End Your Covert Mission

Specialists give veterans the tools to conquer chronic pain and substance use in this to-the-point guide. 

For many veterans and service members, life after military service includes what feels like an ongoing mission to disguise or ignore pain. Too often this mission is both secret and lonely—a battle undertaken without the support or even the knowledge of those around them.  

Some strategies to manage physical, social, and psychological pain are only short-term fixes. Self-medicating, substance use, and bottling up emotions don't work as part of civilian life. 

Written by professional practitioners in trauma, substance use disorder, pain management, and rehabilitation who are also members of the veteran community, End Your Covert Mission is an approachable, non-judgmental guide for stopping that self-imposed mission and developing solutions that lead to a healthier and happier life. 

 The book includes features that help readers discover a path to recovery: 

• Examples of the types of pain veterans may experience 
• Language for admitting, describing, and sharing these various types of pain
• Personal stories from veterans
• Effective approaches for connecting with other veterans and family members
• Methods to address active substance use
• Ways to identify and manage risk factors for future substance use disorders

Author Bios:

DUSTIN BROCKBERG, PhD, is a licensed psychologist working in the field of substance abuse and co-occurring disorders, currently as a practitioner and adjunct faculty member at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. He served in the United States Army from 2004 to 2008, including a deployment to Iraq. His clinical interests include veteran-related issues, grief, loss, affect phobia, and trauma.

KERRY BROCKBERG, PhD, is a licensed psychologist working in the field of rehabilitation. Her current practice with the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute (Allina Health) focuses on individuals with chronic pain, brain injury, and other chronic illnesses and disabilities. She specializes in the development of tangible, psychological approaches connecting the mind and body in better understanding overall functioning and quality of life.

Dustin and Kerry are married. In April of 2022, they welcomed twin baby daughters into their family (the book is dedicated to them). They live in Blaine, MN.