DCoE Blog

• Help Kids Tackle Stress with Mindfulness

  Posted by Carol Roos, DCoE Public Affairs on April 30, 2015

  
  Defense Department photo by Samantha L. Quigley

  This article is part of a series on the practice of mindfulness. The series focuses on programs and therapies proven to help improve psychological health and overall well-being.

  Stress doesn’t discriminate. We often think of stress as an adult issue, but children experience it too. Children in the military may experience even more stress because of the constant changes of military life, such as relocations, new schools, making new friends, deployments, or injuries of a loved one.

  We can’t shield our children from stress entirely, but we can help them learn relaxation techniques, such as mindfulness, to find relief and regain control of their emotions.

  Through a review of studies, the Pennsylvania State University’s Prevention Research Center suggests that nurturing mindfulness in children may be an effective method to build resilience, as well as to treat certain disorders. These studies consistently showed that mindfulness can improve children’s behavior and overall health.

  How to Teach Your Kids Mindfulness

  Mindfulness can be more than quiet time; it can be fun and interactive. These tips and resources can help teach your children how to practice mindfulness...

  Categories: Mindfulness, Treatment, Psychological Health, Military Children   |   Comments (0)

• 8 Resources to Help You Talk with Kids about Brain Injury, Mental Health

  Posted by Myron J. Goodman, DCoE Public Affairs on April 24, 2015

  
  A member of the 133rd Airlift Wing says goodbye to family in St. Paul, Minn., prior to departing

  Life as a military child can be tough. But, when you are also the child of a military member coping with a psychological health or traumatic brain injury (TBI) concern, life can feel overwhelming and sometimes scary. Talking to children openly about these concerns can help ease fear and prepare them for challenges ahead.

  “It’s helpful to talk with children using examples that will relate to them, their own experiences,” said Army Maj. Demietrice Pittman, a clinical psychologist with the Deployment Health Clinical Center.

  Pittman suggests using examples that are age-appropriate and connect with your child’s reality, such as:

  “You know when you don’t get your favorite toy, or when you don’t get to spend time with your friends, you get upset? Mom had something happen that may cause her to get upset a little more easily. And she will need to do the same things you would do — walk away or take a time-out.”

  Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury, PTSD, Families, Reintegration, Military Children   |   Comments (0)

• When Doctors Become Patients: Fighting the Ebola Virus

  Posted by Jennifer Harrington and Carol Roos, DCoE Public Affairs on April 21, 2015

  
  Images courtesy of U.S. Public Health Service

  Sometimes a disaster is so horrific it causes not just physical but psychological damage for survivors, and it’s not uncommon for the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps to send teams of mental health providers on humanitarian missions.

  But when the Commissioned Corps deployed teams to Liberia last October in the wake of the Ebola epidemic, the mental health teams came along to help a different set of victims: the doctors and nurses themselves. It was already clear that the epidemic was claiming an unprecedented number of health care providers, despite their best precautions. Some in the United States were even suggesting that health care providers who came down with Ebola should be barred from returning home.

  “We didn’t know what to anticipate, but we saw a lot of fear of the unknown in our own country,” said USPHS Lt. Cmdr. Kate Migliaccio, senior public information officer.

  One of the main goals of the medical officers who deployed was to care for the doctors and nurses treating the infected, including their psychological health. In field hospitals built to treat Ebola patients, a team of medical providers (nurses, lab officers, pharmacists and behavioral health providers) cared for their colleagues — the sick health care workers who contracted the virus.

  Categories: Personal Stories, Treatment, Psychological Health   |   Comments (3)

• Expert Offers TBI Recovery Guidelines for Young Athletes

  Posted by Myron J. Goodman, DCoE Public Affairs on April 17, 2015

  
  A junior athlete dribbles a basketball. (Photo by Marine Lance Cpl. Paul E. Wyatt)

  In a society that never likes to take a break, studies show that young athletes must be sidelined for their own good after sustaining a concussion. An expert with the Safe Concussion Outcome, Recovery and Education (SCORE) Program at Children’s National Medical Center discussed a number of strategies to help youth recover from TBI during last week’s DCoE webinar.

  First, the parent, teacher, athlete or doctor needs to understand what full recovery means, said the expert, Gerard A. Gioia, SCORE Pediatric Neuropsychology director.

  “We look to see if, functionally, things are back to normal,” Gioia said. “We’d ask, ‘Are you performing at school and at work like you normally do?’”

  “Normal” means most symptoms should be gone, including headaches, fatigue, sensitivity to light, trouble with balance and dizziness.

  Determining how long athletes should rest after a concussion — and what kind of rest — can be crucial to recovery, he said.

  Categories: DCoE Webinar Rewind, Traumatic Brain Injury, Treatment, DVBIC, Military Children   |   Comments (0)

• Let Your Brain Relax: Mindfulness Meditation Can Reduce Some TBI Symptoms

  Posted by Myron J. Goodman, DCoE Public Affairs on April 15, 2015

  

  Staying in the moment can be hard for anyone, but it’s a particular challenge for people recovering from brain trauma. Mental distractions, such as too much excitement, anxiety and other mental stress, are hallmarks of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and can affect the healing process. According to experts and research, a simple and effective way to help the brain repair itself is to give it a little R&R (military slang for rest and recuperation).

  That’s where mindfulness meditation, which helps quiet the mind, comes in. This form of meditation is becoming more common as research continues to prove the benefits of using it to treat traumatic brain injury. Mindfulness meditation teaches patients to achieve open, accepting, non-judgmental awareness (mindfulness) of the present moment by focusing attention on the breath. It is helpful not only during the stressful period immediately after an injury but throughout the recovery process, according to an expert with the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC).

  Categories: Mindfulness, DCoE Products, PTSD, Resources, Treatment, Psychological Health   |   Comments (6)

• 10 Ways to Help Kids Conquer the Challenges of Military Life

  Posted by Sarah Heynen, DCoE Public Affairs on April 10, 2015

  
  U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Ashley J. Thum

  We often say that military kids face “unique challenges,” but what does that really mean? Military children grow up fast. They know firsthand what big change feels like, from saying goodbye to friends to learning new languages and customs. They learn terms like “PCS,” “period of adjustment,” and “deployment,” sometimes before they can even spell their last names.

  Currently, about 1.88 million military children experience a different set of obstacles than their non-military peers. They don’t have to face the challenges of military life alone. Many great resources, created specifically for military children of all ages, are designed to help teach, inspire, encourage and comfort through the good and the more difficult times.

  Categories: Resilience, Resources, Psychological Health, Military Children   |   Comments (2)