is meditation a real cure-all for anyone?

In the class, we discussed alcoholism issues in the military and PTSD.  The issues are definitely linked, and the alcohol culture among current military personnel and vets is very real.  However, to what extent can meditation really help someone struggling with addiction issues and PTSD.  I think meditation is very good to persue - but it should be done with caution.  For someone who stuggles to close their eyes at night because they cannot help but to relive their previous horrors, do we really want to suggest they close their eyes during the day and stop thinking about things?  Any meditator knows that it takes time to be able to develop the concentration necessary to maintain focus on the breath or the body, or some other object of concentration - and not have some other streams of thoughts come in that we have to observe, realize they're coming in, and then bring our focus back.  I think this could be good practice, but it is rather risky as well.

Meditation is mind training - and like any physical training program we have to be careful when the body isn't completely healthy.  Wind sprints might be good for someone trying to get faster, but do you really suggest that for someone who might be naturally athletic, but comes in with a badly sprained ankle?

Likewise, I think we have to be careful in the types of meditation we suggest to someone who might have PTSD or other difficult symptoms due to past traumatic experiences.  Meditation can be a great tool.  But I think activities that offer guided meditations would be much more beneficial for a while.  For example, having a guided body-scan in which new instructions are given every 20-30 seconds can help keep the mind on track, focused on the task at hand.  SOme other visualizations could be helpful as well, such as a version of Thich Nhat Hanh's 4 Earth Touchings or any of a series of basic vajrayana visualizations (There are a plethera of vajrayana body-scans and light-based visualizations that could be helpful).
After practice and building up familiarity with the concentration of such practices, more time could slowly be devoted to silence, thus building up the capability to deal with these moments of darkness. 

I think similar strategies could be used for those heavy into addiction cycles who have trouble with concentration.  Don't start right away with too much blank quiet time.  Work at the meditation, but start for a while with something guided, where there is a consistent flow of instruction.  Slowly work up the concentration to be able to work with longer periods of silence.