Previously, I wrote on "My Experience With Pet Therapy." This time around I thought it would be helpful to answer some commonly asked questions I am often asked in my discussions of Pet Therapy with people and during Pet Therapy encounters. In addition, I am including some things I have learned along the way pertaining to setting up Pet Therapy programs and working within the programs.
Welcome to Friday and out weekly summary of happenings in and around the Center for Deployment Psychology, CDP News. First up, today marks the final day to register for 2013 Midwest Regional 1-Week Civilian Training to be held in Madison, WI June 3-7. This is a great opportunity for behavioral health providers who work with (as well as those who would like to begin working with) Service Members and Veterans to increase their skills. If you’re interested in attending, sign up quick! Registration ends at the close of business today.
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:
• MSRC News ‐ May 2013
• Life Goes On: The Experiences of Wives of Multiply‐Deployed National Guard Soldiers
• Tentative Eligibility Determinations; Presumptive Eligibility for Psychosis and Other Mental Illness (VA)
• Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Treatment Response in Prolonged Exposure for PTSD.
In 2001, I arrived in Keflavik, Iceland on a freezing cold Friday evening and instantly wondered why I had picked this duty station. That night we were taken to the supply warehouse and were all issued eighty pounds of cold weather gear. The next morning we were on our first training hike which culminated with a traditional hike up Mount Olfus. Upon reaching the top we were all welcomed to the command and presented with the Marine Corps Security Force Company Keflavik Iceland Challenge Coin.
The increase in the hospitalization rate for military members between 2002 and 2006 versus the increase between 2006 and 2012, according to an editorial in the April issue of the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, a publication of the Armed Forces Surveillance Center. Once again it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words. The editorial -- Signature Scars of the Long War -- contains this dramatic graph.