Blog posts with the tag "Providers"

Staff Perspective: What is Readiness and Why is it so Important?

By Amanda McCabe  on 08.01.2025 1:25 pm
Dr. Amanda McCabe

As behavioral health providers who work with military service members, we hear the term ‘readiness’ often and may wonder what it means and how it could impact our work with our military clients. Generally speaking, readiness refers to the military’s capability to do its job, whether that’s during training, combat operations, or humanitarian missions. In order to ensure that the military can meet its missions, commanders need to know if their service members are able to deploy or work in an austere environment for an extended period of time.

Practically Speaking: Behind the Episode, “Who’s Got Your Six?”

By Kevin Holloway  on 07.01.2025 11:58 am

Practical for Your Practice is entering its sixth season, and this is a great time for us to reflect on who’s got our six. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about who I have relied on in times of difficulty or challenge, or even in those pivotal moments in my career. So many people have helped and supported me both in my personal and professional life. It was difficult to choose just one to share in this episode.

Staff Perspective: Focus on Peace – An Antidote for Provider Helplessness

By Debra Nofziger  on 04.12.2024 5:28 pm
Dr. Deb Nofziger

Is it normal to feel helpless as a provider when working with people who are in ongoing traumatic situations, like war? In my opinion, absolutely yes. As providers, we are trained to help alleviate problems and suffering. But that isn’t usually possible when someone is in an ongoing situation.

Staff Perspective: A New Moral Injury Measure

By Paula Domenici  on 07.08.2024 9:57 am

A few months ago, I was treating a patient with PTSD, but after greater exploration of his distress, which included guilt, shame, and feeling betrayed by his military boss, we fleshed out that moral injury was a salient part of his clinical picture. Currently, there is no consensus in the field on the exact definition of moral injury, but one I like refers to it as “enduring psychosocial and spiritual harms following exposures to high-stakes events that involve transgressions of one’s deeply held moral convictions or beliefs of right and wrong through one’s own or others’ action or inaction, or perceived betrayal by those in positions of authority or trust” (Phelps et al., 2022).

Practically Speaking: Behind the Episode: The Big Bears

By Carin Lefkowitz  on 17.07.2024 6:22 pm
Dr. Carin Lefkowitz

The confidence to effectively treat comorbid substance use disorders and mental illness has always eluded me. I can competently explain the rationale for treating both concurrently and I happily collaborate with providers who can address significant substance use concerns. But the task of becoming familiar with effective treatments (such as medication-assisted treatment) feels overwhelming to me. This is unfortunate because the need for such expertise clearly exists.

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