Blog posts with the tag "Military Families"

Staff Perspective: Holiday Stress and Resilience

Dr. Marjorie Weinstock

It’s hard for me to believe, but the winter holidays are fast approaching (it’s amazing how time flies!). While this is often thought of as a time of celebration, it can also be a stressful time of year for many military families. I was recently asked about resources for military families and holiday stress, and I thought this might make a good topic for a blog post.

Guest Perspective: Evolving Challenges of Deployment Communication

Most Service members see deployments as short term intervals, usually interruptions, in their lives. Family, however, is usually viewed as a constant. Communicating with our families, friends, and loved ones while we are deployed is a critical concern for nearly every Service member. Many find it difficult to strike a balance between trying to manage personal and family relationships and remaining focused on the mission and the needs of fellow Service members while deployed. Below is an abbreviated look at how deployment communication has changed over my career, ways my family and I have tried to adapt, and a look at future deployment communication challenges.

Staff Perspective: Civilian Community Support for Military-Connected Families - Thinking Outside of the Box

We know that military families are resilient. They are faced with many stressors that non-military families do not face (deployments, multiple Permanent Change of Stations (PCS), and repeated school transitions for children). Many military families navigate these stressors with minimal difficulty. While military families can navigate these challenges, there are things we as a civilian communities should do to support them. Thinking outside of the box can provide the opportunity to support military-connected families in our communities.

By the Numbers: 29 March 2021

9

The number of times, on average, that a military child dependent transfers schools prior to high school graduation, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) -- K-12 Education: U.S. Military Families Generally Have the Same Schooling Options as Other Families and Consider Multiple Factors When Selecting Schools.

Staff Perspective: Engaging Military-Connected Couples in Treatment

During my 20+ years working in the mental health field, I have worked with multiple military-connected couples. Often, the entry point for couples’ work was a spouse who had been given an ultimatum about working on resolving marital conflict or face separation/divorce. In one study by Pflieger et al. (2018), researchers found that while military couples face additional stressors, the majority of marital dissatisfaction can be explained by stressors not unique to the military service. In my work with couples, I found this to be true. While many of the stressors may have surfaced during their military service (i.e., conflict regarding parental responsibilities during the deployment cycle), the stressors themselves are also found in civilian couples

Pages