“The amount of progress in Caleb’s six years of therapy has been frustrating for everyone.”

– Evaluative claim that judges the progress of the therapy is frustrating because the quality of therapy over the last six years has been insufficient.

“But ultimately, says Alain Brunet, vice president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and director of the Traumatic Stress Laboratory at McGill University in Canada, “we have reason to be reasonably optimistic. Psychotherapy does work for typical PTSD.”

–Recommendation claim when the vice president wants us to adopt a different view by stating we have a reason to be optimistic. He is trying to make us believe that Psychotherapy works. 

“The VA tends to favor cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy—whereby traumatic events are hashed out and rehashed until they become, theoretically, less consuming.”

– Categorical claim because behavioral therapy and exposure therapy both relate to the category of being beneficial for treating PTSD. 

“Some state VA offices also offer group therapy. For severe cases, the agency offers inpatient programs, one of which Caleb resided in for three months in 2010.”

-The offer that allows veterans into a program is based on the case and its severity. It is an evaluative claim because it judges the quality of PTSD.

The VA also endorses eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), which is based on the theory that memories of traumatic events are, in effect, improperly stored, and tries to refile them by discussing those memories while providing visual or auditory stimulus.

-When stating what EMDR is and the theory EMDR is based upon, the author is making a definition claim.

“While veterans are waiting for those to work, they’re often prescribed complicated antidepressant-based pharmacological cocktails.”

–Casual claim that implies veterans without jobs causes them to get antidepressant-based pharmacological cocktails.

“Currently, the agency is funding 130 PTSD-related studies, from testing whether hypertension drugs might help to examining the effectiveness of meditation therapy, or providing veterans with trauma-sensitive service dogs, like Caleb’s.”

–Numerical claim stating the number of funded studies are testing to help PTSD. An analogy claim also appears saying that the trauma-sensitive service dogs needed are like Caleb’s service dog. 

“The Mental Health Research Portfolio manager says the organization is “highly concerned and highly supportive” of PTSD research.”

-The judgment of the organization, VA, being very supportive is an evaluative claim. The manager is taking what the VA has done and thought that their efforts have shown they are highly concerned and supportive of PTSD research.

“Up until 2006, the VA was spending $9.9 million, just 2.5 percent of its medical and prosthetic research budget, on PTSD studies. In 2009, funding was upped to $24.5 million.”

–Numerical claim stating the boost in funds spent on PTSD studies from 2006 to 2009.