Blog posts with the tag "Military Culture"

Staff Perspective: The Role of Social Media in Suicide Prevention

The Internet has become an increasingly powerful form of information dissemination and communication media over the last two decades. Even more recently, the Internet has been leveraged for the treatment of a wide range of health-related problems. All the while, social media platforms have been increasingly used for the expression of suicidal thoughts and feelings. Despite this, little is known about the ways in which social media can be used for suicide prevention (Karras et al., 2018).

Staff Perspective: Can Good People Do Bad Things?

Sharon Birman, Psy.D.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among Service members and Veterans receives a lot of well-deserved attention. That said, it was not until 1992, that the term Moral Injury was coined by Dr. Jonathan Shay to describe the devastating impacts of an event or experience that violates one’s personal ideals, ethics, moral expectations, conscience, or attachments. Since moral expectations are at the core of who we are as humans, moral injury describes a fracture to one’s deepest sense of being. The result of this moral violation can lead to guilt, existential crisis, and loss of trust (Jinkerson, 2016).  

Staff Perspective: Supporting the Transition from Military to Civilian Life

Marjorie Weinstock, Ph.D.

In September of 2017, soon after my active-duty husband passed his 20-year mark in the military, I wrote a blog looking at current data on the transition from military to civilian life. Now, two years later, he’s currently on terminal leave, and it seemed like a good time to revisit this topic.

Staff Perspective: Reintegration Experiences of Service Members and Veterans - Challenges and Changes!

Erin Frick ,Psy.D.

While there are a variety of challenges during the reintegration process, the most commonly reported ones included determining where to live, career/educational pursuits (i.e., Do I go into the workforce or go back to school? What kind of job do I want now?), and establishing new routines. One thing that most all Service members will say is that the military provides a structure to life that simply isn’t inherently found in a civilian lifestyle. One friend noted, “Going from a set schedule and working outside the home to being a stay-at-home parent and fulltime student has been challenging.” Another noted, “I wasn’t sure if I could do the same job in the same place with the same people year after year.” He indicated that the intrinsic changes associated with military service was one aspect he valued and during the reintegration process he was struggling with fears of stagnancy possible in a traditional civilian career field.

Staff Perspective: The Art of Reintegration – How to Become a Civilian

Debra Nofziger, Psy.D.

Every Service member leaving active duty has the experience of reintegrating with the civilian life, as well as their civilian side. While this may be looked forward to by many, it is nonetheless, a time of anxiety as Service members figure out how to move from one role and "identity" to something else. I have both experienced this and watched it in others. What I've found is that people do not fundamentally change as much as, or in the ways, they think. The role changes, who they are does not. 

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