Transitions: Helping Those Returning to the Home Front

 

Indiana has recently experienced the largest return of citizen soldiers not seen since World War II. Each of these service members, returning to their community, is part of a family with spouses, children, parents, and siblings who experience the challenges of the deployment and reunion processes along with their military member. Many mental health professions in our communities will be called upon to assist these families through this transition, but have had few opportunities to learn about the demands and sequelae of deployment, and state-of-the art guidelines for practice.

 

Workshop Overview

The Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University and the FSSA Division of Mental Health and Addiction are pleased to offer a workshop featuring Dr. David Riggs, Director of the Department of Defense Center for Deployment Psychology. During this two-day workshop, Dr. Riggs will focus on the military deployment experience and the subsequent challenges with returning to civilian life.

The workshop will examine several topics related to a family’s experience through this reintegration. Participants can expect to learn more about:

·         Combat specific issues

·         Co-occurring issues

·         Identifying and assisting with trauma and posttraumatic reactions     

·         Family reintegration

·         Strategies for building strong communities for military families

 

This workshop offers an opportunity for mental health professionals working with Indiana families to take a deeper look at the effects of deployment on the reintegration back into civilian life and the impact on mental health and family functioning.  Dr. Riggs will educate participants about the unique needs of service members and their families during this challenging experience.