Educational Resources Help Military Families Cope with Deployment and Combat Stress
For millions of families across the country, summer is the perfect season to
plan fun activities and enjoy spending more time together. Military families,
however, face unique challenges during this time, especially when a loved one
is away. While they are proud of their loved one’s service to our country, they
also have to deal with the emotional challenges of having the kids at home all
the time without the support of their spouse or adjusting to the homecoming of
a spouse who was deployed.
“You want your spouse to come home and just open their arms and just hug you.
And say, ‘I’ve missed you so much, and we’re going to just go on this merry
road.’ But in fact, they’re dealing with a lot,” said Monique Turner, whose
husband, a Marine, was deployed to Iraq in 2007.
Support programs such as readiness groups and assistance centers play a key
role in helping families meet the challenges of military life. From assisting
with child care issues to offering seminars on military benefits to welcoming
new families to a unit, family groups provide practical and emotional support
in a variety of ways.
The Department of Defense (DoD) is offering a new tool to help these programs
address the emotional needs of military families. The Family Resiliency Kit,
available at no cost, includes educational materials on coping with the stress
of deployment, recognizing signs and symptoms of mental health problems,
reconnecting with children, and knowing how and when to access behavioral
health services provided by the DoD and Veterans Affairs.
“As a marriage and family therapist who works exclusively with military
families, these are the best materials that I have come in contact with,” said
Kim Evans, LMFT, a CA National Guard embedded therapist and military family
life consultant.
The family kits are perfect for groups helping families throughout the
deployment cycle as they highlight the resources available and help dispel
myths about mental illness that have become part of military culture. The kits
are provided through Military Pathways® (formerly the Mental Health
Self-Assessment Program®), a DoD funded initiative that provides free,
anonymous mental health and alcohol self-assessments for family members and
personnel in all branches including the National Guard and Reserve.
A variety of materials are part of the family kits, including brochures
addressing mood and anxiety disorders; promotional materials such as posters
and wallet cards; optional mental health questionnaires; and a copy of “A
Different Kind of Courage,” an educational DVD that depicts how
service members and their families are affected by combat and deployment
stress. This year’s kits also include a copy of Sesame Street’s “Talk,
Listen, Connect” multimedia outreach program, designed to
support military families and children between the ages of 2 and 5 as they cope
with the feelings, challenges, and concerns experienced during different phases
of deployment.
To register to receive a free Family Resiliency Kit, visit
www.MentalHealthScreening.org/Military, email
[email protected] or call 781-239-0071.