DCoE Blog

• Job Searching Tips for the Veteran with PTSD or TBI

  Posted by Dr. Nathan D. Ainspan, industrial psychologist with the Army on December 27, 2012

  

  Courtesy of Nathan Ainspan

  I won’t lie to you. Looking for a job in the current economic climate is hard. Finding an employer who understands your military background can be tough. And, thanks to misinformation and misperceptions about mental health concerns, many employers are hesitant, if not scared, to hire veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI). So, if you’re a veteran looking for work right now, it may seem like the deck is stacked against you. Here are five suggestions to help you improve your odds and transition into a civilian job.
  
  1. Figure Out What You Are Able To Do
  Having PTSD or TBI may prevent you from carrying out certain duties on the job — but that doesn’t diminish what you are capable of doing. Take inventory of your skills, what you can and can no longer do. But, don’t be too quick to limit yourself — many accommodations exist that will allow you to perform tasks you might not have thought possible. For ideas and information on accommodations, visit the Job Accommodation Network. Finding out what you can do will help you figure out what you want to do.
  
  

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  Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury , PTSD , Veterans , Reintegration , Resources , Psychological Health   |   Comments (0)

• 10 Tips to Boost Resilience in Service Members

  Posted by Diana Moon, DCoE Strategic Communications on November 6, 2012

   

  

  Click infographic to enlarge

  Resilience is the ability to withstand, recover and grow in the face of stressors and changing demands. It’s a skill that can be learned and sharpened with practice. Building flexible strength is a hallmark of resilience and necessary for recovering peak performance after stressful events.

  Service members face unique stressors, which, without the flexibility to recover and adjust, may challenge their fitness for duty and ability to manage home and family life post-deployment. Here are 10 tips experts at Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury shared that if practiced may help service members better adapt and manage stressful situations:

  • Communicate regularly and effectively. Express what you think, feel or believe in a way that will help you solve problems and receive the outcome you desire.

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  Categories: Resilience , Stress , Veterans , Reintegration , Psychological Health , Leadership , Deployments   |   Comments (7)

• How to Talk to Your Children After Deployment

  Posted by Corina Notyce , DCoE Strategic Communications on October 17, 2012

  

  Lt. Cmdr. Victor Glover is greeted by his daughters at the Naval Air Facility Atsugi airfield during a homecoming celebration. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Justin Smelley)

  This blog post was written by Dr. Pam Murphy, a child psychologist at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2), a Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury center.

  Before the deployment you talked with your kids about what they thought or were worried about regarding the upcoming deployment. During the deployment you had a plan and made a real effort to stay in touch with your family. Now you’re home and you can relax, right? Actually, kids often say the time after their parent returns home is the toughest part of a deployment for them. It’s because of all the changes.

  Think about the concept of change from a child’s point of view. They had things figured out during your absence. They had to. You wanted them to adjust to your absence because you wanted them to continue to grow and thrive while you were gone. Absolutely, your kids are relieved and happy to have you home, but now they have to adjust again.

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  Categories: Families , Veterans , Reintegration , Military Children , Deployments   |   Comments (3)

• inTransition: Reaching All Levels of Behavioral Health Care Providers

  Posted by George Lamb on October 9, 2012

  

  Photo courtesy of Army Sgt. Quentin Johnson

  George Lamb is a Marine veteran and began his social work career with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport, NY, where he assisted with care coordination of returning combat veterans. At DCoE, he supervises and manages the division’s dissemination activities and coordinates outreach.

  During our outreach efforts for the inTransition program, a coaching initiative for service members transitioning between behavioral health care providers, we are often asked how the program can be incorporated into treatment plans for wounded warriors. This question took on additional resonance when asked by service leads at the Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical Command (JTF CapMed) Wounded Warrior Meeting recently held at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). JTF CapMed has regional authority over effective and efficient delivery of military health care.

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  Categories: Collaborations , Reintegration , Resources , Treatment , Psychological Health , Deployments   |   Comments (5)

• Reintegration Support and Why It Matters

  Posted by U.S. Public Health Service Lt. Cmdr. Dana Lee, DCoE licensed clinical social worker on August 16, 2012

  	U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Preston Reed

  Deployment support programs initially focused on the needs of service members in the pre-deployment phase as they trained and prepared for deployment. With the progression of combat operations during the past 11 years, our understanding of deployment-related challenges for service members, veterans and families is better understood, and the importance of the actual deployment and post-deployment phases is also more apparent.

  Reintegration is the process of transitioning back into personal and organizational roles after a deployment. It’s often seen as a series of positive events as the service member reunites with family and friends. However, it can also be associated with increased tension and difficulties readjusting to stateside roles, new family routines and changes at work — all of which can affect a service member’s ability to transition smoothly back to home life.

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  Categories: Collaborations , Resilience , Veterans , DCoE , Reintegration , Resources , Leadership , Deployments   |   Comments (0)

• Fit After Duty

  Posted by Jayne Davis , DCoE Strategic Communications on June 19, 2012

  	Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force

  Exercise was part of your routine for a long time. It was your duty to churn out miles, hammer weights and stay mission ready. And when you did, you looked better, ate well and slept great.

  But, now you’re out of the service, out of your routine and … maybe out of shape. The irony is that now that you have more time to devote to your well-being, you’re giving it less attention. Why? You may not have a military mission, but you do have a mission — your continued well-being.

  “It may take some new thinking about keeping both your body and your mind fit,” said Dr. Evette Pinder, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), resilience and prevention subject matter expert. “Being physically active can take on a broader context and incorporate goals that are meaningful to your life now, like managing the tasks of daily life requiring strength and conditioning that get progressively challenging as we age,” she said.

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  Categories: Resilience , Veterans , Reintegration , Psychological Health   |   Comments (3)