Deployment Psychology Blog

Staff Perspective: Supporting Children During Deployment – Lessons Learned from Three Providers

By Augusto Ruiz  on 29.04.2020 1:19 pm
Augusto Ruiz, Psy.D.

Despite the current COVID-19 pandemic, our Service members are still preparing to deploy and stand the watch in critical locations around the world and now at home. The current crisis has made deployments even more disruptive with deployment extensions and last-minute activations as our nation and states embrace for the consequences of this pandemic while maintaining our overseas presence. The personal impact of these deployments is still significant for our service members and their families, and especially for their children.

By the Numbers: 27 April 2020

By Shirl Kennedy  on 27.04.2020 2:30 pm

1 in 4

The number of "active duty and retired service members" who "had a filled opioid prescription in 2017," according to an article published last fall in the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch publication, Medical Surveillance Monthly Report -- Surveillance Snapshot: Trends in Opioid Prescription Fills Among U.S. Military Service Members During Fiscal Years 2007–2017.

Staff Perspective: Caring for the Mental Health Needs of the Military Child (& Adolescent)

By Kimberly Copeland  on 23.04.2020 2:54 pm
Kimberly Copeland, Psy.D.

Lliving among a robust military community and working with military children and adolescents and their families brings to mind that, for the most part, military children are extremely resilient and certainly have more strengths than weaknesses. (See my blog on Celebrating & Caring for the Military Child: Honoring our Youngest Heroes Year-Round). In fact, military kids tend to flex, adapt and overcome in parallel to their parent’s experiences.

Research Update: 23 April 2020

By Shirl Kennedy  on 23.04.2020 1:18 pm

The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, useful links from around the web. As April is the Month of the Military Child, we will include additional information focused on military children. Some of this week's topics include:

● Examination of the Interpersonal Model With Adolescent Military Dependents at High Risk for Adult Obesity.
● Examining Impacts of Cumulative Risk on Military-Connected Youth and the Role of Family in Coping.
● Tell Me A Story: Promoting resiliency in military children with a bibliotherapy intervention.

By the Numbers: 20 April 2020

By Shirl Kennedy  on 20.04.2020 3:43 pm

60%

The percentage of people with a substance abuse disorder who also have a mental health disorder, according to a new publication from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine -- Key Policy Challenges and Opportunities to Improve Care for People with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. Overall, according to this publication -- which comprises the proceedings of a workshop held October 15-16, 2019, in Washington, DC -- "Behavioral health and substance use disorders affect approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population."

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