Blog posts with the tag "Veteran"

Staff Perspective: Should I be Teaching Veterans to Meditate? (Part Two)

By Andrew Santanello  on 11.05.2016 12:07 pm
Andrew Santanello, Psy.D.

Welcome back to part two of our discussion about mindfulness-based interventions. Last time, I shared some of my experiences of leading mindfulness groups for Veterans. I also introduced the concept of a Zen koan as a way of approaching the question, “should I be teaching Veterans to meditate?” In the second part of this blog, I will discuss some additional considerations you might want to make when deciding if you should offer mindfulness to your clients. Before we launch into that, did you do your homework? Have you spent some time sitting with your koan since the last blog? If so, feel free to write any questions or considerations that came up during your practice in the comments section.

Guest Perspective: Employment - Another Tool to Help Your Veteran Clients

By Nathan D. Ainspan  on 12.04.2016 12:08 pm

It should not surprise you to hear that employment is critical for good mental health and can even be part of the treatment for your clients who may have mental health issues. Even though you are not a career counselor, you can still have an enormous impact on your Veteran clients by helping them in their search for post-military employment. This blog will outline the mental health benefits of employment and explain why you should consider integrating the issue of employment into your repertoire of tools for helping your clients. It then suggests how you can help your Veteran clients with their search for employment and lists resources that you can use with them.

Staff Perspective: Should I Be Teaching Veterans to Meditate?

By Andrew Santanello  on 06.04.2016 12:39 pm
Andrew Santanello, Psy.D.

It’s Wednesday afternoon, and I’m sitting, cross-legged, on a meditation cushion in the dayroom at a Veteran’s hospital. There are 13 Veterans sitting around the room; some of them are outpatients and some of them are participants in a residential PTSD program. Some of them are sitting on cushions, but most of them are in chairs. Another psychologist and a few psychology interns are there, too. We are all sitting in silence. About seven minutes into the final period of practice in our mindfulness group, the thought that I knew was coming finally presents itself, front and center, in my mind.

Guest Perspective: Solving Problems Can Enhance Resilience and Improve Adjustment

By Arthur Nezu,  on 05.04.2016 1:37 pm

While conducting workshops for decades around the world for many different types of individuals, both professionals and laypeople, the answer to the question I frequently pose to attendees—“Who here had a week recently devoid of problems?” leads consistently to an absence of raised hands. We all have problems—some small, and unfortunately at times, some being quite overwhelming. Based on this common sense consensus, we would all further agree that it is not abnormal or unusual to have problems. 

Guest Perspective: Sleep Problems in Veterans and Service Members

By Phillip Gehrman  on 29.03.2016 12:34 pm

When I was finishing up my clinical training on internship, I was co-leading a therapy group for WWII Veterans who had all been POWs while in theater. Here it was over 50 years since their military service and they all had the same complaint; they had not been able to get a good night of sleep since that time.  This is unfortunately a common problem for Veterans and active duty Service members.  There have now been several studies reporting high rates of sleep problems, in particular insomnia and nightmares.  

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