Liberty alumni couple help veterans and first responders heal from trauma

Liberty University alumni Michael (’21) and Stacy (’21) Sweeney of Mooresville, N.C., have dedicated their lives to the betterment of others, creating a program for veterans and first responders to receive effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).

The Sweeneys first became interested in the treatment of trauma because of their children. They adopted six of their nine children and have been foster parents to 14 children. Many of the children in their care came into the family at an older age and carried a history of trauma from their past. The couple searched everywhere for effective treatment options and eventually found alternative non-pharmaceutical treatment, recommended by the Amen Clinics, with hyperbaric oxygen and neurofeedback. Once they saw major improvement in their children, they decided to share these treatments in their community.

Michael, who earned his Master of Business Administration through Liberty University Online Programs, was a U.S. Naval Officer for five years. While he did not face combat himself, he realized many service members leave the military with intense trauma. The couple knew they needed to create a program where veterans could receive treatment at no cost and heal from their mental scars. OPTIVets, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, became a natural extension of their business OPTI Health, where they serve as health and wellness coaches.

“We’re firm believers that God has allowed us to go through hard things so we can share what worked for us and help other people heal,” said Stacy, who holds a master’s degree in exercise and wellness from Liberty.

The OPTIprotocol is a 12-week program utilizing hyperbaric oxygen and neurofeedback, among other therapies, to heal the brain’s response to trauma. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves the administration of concentrated oxygen in a pressurized chamber, promoting neuroplasticity through the creation of new blood vessels and nerve tissue and reducing inflammation. Neurofeedback focuses on training brain wave activity and reorganizing brainwave patterns to improve emotional regulation, sleep, and cognitive function.

One way Michael and Stacy use neurofeedback is by having a veteran watch their favorite TV show while they monitor the veteran’s brain waves. When their brain operates in dysregulated patterns that are negative, the screen dims and the audio fades. When the brain operates positively, it brightens and gets louder. The goal is to retrain the brain to stay in the new patterns of a regulated state. Alpha Theta, or low frequency neurofeedback, helps the participants to process hard memories. The Sweeneys also use red light therapy, IV therapy, gut healing supplementation, and health coaching.

The treatment is short term but yields long-term results. After opening OptiVets in April, the Sweeneys have already had seven successful graduates of the program, including veterans and a police officer.

“Most of our veterans came in sleeping anywhere from two to four hours a night but waking up with horrible nightmares and not being able to go back to sleep,” Stacy said. “By about week three (in the program), they’re sleeping seven to eight hours a night, which is huge, and that impacts everything else.”

Graduates also report a substantial decrease in triggers, migraines, hypervigilance, fear, and chronic pain.

“We kind of go by this mantra that the folks who have served us in combat have already paid a price; we don’t think they should continue to pay a price for their own health,” Michael said. “They sacrificed for us, and they don’t need to continue to do that. That’s where OptiVets (comes in). We look for corporate sponsors and private donations (to fund program participants).” (Community members can sponsor a veteran to receive treatment online.)

Stacy and Michael are certified in all the treatments they utilize, and they credit their graduate degrees from Liberty with preparing them for their current work. They said they first learned of Liberty’s degree offerings through staff at Samaritan’s Purse, where Michael served as deputy director of international projects. They were attracted to Liberty’s Christian education and its discounts for service members, veterans, and spouses. (The university also offers a discount for first responders, stackable with any military discounts.)

The Sweeneys’ son, Gavin, is studying residentially at Liberty and will graduate in December with a degree in criminal justice, and their daughter attended Liberty University Online Academy for most of her high school education.

Michael enjoyed how Liberty integrated faith into every aspect of his business degree.

“Infusing faith into business is sometimes challenging when you’re talking about accounting. How do you infuse the Bible into a profit and loss statement?” he said. “Liberty does a really good job of constantly making the business about that higher purpose. Liberty teaches you to look at things through a different lens as you’re learning. It’s not about me; it’s about what my purpose is for glorifying the Lord.”

In part, it was that faith-based foundation that inspired the Sweeneys to integrate spirituality and faith into OPTIVets.

“Everything we did through Liberty was infused with faith,” Stacy said. “I was encouraged to use faith as a foundation for everything. So, we do that here (at OPTIVets). We’ve always infused faith into what we’ve done businesswise, because we see how important that is.”

The Sweeneys play praise music in their facility and recently hired a chaplain to provide spiritual and pastoral care for the participants.

“(Infusing faith means) infusing God into every conversation that I have,” Stacy added. “In a health coaching capacity, one of the things we talk about is spiritual practices, as we take a mind, body, and spirit approach.  Every participant knows our story as well and hears how we believe God brought us through some hard times to share what we have learned with other people who need hope.”

“We help believers and not-yet-believers,” Michael said. “We do not overtly push Christ on people, but as our relationships with clients deepen, they certainly know there is something different about us, our clinic, and our mission — it’s Christ-centered.”

Michael said he loves talking about the science behind their treatments, reminding participants how God created chemistry and physics, and as brain health coaches they “just use what He created to help heal people.”

>>November is Military Appreciation Month at Liberty. The Office of Military Affairs offers various opportunities for the Liberty community to support and honor its military students, veterans, and their families. For more information on military benefits and resources for military students, visit Liberty.edu/Military.