a session to a friend.
For more information, please contact rest@voa.org
VOA|ReST Immersive
What can I expect from VOA|ReST Immersive?
Moral distress is a response to high-stakes situations when harm occurs that is difficult or impossible to fix. Immersive lowers that distress by using mindful breathing and guided meditation; writing exercises and group sharing about morally troubling experiences; positive group bonding via shared values; and tips on maintaining resilience and wellness. On-site facilitator training can be added to the program for sites interested in continuing the small group process beyond initial engagement.
How is VOA|ReST Immersive effective?
Immersive promotes resilience through the support of peers and helps participants feel calmer, better connected to others and themselves, and more resilient.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT smcallister@voa.org.
VOA|ReST Intensive
What can I expect from VOA|ReST Intensive?
To alleviate the pain, suffering, and isolation of moral injury, you will spend about 50 hours in a peer-facilitated small group and do a variety of recovery activities, such as journaling, making art and music, sharing experiences of moral injury, and learning mindful practices that calm stress. An on-call clinician and an on-site program administrator are there to support the facilitators and you, should you need them. It can be implemented as a five-day intensive, as two long weekends, or as one day per week for six weeks.
How is VOA|ReST Intensive effective?
Going through moral injury processing with your group builds trust and helps everyone get each other through the hard parts. You have time to learn self-calming strategies, greater emotional awareness, and new communication skills, while also practicing healthy habits that help you be more resilient. Experiencing VOA|ReST Intensive can lead to post-traumatic growth, trust, optimism, a sense of worth, and improved sleep.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT smcallister@voa.org.
