Introduction
Many social workers, regardless of primary
practice area, will work with clients who do,
or have, served in the Military and/or with
their family members including spouses,
partners, children, and parents of the
Service Member or Veteran.
Military Terms
• Army Brat: A child of an army member. An army
brat moves around a lot, and has lived near or on
base their entire lives.
• Quarters: Government-owned housing for
military families.
• Family Readiness Group (FRG): An organization
of officers, enlisted personnel and family
members. This organization provides a support
network for military families and guard members.
FRG is most active during periods of separation,
annual training, deployments, mobilization, etc.
Facts
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), where military social
work was established over 50 years ago, includes civilian social
workers assigned to military components and over 500 active
military personnel who are practicing social workers
(NASW, 2011b).
In addition, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
established the first social work program in the Veterans Bureau
in 1926 and is now the largest employer of master’s-level social
workers in the nation.
Facts
The VA is also affiliated with over 180 graduate schools of social
work and operates the largest and most comprehensive clinical
training program for social work students in the United States,
training 900 students per year (VA, 2012).
Social workers also work in different direct practice and advocacy
organizations, whether their mission is to specifically assist
Service Members, Veterans, and their families with direct
services or to advocate with and on behalf of this population.
Facts
The need for social workers who are educated, trained,
and skilled in working with this population has increased,
and client needs are often complex, making the demand
even more critical. There are already significant shortages
of social workers in several fields of practice, and these
shortages will increase as the baby boomers continue to
age (NASW, 2011a).
Statistics
• America has over 2 million service members and
almost 22 million living veterans.
• Every day, 22 veterans take their own lives. That's
a suicide every 65 minutes.
• 80% of military spouses are women under the
age of 35.
• Service members are more likely to be married at
a younger age and have young children at home
compared to their civilian counterparts.
Statistics
• Military families relocate 2.4 times more often
than civilian families; on average, every 2-3 years.
• In military families across America, more than
900,000 children experienced the deployment of
one or both parents multiple times
• 62% of Iraq and Afghanistan service men and
women receive some form of mental health care
after returning to the states.
• Almost one third of military children are at high
risk to function abnormally in social groups.
Who are Service Members
Service Member describes any member of the
U.S. Armed Forces. There are seven Uniformed
Services of the United States, including the
Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine
Corps, and the Coast Guard.
The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps
are Uniformed Services but not Armed Services. This term is
inclusive of those who are active duty, mobilized, on
orders, or deployed.
Problems
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Marital and Family Relationship issues
Deployment and Reintegration
Mental and Behavioral Health Issue
Unemployment
Substance Abuse
Marital and Relationship Issues
• Between 2011 and 2012, the divorce rate went
down slightly in every service among male and
female service members of all ranks.
• Enlisted female soldiers and Marines, however,
continue to experience the highest rate of divorce
9.4 % and 9.3 % respectively. In the Army, the
female enlisted divorce rate is more than triple
that of enlisted males. Still, those rates are down
from the 2011 rates of 9.6 % in Army and 9.8 % in
the Marine Corps.
Unemployment
• In many cases, military spouses move from
one community to another when their
spouses are assigned to new duty
stations. These transfers can make it very
difficult for spouses to continue with their
careers or to find similar jobs in new
locations.
Mental Illness Diagnosis
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PTSD
Depression
Substance Abuse
Anxiety Disorder
Adjustment Disorder
Education
• Due to parent’s reassignments, military
children move frequently. These moves can
make it difficult to transfer records, secure
spaces in courses, stay included in extracurricular activities, and complete required
testing on time .
Resources
Joining Forces was created by First Lady
Michelle Obama and Dr. Biden.
It is a comprehensive national initiative to mobilize
all sectors of society to give our service members and
their families the opportunities and support they
have earned.
• Supports the academic achievement of military
children by helping schools become more
responsive to the unique needs of military children
and families.
Resources
• Promotes and supports higher education
institutions and programs that expand education
opportunities, eases transferability for militaryconnected students, and expands job training
opportunities for military spouses and veterans.
• Highlights the workforce potential of veterans
and military spouses.
• Expands employment and career development
opportunities for veterans and military spouses.
Resources
• Helps employers create military familyfriendly workplaces.
• Calls attention to the critical issues facing
veterans and military families.
• Expands access to wellness programs, and
resources for military spouses and families.
Treatment
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Family Therapy
Couple Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Support Groups
Medications
Family Therapy
• Virginia Satir, Salvador Minuchin, Murray Bowen,
and Milton Erickson are some of theorist that
have contributed to Family therapy.
• Family therapy is based on the belief that the
family is a unique social system with its own
structure and patterns of communication.
• In Family Therapy, the family is seen as a "whole"
system, rather than just as the sum of its
individual members.
Theoretical Modalities in Family
Therapy
• The Structural approaches look at the patterns of
communication, including the smaller
"subsystems" within the family. This approach
may explore how parents relate, as well as how
the siblings relate, in addition to the bigger
picture of the whole family.
• Conjoint approaches will consider the various
"roles" that each person plays in the family, in
addition to the communication styles (both
verbal and nonverbal) within it. How the family
interacts as a whole is also explored.
Theoretical Modalities
• Strategic Therapists approach Family Therapy
with the belief that families often experience
challenges at significant points in their life
cycle, such as in times of major transition.
• The Strategic Therapist often explores the
"role" of the primary issue wanting to be
changed, i.e., the function that the issue plays
within the family itself.
Pop Quiz
TRUE or FALSE
1. Since 2001, more than 2 million children have
had a parent deployed at least once.
2. Over the last decade, more than 10,200 children
have suffered the loss of an immediate family
member in a combat or non-combat related
death.
3. Children in military families often experience
disrupted relationships and education because
of frequent moves and distress at home.
Pop Quiz
TRUE or FALSE
4. Between 2002 and 2012, 1.6 million service men
and women left active duty and became eligible
for veteran health care. Only 56 percent of all
veterans sought treatment by the end of 2012.
5. 30 percent of soldiers develop mental problems
within 3 to 4 months of being home.
6. In what year was the first social work program in
the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs
established?
Pop Quiz Cont…
7. How many service members are currently
serving for America?
8. Which department established military social
work over 50 years ago?
9. Define Army Brat?
10.In Family Therapy, the family is seen as BLANK
, rather than just as the sum of its individual
members.
References
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https://www.us.army.mil/
http://socialworkers.org/
www.military.com
www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces
www.dosomething.org/
www.va.gov
www.webmd.com