Military Veteran Reintegration: Approach, Management, and Assessment of Military Veterans Transitioning to Civilian Life offers a toolkit for researchers and practitioners on best practices for easing the reintegration of military veterans returning to civilian society. It lays out how transition occurs, identifies factors that promote or impede transition, and operationalizes outcomes associated with transition success. Bringing together experts from around the world to address the most important aspects of military transition, the book looks at what has been shown to work and what has not, while also offering a roadmap for best-results moving forward. - Contains evidence-based interventions for military veteran-to-civilian transition - Features international experts from North America, Europe and Asia - Includes how to measure transition outcomes - Outlines recovery programs for the injured and sick - Identifies factors that promote or impede successful transition

In American and NATO Veteran Reintegration, MaryCatherine McDonald and Gary Senecal examine mental health issues among former American service members. Data shows that American veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at significantly higher rates than veterans in other NATO ally countries involved in the war in Afghanistan. McDonald and Senecal argue that sociocultural factors, such as military training and civilian culture, have a dramatic impact on these rates.

After years of dedicated service, leaving might be the hardest mission for any military leader. If you're standing at the threshold of transition, fear and uncertainty are unspoken obstacles that can erode your confidence and excitement for what comes next. If you've already transitioned, you might still be struggling to find your place in society. No matter what you're feeling or where you are in this process, Jason Roncoroni and Dr. Shauna Springer want to partner with you on the journey for what happens next. Jason, an executive coach, and Doc Springer, a licensed psychologist, have combined their expertise and decades of experience to create the most comprehensive guide available for military leaders seeking happiness and fulfillment in life after the military. Beyond the Military applies the military decision-making process to help you confidently navigate transition. This handbook introduces an Integrative Program of Transition to address the critical aspects of transition that nobody else is talking about: optimizing whole health and wellness, social reintegration, cultural assimilation, economic stability, long-term professional development, and close relationship and family adjustment. With Jason as your coach and Doc Springer as your relationship consultant, you'll walk through over 30 exercises designed to help you unleash your full potential outside the uniform.

Approximately 4 million U.S. service members took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Shortly after troops started returning from their deployments, some active-duty service members and veterans began experiencing mental health problems. Given the stressors associated with war, it is not surprising that some service members developed such mental health conditions as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and substance use disorder. Subsequent epidemiologic studies conducted on military and veteran populations that served in the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq provided scientific evidence that those who fought were in fact being diagnosed with mental illnesses and experiencing mental healthâ€"related outcomesâ€"in particular, suicideâ€"at a higher rate than the general population. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the quality, capacity, and access to mental health care services for veterans who served in the Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn. It includes an analysis of not only the quality and capacity of mental health care services within the Department of Veterans Affairs, but also barriers faced by patients in utilizing those services.

This book explores the process through which service members transition from military to civilian life, and the implications of that transition on their mental and physical well-being and functioning. The authors present a theoretical framework that helps conceptualize the process of military transition. The theory is broken into three overlapping components: approaching military transition, which outlines the personal, cultural and transitional factors that create the base of the transition trajectory; managing the transition, which explores the factors impacting the transition's trajectory; and assessing the transition, which describes the outcome of the transition in the realms of work, family, health, and general well-being. The authors then demonstrate how this framework can be applied to practice, providing an opportunity to redefine how we help veterans.

When military veterans separate from the military, they face struggles that are hard to understand. Finding their place and a purpose is not as easy as it sounds. The military tells us when we separate there will be people waiting in line to hire us because of our dedication, punctuality, loyalty, work ethic, and the desire to get the job done. That is true for some, but others struggle to find a job or just fit in. Living the Dream is a collection of real stories I have heard in the therapy room, from friends, and acquaintances, trying to become a civilian again. Living the Dream is intended to let military veterans know they are not alone and help civilians understand the culture shock our veterans face once they leave Active Duty. It is my hope this book will encourage society to help veterans find their place and a purpose. --- Fred "Bo" Dunning, M.A., LMFT

The children's issues picture book Why Is Dad So Mad? is a story for children in military families whose father battles with combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After a decade fighting wars on two fronts, tens of thousands of service members are coming home having trouble adjusting to civilian life; this includes struggling as parents. Why Is Dad So Mad? Is a narrative story told from a family's point of view (mother and children) of a service member who struggles with PTSD and its symptoms. Many service members deal with anger, forgetfulness, sleepless nights, and nightmares.This book explains these and how they affect Dad. The moral of the story is that even though Dad gets angry and yells, he still loves his family more than anything.

Nearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial book presents findings on the most critical challenges, and lays out the blueprint for the second phase of the study to determine how best to meet the needs of returning troops and their families.

"The editors of Treating Young Veterans and the authors of the individual chapters [provide] practitioners with essential information about the needs, desires, and possibilities for veteransÖand their families. This book represents a thoughtful, sensitive, and sensible approach to working with military personnel and veterans who have been deployed to wars in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan." From the Foreword by Peter B. Vaughan Dean, Graduate School of Social Service () Fordham University, New York, NY Many veterans unsuccessfully attempt to self-manage their mental and physical health needs. This volume examines the multiple challenges awaiting the new generation of young veterans returning to civilian life, and provides strategies for mental health professionals to assist them in the process of readjustment. It incorporates multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art research to present practice and advocacy opportunities that facilitate a healthy and socially engaged reintegration into society for both traditional veterans (enlisted and career military personnel) and nontraditional veterans (reservists, national guardsmen, and women) aged 18 to 40 years. The volume is divided into three sections: Assessment and Practice Approaches to Promote Resilience; Outreach and Practice With Special Communities, and Advocacy Practice to Promote Young Veterans' Well-Being. Each section includes an introduction highlighting the chapters, and an epilogue delineating important steps in practice, outreach, and advocacy. Key Features: Targets the specific needs of veterans of the Iraqi and Afghani conflicts Includes chapters on women and sexual trauma in the military and homeless combat veterans Addresses the special needs of children of veterans and the nature of ambiguous loss as "veteran-by-proxy," employment issues, and equity issues related to reservists Authored by recognized experts including military officers, attorneys, and Veterans Affairs administrators Designed for both general and scholarly readers

This unique reference integrates knowledge culled from fifteen years of U.S. deployments to create an action plan for supporting military and veteran families during future conflicts. Its innovative ideas stretch beyond designated governmental agencies (e.g., Department of Defense, VA) to include participation from, and possible collaborations with, the business/corporate, academic, advocacy, and philanthropic sectors. Contributors identify ongoing and emerging issues affecting military and veteran families and recommend specific strategies toward expanding and enhancing current programs and policy. This proactive agenda also outlines new directions for mobilizing the research community, featuring strategies for addressing institutional challenges and improving access to critical data. Included in the coverage: Lessons learned inside the Pentagon. Merging reintegration streams for veterans and military families. The unique role of professional associations in assisting military families: a case study. Philanthropy for military and veteran families: challenges past, recommendations for tomorrow. Rules of engagement: media coverage of military families during war. Designing and implementing strategic research studies to support military families. A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families is of immediate usefulness to leaders, professionals, and future professionals in interdisciplinary academic, governmental, advocacy, and philanthropic areas of focus interested in the theoretical, practical, and real-life concerns and needs of military-affiliated families.