Deployment Psychology Blog

Research Update: 8 August 2024

The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:
● Gun Carrying Among Military-Connected Youth With Past-Year Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Plans.
● Youth Suicide and Preceding Mental Health Diagnosis.
● Suicide in US Preteens Aged 8 to 12 Years, 2001 to 2022.

Staff Perspective: A New Moral Injury Measure

A few months ago, I was treating a patient with PTSD, but after greater exploration of his distress, which included guilt, shame, and feeling betrayed by his military boss, we fleshed out that moral injury was a salient part of his clinical picture. Currently, there is no consensus in the field on the exact definition of moral injury, but one I like refers to it as “enduring psychosocial and spiritual harms following exposures to high-stakes events that involve transgressions of one’s deeply held moral convictions or beliefs of right and wrong through one’s own or others’ action or inaction, or perceived betrayal by those in positions of authority or trust” (Phelps et al., 2022).

Behind the Episode: Practical for Your Practice: Reclaiming Power with Scooby Snacks: Nightmare Rescripting Therapy for Youth

Scooby Snacks, lemon squeezing, and pillowcase drawings…..these are not what I typically envision when implementing EBPs. But then again, I tend to work with adult clients who are likely to run out of my office if I encourage them to wield dog treats while facing their fears. Working with children requires a different approach and benefits from unbridled creativity.

By the Numbers: 29 July 2024

2x to 4x

The rate at which 'Individuals with TBI" ARE "more likely to die by suicide than the general population," according to statistics quoted in a article published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation -- Suicide Attempts and Ideation Among Veterans/Service Members and Non-Veterans Over 5 Years Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Combined NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Study.

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