(Online Course) The Impact of Deployment and Combat Stress on Families and Children, Part 1

135 minutes

Description

The goal of this interactive online training is to provide an introduction to some general information regarding the deployment cycle and how it impacts the Service member and family unit. It is intended to help civilian mental health providers better understand the myriad stressors associated with pre-deployment, deployment and reintegration, in addition to family risk and resiliency factors, so they are more equipped to engage in treatment with this important client group.

Outline

 

  1. Introduction
  2. Demographic Characteristics of Service members and their families
    1. General demographics
    2. Dual military marriages
    3. Single parents
    4. Age of Active Component (AC) spouses
    5. Age of children
    6. Reserve Component (RC) vs. Active Duty
    7. Implications for RC families
    8. Demographics of Service members who recently deployed
  3. General and deployment related stressors
    1. Stressors and challenges for military families
    2. Moving
    3. Marital satisfaction
    4. Military specific demands
  4. Summary of research findings: risk and resiliency
    1. Risk and resiliency for military families throughout deployment
    2. What do we know about children and deployment?
      1. Do previous findings generalize?
      2. Impact of the Global War on Terror on Children
  5. The deployment cycle
    1. Pre-deployment phase – notification, preparation and training.
      1. Pre-deployment stressors
      2. Emotional responses of family members pre-deployment
    2. Deployment Phase: departure, sustainment, combat and conflict
      1. Service member experience
      2. Combat experience and family separation
      3. Deployment stressors for spouse
      4. Deployment stressors for children and adolescents
        1. Warning signs children/adolescents may exhibit
      5. Other issues during deployment
        1. Financial
        2. Communication
        3. Length of deployment
    3. Post-deployment: homecoming and reunion
      1. Post-deployment stressors
      2. Common stressors for Service member
        1. Common reactions post-deployment
        2. Change in mindset
      3. Reserve Component Service members
      4. Changes for family
      5. Spouse’s reactions
      6. Realities for children/adolescents
        1. Common responses for infants, children and adolescents
    4. Child maltreatment/Domestic Violence and deployment
  6. Reintegration with wounded warriors and death of a Service member
    1. Severely combat-injured Service member
      1. Service member’s reactions
      2. Spouse’s reactions
      3. Impact of parental injury on children
        1. Injury communication to children
      4. Helping the injured family
    2. Psychiatric injury
      1. Percent of Service members screening positive
      2. Family problems and OIF/OEF Veterans with psychiatric symptoms
      3. PTSD and the family
        1. Parenting and PTSD
      4. Assessing and treating families
    3. Death of a Service member
      1. Death of a spouse
      2. Death of a parent

Learning Objectives

  1. To discuss demographic and risk characteristics of military families.

  2. To describe general and deployment-related stressors for military families and the stages of the deployment cycle.

  3. To summarize the research on risk and resiliency factors for military families, the effects of PTSD on families, and the challenges for families coping with the injury or death of a Service member. 

Notes

Military Cultural Competence, is recommended as a prerequisite.