Sharpen® Warrior

Featured image: Filming Sharpen® Warrior interviews with Upstate Warrior Solution, 2017 (from left to right: Charlie Hall (Executive Director), Nathan Detandt, Tim Farrell and Dr. Craig Burnette).

In 2023, 6,398 Veterans died by suicide in the United States. That is an average of 17.5 lives every day, and rates remain elevated among younger veterans ages 18 to 34 (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2026).

Sharpen® clinical decision support and triage platform was created through community partnership. One day in 2015, at the United Way of the Piedmont behavioral health task force in the Upstate of South Carolina, nearly 20 organizations sat around a strategic planning session. At my table, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Craig Burnette who, at the time, was a volunteer for the Upstate Warrior Solution.

About Dr. Burnette

Sharpen® Warrior grew out of a round table discussion between me and Dr. Burnette. It was the very first client toolkit we ever built on Sharpen®, and we built it slowly, over four years of interviews with veterans and their spouses, PTSD clinicians, and specialists in combat trauma, transition, and moral injury. Upstate Warrior Solution veterans beta-tested it with us in 2017, and their feedback helped to shape the modules that were developed in the future.

Our friend Dr. Craig Burnette was a VA psychologist and served as the clinical lead on Sharpen® Warrior. Over his career he has worked with thousands of veterans, including many who served after 9/11. During one of our filmed interviews, I asked him about the younger veterans just coming home. The ones awake at 3:00 in the morning, carrying anger and depression bundled up together, looking for something. Does it get better? And if it does, how?

His answer:

“Yes, it gets better… The key is not whether or not our experiences are exactly the same or can be matched. The key has been… to get help from someone. From someone you trust, who you know respects you and what you’ve done, who won’t judge you, and who’s there to truly be of help as much as they can. And that’s how it becomes untangled.”

Robyn Hussa Farrell interviews Dr. Burnette in this brief clip.

Sharpen® Warrior was designed with-and-for veterans as a way to access evidence-based video modules on PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance use, transitioning to civilian life, coping strategies, and post-traumatic growth, along with modules made specifically for spouses and family members. Like all versions of Sharpen®, it runs on a secure web platform through any browser, with nothing to download, and every module features documentary stories of resilience and strength while pointing toward real help, including the Veterans Crisis Line and local veteran resources.

Listening in on the Sharpen® Warrior interviews, 2017 (from left: Major General Mastin Robeson, Charlie Hall, Robyn Hussa Farrell and Dr. Craig Burnette).

What veterans told us

Between 2017 and 2019, 37 people completed our feedback survey on the PTSD modules: 21 veterans, plus family members, clinicians, mentors, and friends of veterans (Burnette et al., 2019).

Nine in ten (32 of 35) said they would recommend the modules to other veterans, service members, and families. More than eight in ten (29 of 35) felt connected to one or more of the veterans we interviewed, and 30 of 35 said they now understood more about the readjustment challenges veterans and their families face. Three in four (25 of 33) rated “I feel hopeful” as very or moderately effective. The two voices respondents most often said they connected with other veterans who shared stories of resilience and strength.

One veteran wrote:

“The section about transition made me feel like I’m not alone… And I’m not an incompetent jerk for struggling during transition.”

Another put it in eight words:

“It just helps me to not feel weak.”

They told us what was missing, too. Suicide, depression, substance use, and homelessness topped their wish list, and that list shaped what we built next.

Guiding Reins

Founded by Diane Prewitt, Guiding Reins offers equine-assisted wellness programs for active military, veterans, first responders, and their families across Upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina, at no cost to participants.

Last fall, Guiding Reins launched its own toolkit, powered by Sharpen®, so participants have something to come back to whenever they would like. In its first year, 44 people signed in, averaging 6.5 visits each, and four out of five visits were return visits (Resiliency Technologies, 2026). Their favorite modules? Talk About It, Feelin’ Feelings, Take Time to Rest, and Explore Mindfulness.

Supporting veterans

Learn more about how the Sharpen® system supports veterans and their families at sharpenminds.com. A portion of every purchase that includes the Sharpen® Warrior modules will benefit the Upstate Warrior Solution mission.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255, to reach the Veterans Crisis Line, any time, day or night.

Sources:

Burnette, C., Hall, C., Hussa Farrell, R., Farrell, T. (2019). Sharpen® Warrior user feedback survey, 2017 to 2019 [Unpublished raw data].

Guiding Reins. (n.d.). Guiding Reins [Nonprofit profile]. Benevity. https://fox.benevity.org/community/cause/840-832871650

Resiliency Technologies. (2026). Sharpen® digital performance report: Guiding Reins, October 1, 2025 to November 10, 2026 [Unpublished report].

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2026, February 5). VA releases annual Veteran suicide prevention report, updated with 2023 data [Press release]. https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-releases-annual-veteran-suicide-prevention-report-updated-with-2023-data/

Yes, it gets better… The key is not whether or not our experiences are exactly the same or can be matched. The key has been… to get help from someone. From someone you trust, who you know respects you and what you’ve done, who won’t judge you, and who’s there to truly be of help as much as they can. And that’s how it becomes untangled.