PTSD is one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions, especially among military service members. Despite growing awareness, myths persist—about who gets it, why it happens, and what it looks like. To help clear things up, here’s a fictional but realistic conversation between a service member and his behavioral health provider, designed to separate fact from fiction.
When the world shut down in 2020, I found freedom and healing not in my living room—but in a forgotten forest, as a chaotic hero with a big sword and even bigger self-doubts. It is early March of 2020, and an unprecedented event is taking place around the world. A global pandemic on a scale that few living today have ever experienced has halted daily life as we know it. The world has shut down and for many of us the way we interact with our jobs has changed drastically.
If you’ve been side-eyeing the rise of AI in mental health, this episode of Practical for Your Practice is one you don’t want to miss. Dr. David Cooper, Executive Director of Therapists in Tech and member of the APA's Mobile Health Tech Advisory Committee (AND one of our EBP Conference 2025 PMI workshop presenters), joins us for a down-to-earth and engaging deep dive into what AI actually means for therapists. Spoiler: it’s not Skynet.
The collaboration study "Turning Training into Action: Translating Training of Behavioral Health Providers into Evidence-Based Practices" is led by Dr. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth from the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University, with CDP site-PI Jeffrey Cook. The study utilizes the Star Behavioral Health Providers (SBHP) program, a training and referral system used by the National Guard Bureau to elevate the standard of community-based behavioral health services. SBHP recruits and equips community providers with evidence-based knowledge through online and in-person training delivered to thousands across the country.
As a military spouse, mother of three extraordinary military children, and researcher on military families, I know military families and children are resilient. Like many other military families, our story includes cross-country and global moves, navigating the emotional terrain of multiple deployments, making friends and moving away from them, and growing through it all. However, personally and through my research, I also know that resilience isn't an innate characteristic; it's a dynamic quality that is carefully cultivated.