Page 95 - JSOM Spring 2026

Promoting overall wellness for veterans, first responders, and service members

The Transforming Health and
Resilience in Veterans (THRIVE)
Program at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill delivers evidence-driven,
participant-centered care for
veterans, first responders, and
service members in transition
with histories of traumatic brain
injury, repetitive occupational
low-level blast exposure, and
post-traumatic stress—conditions
common in Special Operations
and other high-risk operational
communities.

Grounded in more than 30 years
of traumatic brain injury research,
the THRIVE Program integrates
comprehensive interdisciplinary
evaluation, intensive outpatient
treatment, and longitudinal
follow-up within a single clinical
model. By embedding high-level
translational research directly into
UNC THRIVE Program participants engage in equine-assisted clinical care, the THRIVE Program
therapy in the heart of North Carolina as part of a three-week is pioneering scalable approaches
Intensive Outpatient Program. The setting promotes peer connection to assessing and treating the
and trust among veterans, first responders, and active-duty service brain and body in operational
members from high-risk operational backgrounds. (Photo credit: populations.
Sam Rodriguez, THRIVE Program Veteran Outreach and Program
Coordinator).
“ Learn more and

support the THRIVE
I was blown away by my experience at the THRIVE Program and
cannot recommend them enough to others from the Special
Program by going to
Operations community seeking a comprehensive evaluation of
their symptoms. The personal care and understanding from
the providers are unmatched in my experience with other thriveprogram.unc.edu
civilian programs. The THRIVE Program truly offered me the
opportunity to recover and transition in this new phase of life
as healthy as possible. Thanks.
“
— U.S. Army Special Operations Forces Veteran @thriveprogram @unc_thrive @UNCthriveprogram