Peter Yeomans, Ph.D, M.Ed, a longtime Germantown resident and clinical psychologist for the Veterans Administration (VA) who provided therapy to countless civilians and veterans struggling with the effects of traumatic experiences, addiction and other major life events, died unexpectedly at work of cardiac arrhythmia on Aug. 28 at age 58.
“Yeomans was a fixture of the Northwest Philly community, known and beloved by the Germantown Friends School community, Germantown Friends Meeting and just about everyone who ever had the good fortune to meet him,” Lila Berman, former history professor at Temple University who now teaches American Jewish History at New York University, told the Local last week.
Yeomans developed a pathbreaking approach to treating not just physical and mental health challenges faced by veterans but also what he called their “moral injuries.” He had just completed a book on a therapeutic and spiritual approach in which therapists and chaplains work together. This treatment protocol is now certified by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. It effectively demands accountability from the public that sent them into war.
Yeomans earned a doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Drexel University and completed his clinical psychology internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. He served as director of the PTSD clinical team for the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, the primary VA hospital serving the Philadelphia area.
The PTSD clinical team handles the most severe PTSD cases for veterans in the greater Philadelphia area. Yeomans frequently presented on the treatment of PTSD at national conferences and often spoke on panels and radio programs about these topics.
Julie Zavage, a colleague of Yeoman at the VA, told the Local, “In his professional life, Peter’s influence was enormous. He was an expert in caring for people with trauma-related disorders. His technical knowledge and expertise were balanced with such an immense warmth and genuine respect for his patients that it was easy to forget at times the authority that he held in the field. Peter was beloved.
“He was not afraid to let his patients affect him, move him or even change him, and because he was so open-hearted in this work, he often was moved to tears by his patients’ suffering, their vulnerability, their wisdom and the beauty inherent in their healing.”
In the dedication to his upcoming book, published by Rutledge Press, Yeomans wrote: “Some veterans came [to see me] only once; some came 50 times. Every visit left me convinced that our nation would be better for knowing you and your stories, your struggles, your outrage, your resilience, your integrity. Life can feel meaningless and sorrowful; safety is fleeting, and death can come quickly. Aloneness is unbearable. Your wisdom about these truths touches the part of me that wishes they were not so but knows them to be true.”
In addition to psychology, Yeomans’ other passion was the outdoors. In his 20s, he worked as a field instructor and program supervisor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, which led to countless days in the backcountry of Wyoming, Alaska, Utah and other western states, either leading courses or climbing with friends.
He spent countless nights sleeping on the ground in deep winter snow, on desert sandstone or tucked into a bivy (waterproof cover of a sleeping bag) high on a mountain pass or ledge.
Yeomans’ wife, Kate O’Shea, principal of the lower school of Wissahickon Charter School’s Awbury campus, told the Local, “Pete introduced this backwoods adventuring to me right from day one. In our first six months together, we did a week-long backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. He took me on a backcountry ski-camping trip in the mountains of Wyoming and built me a snow shelter that we slept in. So many adventures. Pete truly believed people could do things that we weren’t even sure we were capable of doing.
“For our honeymoon, we took a train across Canada to the Canadian Rockies. First, we did a simple, easy backpacking trip, but then Pete planned a peak ascension, a technical mountaineering route up Mount Edith Cavell. Packed in our bags along with our regular gear were ice axes, ropes and crampons. The day before our climb, he had me practice self-arresting — sliding down a snowfield, flipping over and digging the ice axe in to stop.
“That night, we stayed at a mountaineering hut. We hiked the trail section first, then roped up. We hit technical sections sooner than Pete anticipated, requiring us to put on our crampons and pull out our ice axes. It was exposed and a little scary.
“Pete grew concerned about visibility. It’s never easy to make the call to turn around, but Pete always put safety first. We had to down-climb everything we had just come up, which is so much harder than climbing up. That day was a true testament to how Pete was always pushing the people around him to try new things, attempt bigger adventures, trust themselves and trust him, which I always, always did.”
The Rev. Raharuhi Koia, who was an Army chaplain for 25 years in the New Zealand Defense Force, posted the following tribute online: “I am also a trained counselor and focus on mental health of veterans. Along with Mr. Dan Johnson, another Kiwi from New Zealand, we both teamed up with Peter to do a presentation on Moral Injury in Canada (Winnipeg) at a 2024 conference.
“It was such a privilege to meet Peter in person and to work collaboratively raising awareness of Moral Injury ... There is much more to say about Peter and our strong connection, but for now Dan and I want to say that we love him and will miss him dearly.”
In addition to Kate, Yeomans is survived by his brother, Ben; close friend Will Anninger of Mt. Airy, and children Ada O’Shea-Yeomans, Levi Yeomans and Josiah Yeomans and many friends, co-workers and admirers. Yeomans is also survived by his parents, Thomas and Anne Yeomans.
Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.
