Bridging the Gap Between Combat Veterans and Civilians (Paperback)

Description for Amazon Have you deployed into combat? Are your family member or loved one a soldier? Or are you a behavioral health provider who treats soldiers with deployment stress or PTSD? This pamphlet is intended to make things better for you. Everyone has heard of PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) and the cliché is that every military veteran has it. I am a psychologist who treats active duty soldiers and yes, I treat PTSD. But there are many significant ways in which combat changes a person which are not part of behavioral health treatment. Also, professional soldiers are part of a subculture which differs significantly in some ways from the general civilian norm. Soldiers need to track this to adjust to civilian life. Behavioral health providers will be more effective if they take subcultural issues into account when they are treating soldiers. I have spent many hours learning about military subcultures (there are many) and the effects of combat. Soldiers told me what was going on and eventually I was able to understand and explain these issues to soldiers and their families in plain commonsense language. This pamphlet is not a substitute for behavioral health treatment. I hope to accomplish three things: 1)make some things clear to you that will make the transition to civilian or garrison life easier for the combat arms solder; 2) make it easer for the soldiers' family to understand why he or she acts the way he/she does; 3)Highlight some of the issues that can interfere with effective behavioral health treatment. If you are a combat veteran, I want you to know this pamphlet doesn't just 'brief well' - it has been extensively field tested. Let me share with you some of the lessons your brothers and sisters taught me! To the family member or loved one, I say: There are reasons why your soldier acts the way he or she does - and reasons why he/she doesn't' like to talk about it. Understanding that may help you. To the behavioral health provider, I say: Bless you for what you do! I hope that you may benefit from the lessons I learned.