Effects of Deployment to Military Families
The impact of military deployment ranges from physical to mental health issues that have psychological consequences for the service members as well as their close and extended families.
Following massive deployment after September 11, 2001, many researchers have examined the effects of military deployment on military personnel and veterans. About 30% of deployed soldiers have been diagnosed with psychological symptoms such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, sleeping disorders, hyper-vigilance, and depression (Everson and Figley, 2011).
Exposure to combat and traumatic events, e.g. bombing, torture, murder and other extreme events that occur in a war result in high stress levels in soldiers as they are likely to have difficulty coping with such combat experiences (Asbury and Martin, 2012). Apart from psychological health issues, deployed military personnel also suffer physical combat injuries. These injuries also affect the military men psychologically as they make efforts to cope and reacclimatize into the society.
Despite having many studies focusing on deployment and their results (physical and psychological) on military personnel, little attention has been given to how their families are impacted. Deployment takes a psychological toll on spouses and children of military men and women. Long absences from home have been known to disrupt harmony in family settings. Spouses and children who are left behind have to deal with feelings of fear and uncertainty as they worry about the well-being of the deployed soldier. These feelings are particularly heightened in multiple and wartime deployments. After witnessing disturbing combat events, most military personnel try to find themselves (get a sense of self) in the family context. Meanwhile, the family members who were left behind (mostly spouses and children) may experience feelings of confusion and discomfort around the person who just came back. When a soldier goes away on deployment, the family reorganizes its self so as to cope with the absence of a family member. While the return of this soldier gets rid of the anxiety and worry for his or her well being, confusion and misunderstandings may hit the family as it tries to reorganize itself again. In multiple deployments, this cycle of reorganization happens repeatedly, thus increasing stress levels and conflict. Given the circumstances that military families find themselves in, it is no wonder military spouses are prone to higher levels of anxiety, stress, feelings of isolation, and extramarital affairs than civilian marital partners.
In a stable environment and an atmosphere of harmony, soldiers are likely to cope well and readjust into the family after deployment. However, familial conflict and lack of social support are likely to trigger or accelerate psychological health issues in military servicemen as well as their immediate family members (spouse, children, parents or siblings).
Combat injuries have the potential to induce higher levels of distress and emotional tension among service members and their families. Coping with these injuries, especially when a veteran is incapacitated, is hard for the veteran as well as their spouses and children. The effects of combat injuries to veterans’ children can be positive or negative depending on how well the parents deal with the situation.
Given the far-reaching impacts of deployment on military families, it is critical to maintain strong family foundations in which service personnel can find support and the assistance they need to recover from psychological and physical wounds. It is important for psychologists who offer their help to veterans to include spouses in therapy sessions where possible, so as to maintain a healthy and supportive environment for both spouses. Therapy models that involve military couples such as Structured Approach Therapy (SAT) and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) are associated with positive outcomes for veterans diagnosed with PTSD as well as other psychological problems (Everson & Figley, 2011; Sautter et al., 2011). Couple-based therapy trains military couples to develop healthy ways of dealing with the past, ongoing and future stressful situations. It creates a supportive environment and empathic communication between couples thus reducing family stress and conflict, while equipping the couple with the skills to cope with other stressors. However, te psychotherapist should screen couples before initiating couple-based therapy sessions. Couples who have issues of domestic violence, substance abuse, high levels of conflict or couples on the verge of divorce cannot benefit from couples therapy.
Potential Counter Transference Issues
As a psychotherapist dealing with military clients, exposure to potentially traumatic and horrific information about combat action and war experiences is inevitable. Traumatic countertransference is always a possibility given the fatigue that results from offering so much care, empathy, and compassion to war veterans. As an American conversant with the political and social effects of terrorism, it is hard not to have personal reactions to narrations of war experiences and massive loss of lives. It is, therefore, possible to develop feelings of hyper- vigilance, disillusionment, and anger towards political systems.
Countertransference depletes the ability of a clinician to diagnose correctly and treat traumatic effects in veterans. To avoid such consequences, it is critical for me as a therapist to recognize the signs of countertransference early so as to deal with them effectively. This can be done using self-report scales such as Compassion Fatigue Self-Test (CFST), Secondary Trauma Questionnaire (STQ), TSI Belief Scale (TSI-BS) and Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) (Rubin et al., 2012).
Potential Ethical Dilemma
Working with a military population presents a counselor with various ethical dilemmas and conflicts. Confidentiality in military cases can be broken in cases where a soldier is unfit for duty, when a counselor is required to give mandated reports to military administrators or in instances of Command- Directed Evaluation.
Military service men and women have a unique set of values, norms, beliefs and manners. Personal values may invoke dilemmas for psychologists working with veterans and active servicemen. It is essential that a clinician respects the values of the client despite the conflict they may create. In a case where a soldier is mandated to go back to active duty, a clinician may be forced to consider the mission with the same values as the client despite his or her misgivings.
Social Justice Issues
Military families face various issues such as economic dilemmas, and difficulty in obtaining civilian employment after deployment. The military lifestyle can be expensive and frustrating. Therefore, it is expected that military family members are concerned about the pay and benefits given to soldiers, which in most cases is inadequate. It is also difficult for military spouses to get employment due to constant relocations. Due to the effects of deployment, veterans face challenges as they try to transition into civilian employment.
Diversity Issues and the Military Culture
Until recently gay military members could not disclose their relationship, nor could their partners benefit from medical and economic benefits meant for military spouses. Since the recognition of LGBT relationships by the Department of Defense, service members can serve openly and proudly.
Although service members have a freedom of worship, some members mainly Christians feel that the military infringes their rights by the requirement to hide items associated with their faith and the advocacy of universal prayers.
References
Asbury, E. T. & Martin, D. (2012). Military Deployment and the Spouse Left Behind. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families 20(1) 45-50.
Everson, B. R. & Figley C. R. (2011). Families under Fire: Systemic Therapy with Military Families. New York: Taylor and Francis Group.
Rubin, A., Weiss, E. L. & Coli, J. E. (2012). Handbook of Military Social Work. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Sautter, F. J., Armelie, A. P., Glynn, S. M. & Wielt, D. B. (2011). The Development of a Couple-Based Treatment for PTSD in Returning Veterans. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 2011, Vol 42, No.1, 63-69.
