Blog posts with the tag "Service Members"

Guest Perspective: Lost Heroes

Over the past several years I have seen the same bewildered expression on the faces of numerous Veterans as they struggle to understand and explain their own actions. After several months of treatment, one such client was finally able to articulate, It’s like there’s a switch in my head that suddenly turns on and it takes everything I’ve got to fight the impulse to do something crazy.”

Guest Perspective: No Pain – No Gain: The Gift of Adversity

Combat stress is an issue that concerns all healthcare professionals and military officers who support and facilitate military readiness.  When YOU reflect on the phenomenon we call Combat stress, do you consider it:

  • An undesirable consequence of war?
  • A disabling force affecting our military men and women?
    OR
  • A source of growth and strength voluntarily sought by those with hardy attitudes?
  • A challenging test one takes to affirm and strengthen personal values for success in life?

Staff Perspective: Decreasing Risk Aversion in Service Members Who Have Deployed

If you spend any time talking candidly with a Veteran or active duty Service member who has deployed during recent military campaigns, you will shortly determine that they are generally hypervigilant and risk averse.  As a clinical psychologist working with Service members and Veterans who have deployed in support of OIFOEF, etc., I continue to realize anecdotal interventions to help address and decrease the negative impact and/or influence of disruptive post-deployment adjustment issues resulting from deployment experiences (to include trauma experiences).  This blog entry will address “risk aversion” (i.e., the post-deployed service member’s or veteran’s tendency to avoid things that, from their perspective, might put their safety or security at risk such as being in crowds, not having control of a situation, going places without plan, etc…).  This “protective” avoidance is extended to the Service member or Veteran’s family and/or loved ones and consequently, has a significant impact on their lives as well. 

Staff Perspective: Evidence-Based Care: Why Are Providers So Resistant to Treatments We Don’t Know?

Debra Nofziger, Psy.D.

While every provider may experience some initial discomfort with implementing an unfamiliar treatment, I am often surprised with how resistant many mental health providers are toward learning and implementing evidence-based treatments.  An article on this topic by Scott Lilienfeld and colleagues demonstrates this resistance, reasons for it, and potential ways to work through it.  I believe providers on all sides of this issue should read this article as a way to both consider another perspective and to clarify their own opinions.

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