Overview

Care of Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families serves a critical need, which has been highlighted by recent reported rates of combat-related stress disorders and traumatic brain injury, as well as increases in suicide rates among service members and veterans over the past decade and the distress and challenges faced by their children and families. More than 2.5 million Americans currently serve in the U.S. military on active duty, in the Reserves, or in the National Guard, and more than 20 million civilians are veterans. Although patients are viewed here in the context of military service, they seek health care in military, veteran, and civilian settings, and their mental health concerns are as diverse as those encountered in the civilian population. This book is designed for clinicians in all care settings and provides thorough coverage of U.S. military structures and cultures across the armed services, as well as detailed material on the particular mental health challenges faced by service members and their families. • A full overview of the military lifestyle is provided, including the life cycle of the military (recruitment to retirement), service subcultures (Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force, and Reserve and Guard components), challenges of military life for service members and families (moves, deployments, etc.), and military mental health. Material on military culture provides insight for practitioners who may not be familiar with this population. • The book focuses on collaborative care, particularly between the military health care system and the Veterans Administration, providing clinicians with strategies to mitigate stigma and other barriers to care through mental health service delivery in primary care settings. • The incidence of traumatic brain injury among service members has increased because of the use of improvised explosive devices, and an entire chapter is devoted to diagnosing and treating these injuries as well as educating patients and their families on the condition. • The families of service members face significant challenges, and several chapters are devoted to the needs of military children, the families of ill and injured service members and veterans, deployment-related care, and caring for the bereaved. The book's comprehensive review of resources available to military service members, veterans, and families both ensures high-quality care and reduces the workload for treating physicians. Care of Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families is an authoritative and much-needed addition to the mental health literature.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stephen J. Cozza, MD ,  Matthew N. Goldenberg, MD ,  Robert J. Ursano (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
Publisher:   American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Imprint:   American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.463kg
ISBN:  

9781585624249

ISBN 10:   1585624241
Pages:   339
Publication Date:   24 March 2014
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Contributors Dedication Preface Acknowledgments PART I: Fundamentals for Treating Military Service Members, Veterans, and Families chapter 1. An Introduction to Military Service chapter 2. Understanding Military Families: Their Characteristics, Strengths, and Challenges chapter 3. Military Children and Programs That Meet Their Needs chapter 4. Military Health Care System and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: An Overview PART II: Military Service–Related Conditions and Interventions chapter 5. Health Consequences of Military Service and Combat chapter 6. Combat Stress Reactions and Psychiatric Disorders After Deployment chapter 7. Substance Use Disorders chapter 8. Care of Combat-Injured Service Members chapter 9. Traumatic Brain Injury chapter 10. Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Military Service Members and Veterans chapter 11. Collaborative Care: Mitigating Stigma and Other Barriers to Care Through Mental Health Service Delivery in Primary Care Settings PART III: Meeting the Needs of Military and Veteran Children and Families chapter 12. Deployment-Related Care for Military Children and Families chapter 13. Children and Families of Ill and Injured Service Members and Veterans chapter 14. Caring for Bereaved Military Family Members chapter 15. Building Resilience in Military Families Index

Reviews

Over the past 13 years, more than two million United States military service members have been deployed to combat operations overseas, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to over 6,000 deaths and several thousand combat injuries, several hundred thousand service members (and their families) continue to struggle with deployment-related readjustment and medical and mental health challenges. These recent operations and their sequelae are a reminder of the longstanding issues faced by military service members, veterans, and their families in the United States and worldwide from previous wars, in addition to newly returning veterans who present new challenges in healing the wounds associated with modern warfare. The recent conflicts have also inspired significant efforts to develop new knowledge regarding treatment approaches and new systems of prevention and care delivery that are better suited to effectively support service members and their families. However, more research, infrastructure changes, and resources are required to meet current and future needs. This book is a timely and an important milestone in the literature on the care of military members, veterans, and their families. Its strength lies in the collective expertise of its authors and editors who have produced unified and clear messages, including the message that the health and well-being of military service members and veterans is closely linked to that of their family members. The body of information about military service, culture, families, and unique challenges (such as frequent separations, relocations and deployments, changes in family roles, stigma, access to care, and injuries and deaths), as well as about the many strengths of service members (such as a sense of pride and belonging, financial stability, role flexibility, family extendedness, and resilience) is a highlight of this book. The Department of Defense and related community-based partners have made impressive progress in research, interventions, and resources in the care of military families (e.g., Child and Youth Services, Family Readiness Groups, Military OneSource, and FOCUS [Families OverComing Under Stress]) that should be widely disseminated. This aspect of this volume will help community providers better understand the needs of their service member and veteran patients and their families and is a considerable contribution to the field. The most important conceptual contributions of this book are outlined in three fundamental factors: that combat exposure impacts mental and physical health; that deployment/combat experiences of service members are closely linked to the health and well-being of their family members; and that the military is in constant flux due to change and transitioning of members between military and civilian communities. Constant change between military and civilian communities is particularly important among National Guard and Reserve members (who constitute close to one-half of the ready force). Military members/veterans who move to the civilian sector may live in areas where there is inadequate expertise specifically related to the needs of military members/veterans and their families. Thus, the health and care of military members, veterans, and families is a national and community concern, not just a concern for the Department of Defense or the Veterans Health Administration or a few agencies. This volume's conceptualization and focus is an excellent initial blueprint for the community to support these service members and veterans. Other strengths include the organization of this volume into three broad sections: Fundamentals for Treating Military Service Members, Veterans, and Families; Military Service-Related Conditions and Interventions; and Meeting the Needs of Military and Veteran Children and Families. This greatly helps in enhancing conceptual clarity, knowledge, and awareness for community providers with limited exposure to military members/veterans to effectively direct attention and resources toward addressing the needs of military members/veterans and their families. The chapters on Collaborative Care and Suicide in the second section are particularly impressive and informative. The ambitiousness of this book is commendable, although there were clearly challenges in deciding what to include in this volume. The authors have negotiated this challenge quite well, striking a good balance between in-depth coverage of important topics, including theoretical and recent research advances, while also offering a lot of practical information and resources for providers. Potentially future editions of this book could expand by including an international perspective of the issues facing veterans so that we might benefit from research and practice in other parts of the world. Additional attention to the wide range of Veterans Health Administration services would be important as well (1). The time of transition between the Department of Defense and civilian life as a veteran is one of opportunity in which returning service members can be screened, provided information about resources, and connected with services. Lack of basic needs, such as housing and employment support, can potentially exacerbate and contribute to readjustment challenges and should be addressed in conjunction with health care needs. Every Veterans Health Administration medical center has a seamless transition team that provides outreach, case management, and coordination services to support returning veterans and their families. In summary, the experts who contributed to and edited this book have provided an important and much needed contribution to the field of military, veteran, and family care. This book will serve as an excellent resource for a wide range of medical and nonmedical service providers, increasing awareness of resources and new directions in meeting the unique needs of service members, veterans, and their families. Dr. Brian Martis is Associate Chief and Chief Psychiatrist, Mental Health Service, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Mich.

In short this book is a fabulous reference for psychiatrists, psychologists, individual and family therapists, and other clinicians who treat military members, veterans, and their families. * Annette M. Matthews, MD, Journal of Psychiatric Practice Vol. 20, No. 6 *

Author Information

Stephen J. Cozza, M.D., is a professor of psychiatry and associate director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Matthew N. Goldenberg, M.D., is a professor of psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Robert J. Ursano, M.D., is director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.

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