Support for Families Dealing with Deployment
Lori Olson, MA, CCLS
As we get to know the patients and families we care for, we come to know that families have a story before entering the hospital. Part of our collective story as a nation of late, regardless of one’s political stance, is our country’s military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. The experience of many Minnesota families, many of whom we have cared for and even those we may work alongside, has involved active military service. Statistics from a recent presentation sponsored by Operation: Military Kids and the Center for 4-H & Community Youth Development (Sept. 20, 2007) estimates the number of Minnesota children impacted by deployment to reach 15,000.
The cycle of deployment for service members and their families has been divided into five stages:
- pre-deployment
- deployment
- sustainment
- re-deployment (reunion)
- post-deployment (reintegration).
While each stage is characterized by a timeframe and specific emotional challenge, through each remain the themes of change and readjustment. While you may not share the experience of having a loved one serving in the military, in your work with children and families in the hospital you demonstrate expertise supporting children and families coping with ongoing stress and change. Through your interactions with families who may be in one of the deployment stages, consider similar strategies of active listening, honoring established routines, and providing opportunities for competence and mastery.
As a state with no large military bases, a great deal of support for children and families in Minnesota affected by deployment comes through other sources. Regional conferences, community and online support programs, churches, schools – all have joined to offer support to children and families as well as to those who provide care and education to those impacted by deployment. For more information and/or other learning opportunities, please view the links below.
www.aap.org/sections/unifserv/deployment/index.html
Video of teens describing their experience of a parent(s) deployment.
www.operationmilitarykids.org
National outreach program providing social and educational programs for military youth living in civilian communities.
www.parenting.umn.edu
“Supporting Military Families” section.
www.sesameworkshop.org/wpad/
Part of talk, listen, connect series. Video to help parents of children ages 3-5 cope with feelings, challenges, and concerns during various stages of deployment.
Lori Olson, MA, CCLS, is a child life specialist at Children’s.
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