Deployment Psychology Blog

Staff Perspective: Storytelling May Strengthen Patient-Provider Relationships and Reduce Stigma

By Paula Domenici  on 03.07.2019 10:30 am

A creative program at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin called My Life, My Story caught my attention recently. This unique initiative invites Veterans to share their life stories with an interviewer who takes notes. Subsequently, the interviewer writes up the Veteran’s story in a one-page first-person account and reviews it with the patient, who can add more details or correct mistakes. The thousand-word biographies are then attached to the patients’ medical records for clinicians to read.

By the Numbers: 1 July 2019

By Shirl Kennedy  on 01.07.2019 11:57 am

10.1%

The percentage of "junior enlisted women" in the U.S. Army who had a baby in 2017, according to a recent story at Military.com -- Birth Control Policies at Boot Camp Affect Military Readiness, Study Finds. This is the highest percentage among the four Service branches; for the Air Force, it was 5.1%; for the Navy, it was 6.1%; and for the Marine Corps, it was 9.7%.

CDP News: 28 June 2019

By Christopher Adams  on 28.06.2019 11:58 am

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. We're wrapping up June and with it our month-long spotlight on PTSD Awareness.

Research Update: 27 June 2019

By Shirl Kennedy  on 27.06.2019 11:50 am
Research Update icon

The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, useful links from around the web. As part of PTSD Awareness month, we've got a handful of specific PTSD-related topics and more! Some of this week's topics include:
● Causes of Excess Mortality in Veterans Treated for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
● Examining the relation between PTSD and insomnia on aggression.
● The Impact of Negative Attributions on the Link Between Observed Partner Social Support and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity.
● “You’re Missing Out on Something Great”: Patient and Provider Perspectives on Increasing the Use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.

Staff Perspective: Faith Heals - Integrating Spirituality to Treat Moral Injury Associated with Combat-Related PTSD

By Kimberly Copeland  on 26.06.2019 9:23 am
Kimberly A. Copeland, Psy.D.

During my recent research on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatments, I have been spending more time reading about moral injury and reflecting on therapeutic practices that incorporate tools such as forgiveness and spirituality into the healing process. I have worked with clients of different faith backgrounds and different spiritual practices. I am careful to ask questions in order to assess what this means to the individual, as I know my own faith expression and experience may be very different from their own. I have worked with clients who are Buddhist, Islamic, Jewish, Wiccan and all have taught me a great deal and we have worked well together. If a client tells me their faith is important to them and wishes we integrate it into treatment, we work on this.

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