So You Think You Want To Work With The Military?

So You Think You Want To Work With The Military? By StarrLee Heady M.A., LMHC, CHA II, EAGALA Advanced Of PX Equine Enterprises Inc.

Operation Equine The STABLE Horse Detachment • A Program designed to deal with issues of Combat Stress & PTSD B.A.R.N – Becoming Aware & Recovering Naturally T.W.I.S.T. – Turning Waiting Into Strength Together • A deployment program addressing pre, post and deployment issues for military members and their families

The U.S. Navy… & & Horse’s?

The Military Population & Culture • Active Duty Military • Air Force • Army • Marine Corps • Navy • Coast Guard • Active Duty Families • Spouses & Military B.R.A.T.s

The Suddenly Active Duty Military Reserve Individuals & Units Many are prior Active Duty however, their families may or may not have experience in the military lifestyle National Guard Members and family may have had little history with active duty military culture

Transitioning & Retired Military Transitioning between the military community and the civilian community can bring on adjustment issues, loss of identity, loss of community, grief, financial stress and more. Transitioning for career military often means learning about the Veterans Affairs programming and leaving behind all known resources and connections.

Military Culture Shared aspects of military culture: Discipline Planning Readiness Structure Flexibility Mission focus Chain of command Cohesiveness & Teamwork

Military Culture While the military shares culture, each branch of the service also has its own culture. These differences include different statements of their core values: Army – Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Self-less Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage Navy & Marine Corps – Honor, Courage, Commitment Air Force – Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All Things We Do Coast Guard – Honor, Respect, Devotion To Duty

Military Families & Children • A large percentage of career military members come from smaller hometowns and/or rural areas of the United States. • Children of military families rarely have a “hometown” or experiential ties to a geographic location or extended family experiences • Often a cultural divide exists within the military family unit that they can be largely unaware of

Military B.R.A.T.s In the civilian community a Brat is a spoiled or misbehaving child. In the military the term describes those who spend their childhood while a parent(s) serves full-time in the armed forces. The term refers to both current and former children of such families. “Military BRAT” refers to a distinct, 200 year old, nomadic subculture. Also knows as the last nomadic culture of North America. They are a U.S. Military sub-culture considered to be one of the least well known and largely invisible sub-cultures in the United States.

Facts about B.R.A.T.’s + • Lower divorce rates • High numbers of independent work (self-employment) • Exceptional social skills • High levels of multi-cultural awareness and tolerance • Resilient personalities • 15 million current or former members of the B.R.A.T. group • Range in age from 1 to 90 • High numbers of service related careers – teaching, counseling, police, nursing… • Higher rates of college graduation

Facts about B.R.A.T.’s - • Perfectionism & performance control issues • 48% do not feel central to any group • 32% feel as if they are spectators to traditional U.S. life • Those with parents in combat zones show more fear, anxiety and behavioral problems • Struggle to develop & maintain deep, lasting relationships • Feel like outsiders • They deal with the Stress of absent parents & war zone deployment • Psychological aftermath of war (veteran parents) • Can be suffering from PTSD or secondary trauma

“Selling” the EAGALA Model to the Military This requires becoming culturally aware of and knowledgeable concerning the issues that military members & commands face, and the obstacles to seeing mental health service as a benefit to the whole. Reaching out to the military command structure to provide services without being culturally prepared can limit your success in “selling” the program and in “providing” the services successfully Educate & immerse yourself first

The military community needs and will continue to need mental health services. There are those who believe that only those providers who have experienced the culture can provide appropriate and culturally relevant care. Prepare Yourselves!

How do you prepare? • What are your professional and ethical considerations? • What is your scope of practice? • What is your training in this field? • What military experience do you have? • What conflicts of interest do you have? • What is your personal motivation? • What bias do you hold concerning: • War • Authoritarian societies • Service over self • The military

Preparing Yourself for the Military Population • Remember the possibility of stigma and it’s long reaching effects • Don’t make judgments and/or diagnosis without filtering cultural bias • Be cognizant of significant medical, fitness, administrative, legal, and compensatory aspects of mental health findings within the military • Remember that if you are not part of the military system you will not have the final word concerning mental health findings • Find out as much as possible about specific military jobs & culture • Be prepared to hear both heroic disturbing details • Don’t expect to be trusted quickly • Understand that events and acts reported can be in direct conflict with both the service members personal norms and your cultural norms • Keep in mind the meaning of events and acts within cultural context where they occur

Preparing yourself also means understanding the history, impact, and stigma of mental health in the military … • Mental health has traditionally been associated with Chaplains assigned to units • Navy Psychologists have long been assigned to air craft carriers and naval hospital commands • Psychologists have been assigned to SERE (survival evasion resistance & escape) schools and/or SPECWAR (special warfare) or SOF (special operations forces) Units • Close support systems within units may actually hinder efforts at outside mental health help

More Considerations Military members often experience a lack of confidence concerning mental health provision. Cultural differences (military vs. non-military) can cause questions regarding culturally relevant services. “Fit for Duty” - Career impact happens on personal, unit, & command levels. All non-military provider information must undergo a review by the military provider or Command.

When reaching out remember to seek decision makers appropriate to the services you wish to provide.

Where Can You Start? • Family Service Centers – these offices often handle psycho-educational programming and can be a first line responder for military family issues • Chaplain Corps – They are active duty military and can be embedded within command structure. They handle retreats for military members & families. They have links to military and non-military contacts. • Military specific mental health units such as military hospitals and Deployment Health Units

Continue to Connect! • Military Spouse’s organizations • Fleet & Service Reserve Associations • U.S.O. • Retired Military • V.F.W. • American Legion • Elks • Connect with military and non-military programs that already serve or have a relationship with the commands you hope to serve

Why The EAGALA Model? The EAGALA Model is well suited to Military It is action oriented, with less focus on verbal interactions. It utilizes the horse & herd where a clear understanding of hyper-vigilance and social responsibility are constant It is outside the expected experience of mental health & stigma does not seem to be and may not carry the same experience of stigma It works for this population!

Resources • Chaplains Corps • Military Family Service Centers • USO • Operation Military Kids – www.operationmilitarykids.org • Wounded Warrior Project • Army Warrior Transition Unit • Navy Safe Harbor Program • Center for Deployment Psychology – http://deploymentpsych.org/ • Navy & Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) – http://www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil/Deployment_Health/deploymenthealth_overview.aspx • Serving Those Who Have Served Annual Deployment Health Symposium: A Clinicians Workshop – www.unf.edu/ce

Educational Resources • “Counseling Military Families” by Lynn K. Hall • “Military brats: Legacies of childhood inside the fortress” by Mary Edwards Wertsch • “Down Range: to Iraq and Back” Cantrell & Dean • “On Killing” & “On Combat” by Lt. Co. Dave Grossman U.S. Army (Ret.) • “Cover Me” a DVD put out by the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund Each of these resources has additional well researched resources listed Please educate yourselves prior to working with the military population!

Thank you to our U.S. Military members from PX Equine Enterprises Inc. & StarrLee Heady www.pxequine.com pxequine@aol.com 904 529-7999

So You Think You Want To Work With The Military?