'Healing a Soldier's Heart' Premieres Nationally on PBS.org and Public Television Stations on Veterans Day Weekend

PTSD-suffering Vietnam Vets Face Their Moral Injuries and Find Peace in New Documentary

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventeen U.S. veterans die by suicide every day, a number largely unchanged for over a decade. Yet today, on the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, there is a hopeful approach for treating combat-related PTSD, an approach which focuses on the "moral injury" that can often accompany war. Recognized by the VA in 2009, Moral Injury emphasizes the psychological, social and spiritual aspects of war-related trauma. Moral injury is in clear focus in the documentary "Healing a Soldier's Heart," Cultural & Educational Media (CEM Productions), the production company for the film, announced today.

"Healing a Soldier's Heart," (trailer - https://vimeo.com/1084744286/9c66ecb49b?ts=0&share=copy), follows the courageous, emotionally-charged journey of four PTSD-suffering Vietnam war veterans as they venture back to face their inner demons and ghosts that have been haunting them for decades, under the guidance of psychotherapist and author Edward Tick PhD. 

This cinematic, emotionally-gripping film presents a series of trauma-healing practices, including face-to-face meetings with former enemies, authentic apologies and acts of restitution. Tick leads the group on an immersive, therapeutic experience of Vietnamese culture, Buddhist prayer, meditation, compassion and forgiveness. 

The emotional support of marital spouses is powerfully evident throughout the film as the four protagonists confront the deep feelings of guilt, shame, and anger that have plagued them for decades.

As Ed Tick tells us about PTSD: "The same suffering goes on consciously or unconsciously. But we have to make the suffering conscious in order to achieve healing." 

The four veterans evolve from terrorized nightmares, drug abuse, domestic violence and thoughts of suicide, to a state of self-realized human beings and spiritual warriors. Their struggles and their paths to healing and transformation will resonate deeply with U.S. combat veterans from the Iraq and Afghan wars, as well as with spouses, families and friends.

"Healing a Soldier's Heart," makes its national public television premiere on Veterans Day weekend, premiering November 9, 2025 at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET on PBS.org, the PBS App, the project website, https://www.healingsoldiers.org/ and PBS stations. Check local PBS schedules for broadcast times.

Following the premiere, viewers can join a livestreamed webcast featuring a discussion with Dr. Ed Tick, filmmaker Stephen Olsson, U.S. veterans from different wars, spouses, and PTSD/Moral Injury experts.

About Cultural & Educational Media:

Cultural & Educational Media (CEM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media organization. Founded by filmmaker Stephen Olsson and Scott Andrews in 1983, CEM has produced national Emmy, Peabody and duPont-Columbia award-winning documentaries and TV series that promote understanding and respect among peoples, cultures and faiths worldwide. https://cemproductions.org/.

Assets/photo folder for media: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1H-c3voikJ7Ir7naJWtXjU_BoM4W-TBGJ

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SOURCE Cultural & Educational Media