I’m a military spouse—a dependent, as we are often referred to in the military community. That word frequently comes with a sting, implying passivity, lack of contribution, and sometimes even entitlement. But my story, like many others, is much more complex than being defined by a label.
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.
Quick question for my military couples: “How did you make it through the pandemic?” Answers range from “It brought us closer” to “We didn’t.” For me and my husband, the answer was couples counseling. As a therapist, I wish I could say that I share this response with pride. I do say it openly—to model healthy behavior for clients, friends, family, and the public—but inside, I’ve felt a twinge of discomfort. Call it fear (of judgment), doubt (about whether it’ll work for us), or embarrassment (about exposing marital imperfections).
As a continuation of last week's blog about readiness assessments, we now attempt to answer questions about the civilian providers' role within these assessments. For example, do civilian providers need to make a readiness determination? What does it mean if a civilian provider does make a readiness determination? What if a civilian provider doesn’t want to provide readiness feedback?!
Military readiness is a critical measure to ensure that service members are both physically and mentally prepared to carry out their duties. As was highlighted in last week’s blog, readiness assessments are vital for maintaining operational effectiveness and helping to ensure that the military is taking care of its service members by identifying problems early and ensuring access to treatment. These evaluations consider both physical and behavioral health; however, today’s post will focus on the behavioral health portion and what specific domains are assessed.