Introduction

Introduction

Many social workers, regardless of primary practice area, will work with clients who do, or have, served in the Military and/or with their family members including spouses, partners, children, and parents of the Service Member or Veteran.

Military Terms

• Army Brat: A child of an army member. An army brat moves around a lot, and has lived near or on base their entire lives.

• Quarters: Government-owned housing for military families.

• Family Readiness Group (FRG): An organization of officers, enlisted personnel and family members. This organization provides a support network for military families and guard members. FRG is most active during periods of separation, annual training, deployments, mobilization, etc.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), where military social work was established over 50 years ago, includes civilian social workers assigned to military components and over 500 active military personnel who are practicing social workers(NASW, 2011b).

In addition, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) established the first social work program in the Veterans Bureau in 1926 and is now the largest employer of master’s-level social workers in the nation.

Facts

The VA is also affiliated with over 180 graduate schools of social work and operates the largest and most comprehensive clinical training program for social work students in the United States, training 900 students per year (VA, 2012).

Social workers also work in different direct practice and advocacy organizations, whether their mission is to specifically assist Service Members, Veterans, and their families with direct services or to advocate with and on behalf of this population.

Facts

The need for social workers who are educated, trained, and skilled in working with this population has increased,and client needs are often complex, making the demandeven more critical. There are already significant shortagesof social workers in several fields of practice, and theseshortages will increase as the baby boomers continue to age (NASW, 2011a).

Facts

Statistics• America has over 2 million service members and

almost 22 million living veterans.• Every day, 22 veterans take their own lives.

That's a suicide every 65 minutes. • 80% of military spouses are women under the

age of 35.• Service members are more likely to be married at

a younger age and have young children at home compared to their civilian counterparts.

Statistics• Military families relocate 2.4 times more often

than civilian families; on average, every 2-3 years.• In military families across America, more than

900,000 children experienced the deployment of one or both parents multiple times

• 62% of Iraq and Afghanistan service men and women receive some form of mental health care after returning to the states.

• Almost one third of military children are at high risk to function abnormally in social groups.

Who are Service Members

Service Member describes any member of theU.S. Armed Forces. There are seven UniformedServices of the United States, including theArmy, the Navy, the Air Force, the MarineCorps, and the Coast Guard.

The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps are Uniformed Services but not Armed Services. This term is inclusive of those who are active duty, mobilized, onorders, or deployed.

Problems

• Marital and Family Relationship issues• Deployment and Reintegration• Mental and Behavioral Health Issue • Unemployment • Substance Abuse

Marital and Relationship Issues

• Between 2011 and 2012, the divorce rate went down slightly in every service among male and female service members of all ranks.

• Enlisted female soldiers and Marines, however, continue to experience the highest rate of divorce 9.4 % and 9.3 % respectively. In the Army, the female enlisted divorce rate is more than triple that of enlisted males. Still, those rates are down from the 2011 rates of 9.6 % in Army and 9.8 % in the Marine Corps.

Unemployment

• In many cases, military spouses move from one community to another when their spouses are assigned to new duty stations. These transfers can make it very difficult for spouses to continue with their careers or to find similar jobs in new locations.

Mental Illness Diagnosis

• PTSD• Depression• Substance Abuse• Anxiety Disorder• Adjustment Disorder

Education

• Due to parent’s reassignments, military children move frequently. These moves can make it difficult to transfer records, secure spaces in courses, stay included in extra-curricular activities, and complete required testing on time .

Resources

Joining Forces was created by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Biden. It is a comprehensive national initiative to mobilize all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned.• Supports the academic achievement of military

children by helping schools become more responsive to the unique needs of military children and families.

Resources

• Promotes and supports higher education institutions and programs that expand education opportunities, eases transferability for military-connected students, and expands job training opportunities for military spouses and veterans.

• Highlights the workforce potential of veterans and military spouses.

• Expands employment and career development opportunities for veterans and military spouses.

Resources

• Helps employers create military family-friendly workplaces.

• Calls attention to the critical issues facing veterans and military families.

• Expands access to wellness programs, and resources for military spouses and families.

Treatment

• Family Therapy• Couple Therapy• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy• Support Groups• Medications

Family Therapy

• Virginia Satir, Salvador Minuchin, Murray Bowen, and Milton Erickson are some of theorist that have contributed to Family therapy.

• Family therapy is based on the belief that the family is a unique social system with its own structure and patterns of communication.

• In Family Therapy, the family is seen as a "whole" system, rather than just as the sum of its individual members.

Theoretical Modalities in Family Therapy

• The Structural approaches look at the patterns of communication, including the smaller "subsystems" within the family. This approach may explore how parents relate, as well as how the siblings relate, in addition to the bigger picture of the whole family.

• Conjoint approaches will consider the various "roles" that each person plays in the family, in addition to the communication styles (both verbal and nonverbal) within it. How the family interacts as a whole is also explored.

Theoretical Modalities

• Strategic Therapists approach Family Therapy with the belief that families often experience challenges at significant points in their life cycle, such as in times of major transition.

• The Strategic Therapist often explores the "role" of the primary issue wanting to be changed, i.e., the function that the issue plays within the family itself.

Pop QuizTRUE or FALSE

1. Since 2001, more than 2 million children have had a parent deployed at least once.

2. Over the last decade, more than 10,200 children have suffered the loss of an immediate family member in a combat or non-combat related death.

3. Children in military families often experience disrupted relationships and education because of frequent moves and distress at home.

Pop QuizTRUE or FALSE

4. Between 2002 and 2012, 1.6 million service men and women left active duty and became eligible for veteran health care. Only 56 percent of all veterans sought treatment by the end of 2012.

5. 30 percent of soldiers develop mental problems within 3 to 4 months of being home.

6. In what year was the first social work program in the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs established?

Pop Quiz Cont…7. How many service members are currently serving for

America?8. Which department established military social work

over 50 years ago? 9. Define Army Brat?10. In Family Therapy, the family is seen as BLANK ,

rather than just as the sum of its individual members.

References

• https://www.us.army.mil/• http://socialworkers.org/• www.military.com• www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces• www.dosomething.org/• www.va.gov• www.webmd.com