After a massage focused on the flow of spinal fluid Tuesday morning, military veteran Tasha McGinley’s thoughts felt crisper. 

“I’ve been not as scatterbrained,” she explained. 

The craniosacral therapy, a light massage focused along the spinal column to help cerebrospinal fluid flow better, is one of three therapies offered to clients of the Healing Warriors Program.

Through a once-a-week clinic in Colorado Springs, the nonprofit offers free sessions of acupuncture and Healing Touch Therapy as well. Healing Touch is focused on gentle massage that promotes healing and relieves pain, according to the nonprofit’s website.  

“You just come out feeling lighter,” McGinley said of Healing Touch, noting the duration of the feeling varies from person to person. 

As both a client of the clinic and the outgoing client care specialist, McGinley has experienced the benefits of the treatments herself and worked with about 100 clients over the last year on their goals for therapy. 

The clinic is a satellite office of the Fort Collins-based nonprofit Healing Warriors Program and opened in March 2025. 

The main office was launched in 2013 amid the national opioids crisis, a rising suicide rate among veterans and long wait times at the Veterans Health Administration, according to the organization’s website. 

Many of those who took their lives had experienced poor sleep, high levels of pain, high stress and just overall decline, McGinley said. Many post 9/11 veterans were also prescribed highly addictive opioids to treat pain from combat injuries.

The alternative therapy sessions, each an hour in length or longer, work to relieve pain and stress and are not just a Band-Aid for symptoms, she said. The nonprofit’s data shows that most veterans report at least a 50% decline in their pain. 

While most veterans come in for chronic pain relief, the therapies can reduce post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms as well. The care can allow clients to think about traumatic memories and not be upset by them, McGinley explained. 

The military often instills a hypervigilance in service members, she explained. 

“But they don’t teach us to settle that stress response once you’re out of the military,” she said. 

The clinic encourages new clients to try all three therapies, although it’s not a requirement. After the introductory sessions, the client care specialist will meet with veterans to see how they responded to each and build a schedule of appointments. Grant funding typically covers 21 free sessions for each client. 

Addressing pain and stress in veterans’ lives has allowed them to watch the news again without getting too angry and have the energy to reengage with their families, she said. 

While McGinley is stepping away from her care-management role next week, she expects to remain a client because the therapy helped her manage stress. 

“I wasn’t crashing. I wasn’t spiraling,” she said, explaining the therapy allowed her to step outside of just survival mode and make good decisions.

Veterans can call 970-512-8550 or email coloradospringsappointments@healingwarriorsprogram.org for appointments hosted at the American Legion Post 209 at 3613 Jeannine Drive in Colorado Springs.