Deployment Psychology Blog

Staff Perspective: Don’t we all just want to be safe?

By Sharon Birman  on 23.12.2015 11:10 am

If you would ask any stranger on the street if they like to feel safe, it is likely that they respond “Yes”.  This is nothing new or surprising.  In fact, most young children can articulate this concept.  It is clear that the need for safety is innate. It makes sense then that we all yearn for a sense of safety.  Every one of us has people, places, or things that contribute to our sense of safety. We see the need for safety all around us. We see it in the infant reaching out to his caretaker when feeling scared.  As early as infancy, safety signals can include a “blanky,” a stuffed animal, or any other transitional object.  In other words, we give ordinary objects, extraordinary power!

By the Numbers - Dec. 21, 2015

By Shirl Kennedy  on 21.12.2015 1:43 pm

213,600

The number of remaining closed positions, comprising 52 military occupational specialties, that will be opened up to women via a December 3 memorandum (PDF) signed by Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. Most of these specialties are in Army and Marine Corps infantry/armor units. In his memorandum, Ash directed the secretaries of all military departments and chiefs of military departments "to provide their final, detailed plans" for integrating women into these positions by January 1, 2016. 

CDP News: Dec. 18, 2015

By Christopher Adams  on 18.12.2015 1:54 pm

Welcome to this week’s edition of CDP News! We like to use this space to review recent happenings in and around the Center for Deployment Psychology, while also looking ahead to upcoming events. The next week couple of weeks are going to be pretty slow due to the approaching holidays, but we had a few things happening this week to talk about.

Research Update: Dec. 17, 2015

By Shirl Kennedy  on 17.12.2015 12:36 pm

This is our final Research Update for 2015. Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season, and we'll see you again on January 7, 2016.

The CDP's weekly research update contains the latest news, journal articles and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:

● Holidays and PTSD: PTSD Monthly Update - December 2015
● Considerations for Integrating Women into Closed Occupations in the U.S. Special Operations Forces

Staff Perspective: Suicide and Stigma: A Review of the Literature and Personal Reflections

By Regina Shillinglaw  on 16.12.2015 1:44 pm

Having recently participated in a local suicide prevention event in my local community, this article about suicide and stigma caught my eye.  I was invited by a group of individuals to help with a suicide awareness and prevention walk sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and to help with a community educational meeting about suicide about two weeks after the walk.  Most of the individuals who are a part of this group have had personal experience with suicide, losing one or more family members in this way.

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