Working with Military Families: Impact of Deployment
Course #76333 - $30 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Much has been written on the effects of deployment and war on military servicemen and women, including experiences of post-traumatic stress and readjustment to civilian life after deployment. However, the effects of the various phases of deployment on the family system are often overlooked. The goal of this course is to provide practitioners with an overview of the psychosocial effects of deployment on family members. The course will discuss the five phases of the deployment cycle and each phase's unique challenges. In addition, the military culture and how this culture affects how families cope, readjust, and seek help will be explored. Finally, various treatments, interventions, and best practices will be offered for practitioners working with military families.
This course is designed for social workers, therapists, counselors, psychologists, and other mental health professionals involved in the care of veterans and active-duty military troops and their families.
The purpose of this course is to provide mental and behavioral health professionals with the tools necessary to address and prevent the negative repercussions of deployment on military families.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Describe the basic demographic profile of military personnel.
- Explain how the military culture affects how family members cope and adjust to deployment and help-seeking.
- Identify stressors for family members associated with each stage of the deployment cycle.
- Evaluate different theoretical frameworks to understand how deployment affects military families.
- Discuss the physical, social, and psychologic effects of deployment on the family.
- Outline the impact of social problems in military families.
- Describe assessments when working with military families in relation to coping with deployment.
- Explain different interventions and treatments for military family members experiencing deployment.
- Identify ethical issues for practitioners working with military personnel and families within a military context.
Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW, received her Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University, School of Social Work. She has clinical experience in mental health in correctional settings, psychiatric hospitals, and community health centers. In 1997, she received her PhD from UCLA, School of Public Policy and Social Research. Dr. Yick Flanagan completed a year-long post-doctoral fellowship at Hunter College, School of Social Work in 1999. In that year she taught the course Research Methods and Violence Against Women to Masters degree students, as well as conducting qualitative research studies on death and dying in Chinese American families.
Previously acting as a faculty member at Capella University and Northcentral University, Dr. Yick Flanagan is currently a contributing faculty member at Walden University, School of Social Work, and a dissertation chair at Grand Canyon University, College of Doctoral Studies, working with Industrial Organizational Psychology doctoral students. She also serves as a consultant/subject matter expert for the New York City Board of Education and publishing companies for online curriculum development, developing practice MCAT questions in the area of psychology and sociology. Her research focus is on the area of culture and mental health in ethnic minority communities.
Contributing faculty, Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Margaret Donohue, PhD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.