I want to take a moment to discuss one of the biggest joys of being a military psychologist, the clients. To do this, I will answer a question I’m periodically asked:
What do you like about working with military members?
A complete answer would take much more time and space than I have here, but I can summarize it in five major categories.
At this time of year, psychology doctoral students all over the country are starting the internship application process. And many are pondering if becoming a military psychologist is the right choice for them. I was once faced with the same decision, and after years of working for the military on active-duty and as a civilian, I am sharing some general advice on what is needed to work within this system.
Can the stigma against seeking behavioral health treatment ever be fully banished? It's a difficult and important question. A person’s sense of self of identity depends on how they view themselves, or “who” they are instead of “what” they are physically. This distinction can make it relatively easy to seek medical treatment, but so much more threatening to ask for help from behavioral health providers. However, it takes so much more courage to analyze our internal self and admit that change may be needed.
Much of the progress made for servicewomen across all branches of the armed forces can be attributed to recommendations form the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service or DACOWITS. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the DACOWITS. In preparation of this milestone anniversary, the 2020 DACOWITS report includes a detailed historical review of the committees influence from 1951- present (Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services 2020 Annual Report, 2021)
Dr. Rita Brock recently shared her thoughts on moral distress and injury and COVID-19 frontline workers with me. Dr. Brock has spent much of her career as an academic in philosophy and religion, obtaining her doctorate in this field in 1988. Her interests turned toward moral injury after a 2009 article by Dr. Brett Litz “grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go.”