Eugenia L. Weiss

Military Culture and Multicultural Diversity among Military Service Members: Implications for Mental Health Providers

The goal of the first part of this chapter is to understand the uniqueness of the military as a culture. Next the chapter provides an overview of sociocultural constructs associated with military culture. The second part of the chapter presents an overview of diversity elements (e.g., gender, sexual orientation) intersecting with military culture. Understanding the diversity within the US Armed Forces is clinically relevant for culturally responsive mental health service delivery to military service members. The third part of this chapter addresses military cultural issues with potential to affect the mental health of military service members. We describe mental health challenges that have been experienced by military personnel in light of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the US involvement in the Global War on Terror, and highlight the resilience of this population under stress. We conclude with recommendations for culturally competent treatment approaches for working with military service members.

Social Workers in Combat: Application of Advanced Practice Competencies in Military Social Work and Implications for Social Work Education.

This article illustrates the types of situations that U.S. uniformed social workers have experienced in combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with the purpose of preparing current and future social workers to effectively serve military and veteran clients in either military or civilian settings. Vignettes demonstrate the application of the military social work competencies as delineated by the Council on Social Work Education based on the 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Implications for social work education are discussed along with the use of case studies through a problem-based learning approach.

Integrating Military and Veteran Culture in Social Work Education: Implications for Curriculum Inclusion

This article explores the conceptual question of how to best integrate military culture and issues into social work education. Military service members, veterans, and their families are returning to civilian communities with the ending of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and seeking community-based providers for health and mental health treatments. Civilian social workers need to have an appreciation for the unique psychosocial stressors and needs of this population to be able to engage and intervene effectively with them. The military lifestyle and its demands require an understanding of topics that include coping and adaptation to stress, ecological and systems theories, family roles and functioning, community capacity to support the population, and the effect of these across the lifespan.

The Vanishing Military Veteran: A Postmodern Disappearance of the Hero

This article brings a postmodern philosophical perspective on the impact of U.S. media, cyber-technology, and the loss of the veteran hero in our current day American culture. Societal ambivalence, media depersonalization, and techno-war tactics along with the collusion of institutional under-responsiveness contribute to the metaphorical and real disappearance, or lack of recognition, and alienation of the veteran and his or her behavioral health needs. This phenomenon also speaks to the denial of community and governmental responsibility that in fact, we all as a society, share toward returning service members in helping them to reintegrate into civilian life with renewed sense of hope, health, dignity, and identity.

Can Health Care Reform End Stigma Toward Mental Illness

ABSTRACT This article addresses the destigmatization of mental health through health care reform by incorporating antistigma efforts—a destaining of mental illness—through prevention and early intervention in community-based programs that would be mandated and funded through the auspices of Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Mental health care policies under the ACA and the Mental Health Parity Act are briefly described, following a definition of mental health stigma and its impacts. Recommendations for statutory mandates in stigma reduction at the community and federal levels and guidelines for mental health/behavioral health providers form the article’s conclusion.

Parental Involvement and Perceptions of School Climate in California

Parental involvement plays a significant role in students’ social and academic outcomes. Nevertheless, systemic ways of gathering parental views have not been used or highlighted in the policy aren...

“We Are Disaster Response Experts”: A Qualitative Study on the Mental Health Impact of Volunteering in Disaster Settings Among Combat Veterans

ABSTRACT Volunteers serving in a disaster context may experience harmful mental health effects that could impede rescue operations. Exploratory research suggests that combat veterans who volunteer in Team Rubicon (TR)—a disaster relief social service organization with the mission of uniting the skills and experiences of military Veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams—have positive mental health responses when providing disaster relief. The objective of this qualitative study was to identify those nuances associated with combat veterans’ mental health response in TR. The study consisted of (N = 9) male combat Veterans who volunteered with TR. Data was thematically analyzed. Results suggested that members did not experience negative mental health effects because of prior military training and preparedness relevant to disaster situations. Positive outcomes in mental health were associated with the uniqueness of peer support in TR and applying skills from military training. Veterans in TR reported that providing disaster relief afforded them the opportunity to continue serving others after having served in the military. Implications for public health social work are discussed as well as the need for further research.

“I’m in a good place now”: A case study of empowerment of a combat veteran engaged in peer-led disaster relief

ABSTRACT This qualitative single case study examines the lived experience of empowerment of a combat veteran with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who engages in volunteer, peer-led disaster response activities with Team Rubicon (TR), a nongovernmental organization. Team Rubicon members utilize unique skill sets of both military veterans and civilian first responders to rapidly deploy response teams to domestic and global emergencies. Minimal research to date disseminates experiences of empowerment among combat veterans. The single case study methodological approach offers a rich descriptive and contextual analysis for exploring implications for mental health stigma reduction in combat veterans through an empowerment lens. The study serves to: provide a preliminary foundation for continued theory building of empowerment in combat veterans through peer-led disaster relief settings, expand research, and offer practical implications for social workers in stigma reduction efforts.

A Performance of Forces: A Combat Veteran, a Poet, and a Psychotherapist in “Narratives Interrupted”

ABSTRACT This essay in “Notes from Field” illustrates the use of poetry therapy through a narrative lens into the inner world of a combat veteran. Through a poem written by a military veteran, a psychotherapist interrupts the poem with alternative possibilities as a means of narrative reconstruction with the client. Poetry, after all, befuddles the reader, not to mention the poet, with poetic devices: multiple-layered metaphor, altered cadences, vague allusions, and grand illusion. The reader is left with the question of what lies ahead of the therapist facing a poem-narrative and a combat veteran client struggling for meaning and hope post war.

School Staff Perceptions of Military-Connected Students in Civilian Public Schools: Implications for Teachers, Counselors, and School Staff

ABSTRACT Nearly all public school districts serve some of the 4 million military-connected students in the United States. Little is known about the perceptions of school staff and their understanding of the challenges facing these students in their schools. Results from 4,616 California school staff in 2011 and 2013 indicate that many believe in their capacity to respond to the needs of these students. However, in many cases, they do not know whether particular challenges or assets exist. These results emphasize the importance of efforts to highlight the needs of this population and that school staff are integral sources of support.