Clinical Military Counseling: Guidelines for Practice

“I propose that we are in a paradigm shift in the counseling and psychology profession. We have trauma fatigue which is a new type of complex acute and posttraumatic stress requiring vital healing resources. For many, planet earth does not feel like a safe place to live. Global terrorism has fundamentally and behaviorally changed the way in which we live our everyday lives. This is apparent in airports, shopping malls, schools, entertainment venues, federal and state buildings and other institutions. Homegrown terrorism is on the rise in the U.S requiring teams of first responders, disaster mental health specialists, and critical incident stress debriefers. Our own historical trauma from 11 September is reinforced and magnified by 24-hour media coverage unfolding in real-time. We are consumed with graphic images of horrific scenes of terrorist attacks, wars, civil unrest, and other conflicts around the globe. After 20-plus years at war and mission creep, we have a multi-generational group of military service members and veterans that began fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation New Dawn (OND), and in Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) which started August 2014. There were many wars that came before and many will come after these. At this point in the war on terrorism, we have two generations of sons and daughters of fathers and mothers enlisted together that potentially are training and fighting alongside one another. The long term mental, physical, and psychological impact of warfighting are mapped into our mind, body, and spirit. So, who are the men and women that represent the less than two percent of Americans in the Armed Forces? Who are the individuals that volunteered to defend the security of our country and swear an oath to fight enemies foreign and domestic? The foundation for this book was inspired by family members, friends, and clients that have served in the military. My extensive experiences as a counselor educator, researcher, and practitioner working with active duty Marines, veterans, veterans with disabilities, and military families are memorialized in this book. The designation of clinical military counselor throughout this book depicts professionals that work in the fields of mental health, rehabilitation, clinical addiction, and school counseling, as well as psychologists, social workers, and other behaviorally licensed practitioners.”