Deployment Psychology Blog

Staff Perspective: Surviving Military Families: Supporting Parent-Child Relationships

Elizabeth Burgin, Ph.D.

There are military families living quietly among us who carry a weight that most of us can scarcely imagine. They are the spouses whose hearts shattered at the loss of their partner and experienced another shattering as they found words to tell their children that their parent would never come home. They are the children who learned, at ages far too young, to live without their mom or dad. Surviving military families — those who have lost a service member parent or spouse — benefit greatly from a mental health community that understands the unique dimensions of their loss and is equipped to meet their needs.

Highlights from the 2026 Sleep and Fatigue Management in the DoW Convening

On 3-4 June 2026, the Sleep and Fatigue Management in the DoW Convening Event successfully brought together 138 military stakeholders, researchers, and policymakers in a hybrid format at the HJF Headquarters in Bethesda, MD. In direct response to evolving operational requirements and GAO guidance, the summit aimed to advance cross-agency collaboration, strategically track sleep health research, and address systemic barriers to sleep and fatigue management from both an operational and leadership perspective.

Research Update: 4 June 2026

Research Update icon

The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:
● Firearm Storage and Carrying Practices and Suicidal Behaviors in US Army Service Members.
● Firearm Access Among Military-Connected Youth: A Systematic Review.
● Direct comparison of reconsolidation of traumatic memories and prolonged exposure therapy: A randomized controlled trial.

Practically Speaking: The Club Nobody Wants to Join - Coping with Suicide Loss

“What signs did I miss?” “Are people judging me?” “Should I even be in this field?” The suicide of a loved one triggers many thoughts and emotions in survivors. When the survivor is a mental health professional, those thoughts and emotions can be even more complicated, leading them to question their own skills and capabilities.

Pages