The Great Lakes Event Questionnaire (GLEQ):
The Great Lakes Event Questionnaire (GLEQ) is a one page trauma history questionnaire initiated in 2000 aid in psychotherapeutic work with combat veterans. It was subsequently developed and refined to its current form. Key features include:
- asking about broad categories of events in order to gently prompt consideration of both major trauma and significant less obviously destructive events.
- subjective units of disturbance ratings of the effects of events to
facilitate understanding of their relative impact and measure change.
- a format that indicates that specifics are verbalized and disclosed at client discretion.
A second page can be included to briefly ask about client values and positive aspects of client lives. Clinical suggestions about when and how to use the GLEQ are offered in the attached paper. The GLEQ is in the public domain and can be modified to fit therapist needs.
The attached paper describes The Four Activity Model (FAM) of psychotherapy and its application to EMDR and other methods (just like the title suggests). The model is more fully elaborated in the book EMDR and Psychotherapy Integration.
The brochure For War Veterans & Family: On Combat Exposure was written in late 2008 for veterans and their family members who were connected to the Stress Disorder Treatment Unit (SDTU) at what was then the North Chicago VA Medical Center, and is now the Lovell Federal Health Care Center. Although there were many educational materials available on the psychological effects of combat (e.g. National Center for PTSD internet resources available at: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/) these appeared to focus on describing PTSD symptoms, attempting to normalize them, and encouraging treatment. They certainly met a need, however, their focus on diagnosis and symptoms failed to address essential issues that would help to clarify a reasonable understanding of how the effects of combat related stress might occur, and what paths might lead toward relieving them. The standard approach also did not answer many of the questions that had arisen over the years from veterans and family members.
In an effort to meet these needs work began on the brochure. As was the process with many of the clinical materials developed for the SDTU, after a first draft was completed by staff it was presented to groups consisting of residents and some alumni outpatients of the SDTU program. Their feedback was incorporated into subsequent drafts. This process continued until there were two consecutive groups who found no objections to the material. The brochure was then made available to veterans and family members in its completed form.
