Jonathan Bittner, 34, who grew up in Telford, Montgomery County, admits he was a terrible student at Souderton High School. “I got C's and D's,” he said last week. “I could not focus on the work, and I really struggled, so I was not a very good candidate for college.”

Bittner did take some community college courses but with similarly poor results. So he enlisted in the Army at age 18, as had his father, uncles, cousins and other family members of previous generations. He wound up in the military for nine years and would have gladly stayed longer (“I loved it and miss everything about the military”), but he was medically retired.

Jon had a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2007-2008, where his primary job was to protect an Army chaplain (“The Taliban put a price on his head because he was a Christian”), but he also visited and counseled wounded soldiers, and he set up memorial services for soldiers who had been killed.

Jon was not physically wounded, although “We did get attacked a lot,” but he did return home with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a serious brain injury. He has received extensive therapy and medication.

“I had nightmares and could not sleep,” he said. “I had a hard time coming to grips with the fact that a guy you know is alive one minute and gone the next. I had several friends die. I had panic attacks and had a disconnect from people. I used alcohol to deal with these things.

“I did not let family and friends know what I had experienced, but friends could see the difference. I couldn't focus on anything, Many vets feel they are broken; about 22 vets take their own lives every day in the U.S., but when you start giving back to other vets, you realize you are not broken.”

Jon's wife, Lauren, 33, who has a private therapy practice in Skippack and teaches at Delaware Valley University, said, “When you have a traumatic brain injury, you have to sleep more, and you have to work much harder than the average person to get things done.”

Thanks to therapy, medication and a strong desire to help other vets, Jon, who had always done poorly in school, proceeded to take six years of college course work in just four years, earning a BA in Psychology from Immaculata University and a a Master's in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Chestnut Hill College. And starting this fall he will be pursuing a doctorate degree in Psychology at Holy Family University.

In addition to his academic work, Jon has directed veteran non-profits and continues to volunteer as a crisis line worker for Operation Ward 57, a local non-profit for veterans. (“People often call in the middle of the night, and they need the support from someone who understands what they're going through.”) He also served as program director for Compeercorps Veterans Program in Delaware County until May of this year.

Jon is now finding a new way to serve veterans with PTSD as well as EMTs and other first responders. Last month he opened the Chestnut Hill Therapy Collective at 8504 Germantown Ave., second floor. (There is also an entrance on Highland Avenue, about 75 yards west of Germantown.) There are also two other therapists in the practice, Kristine Dolce and Andrew Negrey. Jonathan offers individual, couples' and group sessions with psychodynamic, trauma-informed and mindfulness practices.

Bittner began the center's three-year lease in May with an “amazing landlord,” using the couple's life savings. “Another therapist was going to fund it,” said Jon, “but she backed out when she decided that she could not afford it. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, though.”

At the end of April the Bittners started a GoFundMe page to support the new center. Its goal was $34,000 for months of rent and construction. As of June 4 they had raised $5,430.

Regarding the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the longest in U.S. history, Jon said, “The U.S. military was successful. We never lost a battle. Girls were able to go back to school. People were able to play music and fly kites, which were forbidden under the Taliban. We can hold our heads high because we did what we were sent to do, although now the Taliban will come back.”

For more information about the new Chestnut Hill Therapy Collective, call 215-970-9490 or visit chestnuthilltherapycollective.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com