It was the summer of 2007 and I was in the homestretch of planning a wedding to my best friend, an active duty psychologist for the U.S. Navy stationed at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center (now Walter Reed Military Medical Center). We had chosen November 10th for our wedding date. I loved the idea of a fall wedding and my husband, also a former Marine, assured me that he would never forget our anniversary if we got married on the Marine Corps birthday.
Working with Veterans with PTSD is an intense experience where all focus can be on helping alleviate the Veteran's symptoms. What can sometimes get lost in this process is how the Veteran's family and relationships are surviving. PTSD does not happen in a bubble and can have very harsh impacts on relationships. These relationships will be changed even in the best case scenarios. On the flip side, aspects of close relationships will impact how the Veteran's PTSD symptoms are experienced. Following is a review of a recent research article which develops a multi-dimentional model of how relationship qualities can both be impacted by and affect the experience of PTSD.
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:
● Health & Social Work Special Issue: Service Members, Veterans and Their Families
● Military Parent Custody and Visitation (National Conference of State Legislatures)
● Suicide and Military Families: A Report on the Feasibility of Tracking Deaths by Suicide among Military Family Members
Dr. Marjorie Weinstock is the Lead, Military Families & CBT for Depression at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. This week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit down with her to discuss her background and ask her a variety of questions about military life and its impact on families.