Dr. Marjorie Weinstock is the Lead, Military Families & CBT for Depression at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. This week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit down with her to discuss her background and ask her a variety of questions about military life and its impact on families.
When we think about the families of service members, we often picture a spouse, perhaps several children, struggling to cope with military moves, long absences, and the upheaval of the deployment cycle. But other family members struggle to adjust to military service as well. Parents of Service Members are an unrecognized group, who often don’t receive the attention they deserve for devotedly buoying their sons and daughters throughout the deployment cycle. These mothers and fathers are rarely validated for what they go through or thanked for the endless support they give their sons and daughters.
“Do as I say, not as I do.”
How often have we given advice…wonderful, wise advice…to our patients and never once considered its relevance to ourselves? The answer to this is, of course, often, very, very often.
Clinicians routinely talk to patients about the need for balance between work and personal life, the importance of good sleep hygiene, exercise, socialization and eating well. What prevents many of us from acting on this advice?
As I work with clinicians who are trained in evidence-based treatments for PTSD, one query is raised repeatedly…Should I use Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or Prolonged Exposure (PE) to treat patient X?
PTSD is one of the signature disorders of the OIF/OEF conflict. PTSD is characterized by symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing and hyperarousal. As many as 20% of the US service members returning from Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001 may have PTSD (www.iom.edu/militaryptsd). We may safely assume that a significant number of veterans from the current conflict and other eras will need effective treatment to alleviate PTSD symptoms. Let’s review…
A common concern we hear from new PE therapists is that they’re not sure how to record sessions or are uncomfortable setting this expectation about the treatment.
If recording sessions has not been explained to your patient before they arrive to Session #1 of the treatment, or even if it has been mentioned to them before, it’s important at the very beginning of the first session to explain this standard procedure (again) and why it is used in PE. Candor is critical.