The document discusses the military family system and deployment cycle. It begins with introductions of the presenters and discusses key aspects of military culture like core values, rank, and what it means to be a veteran. It then outlines the challenges current service members and their families face with repeated deployments and high rates of PTSD. The deployment cycle is explained through its three phases of pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment. Each phase involves emotional stages families progress through. Lastly, the document discusses treatment approaches like cognitive behavioral family therapy, brief strategic family therapy, and emotion focused family therapy.

1. The Military Family System
Presenters: LeAnne Rozner, M.A.
& Dominic Moreno

2. Introductions
LeAnne Rozner
• Marriage & Family Therapist Registered Intern
• M.A. Counseling Psychology, JFKU
• Spouse of a Veteran with PTSD
Dominic Moreno
• Student, M.A. Counseling Psychology, JFKU
• Marriage & Family Therapist Trainee, JFKUCC
• Military Veteran (USCG)

3. Our Military Today
“No one comes back
unchanged.”
Colonel (Dr.) Tom Burke
Department of Defense
Director of Mental Health Policy

4. Military Culture
Culture is the set of shared attitudes, values,
goals and practices that characterize an
institution, organization, or group.
Core Values:
•USCG - Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty
•US Army - Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service,
Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage
•USAF - Integrity, Service, Excellence
•USN & USMC - Honor, Courage, Commitment

5. Military Culture
• Status
• Rank
• Pay Grade (E1 – O9)
• Rate / MOS (Military Occupational Specialty)
• INCONUS / OCONUS
• PCS
• Deployment

6. What is a Veteran?
A Veteran is someone who,
at one point in their life
wrote a blank check
made payable to
the United States of America
for an amount up to
and including
their life.

7. Our Wars Today
• 1 in 4 Americans have a connection to the Military
• Over 1.5 million service members have served in
these wars
• Over half of service members and their spouses are
under 30 years old
• 53% married, 68% have children
• High % coming home with PTSD and TBI
• Nearly half experience multiple deployments
• Psychological issues rise with repeated deployments
• Civilian Soldiers

8. Facts To Remember
• The emotions family members experience during the
cycles of deployment are a normal reaction to an
abnormal situation unique to the military.
• If the service member experiences combat stress, it
can interfere with the family members’ ability to
reintegrate as a family.
• Encourage them to seek help early rather than later.

9. The Deployment Cycle
Three Phases of Deployment Cycle:
•Pre-deployment
•Deployment
•Post-deployment
In the current conflicts, Service members and families
are going through this cycle repeatedly.

10. Emotional Stages of Deployment
Pre-Deployment
•Stage 1 – Anticipation of Departure
•Stage 2 – Detachment and Withdrawal
Deployment
•Stage 3 – Emotional Disorganization
•Stage 4 – Recovery and Stabilization
•Stage 5 – Anticipation of Return
Post-Deployment
•Stage 6 – Return Adjustment and Renegotiation
•Stage 7 – Reintegration and Stabilization

11. The Deployment Cycle

12. Pre-Deployment Phase
Notification, Preparation, & Training
•A time of preparation for both the Service member
and their family.
•Packing Up, Getting Squared Away, Shipping Out
•The Service member will experience a significant
increase in military-related training demands
•The family must also prepare for the Service
member’s absence both practically and emotionally

13. Pre-Deployment: Emotional Stage 1
Anticipation of Departure:
•Spouses may alternately feel denial and anticipation
of loss.
•Tempers may flare as couples attempt to take care of
all the items on a family pre-deployment checklist,
while striving to make time for “memorable”
moments.
•May begin again before a couple or family has even
had time to renegotiate a shared vision of who they
are after the changes from the last deployment.

14. Pre-Deployment: Emotional Stage 2
Detachment and Withdrawal :
•Members become more and more psychologically
prepared for deployment, focusing on the mission and
their unit.
•Sadness and anger occur as couples attempt to
protect themselves from the hurt of separation;
marital problems may escalate.

15. Deployment Phase
Restructuring the Family System
•Physical Separation begins
•Units and individuals depart from their respective
installations into their designated assignments
•“Closing the Ranks”

16. Deployment: Emotional Stage 3
Emotional Disorganization :
•With back to back deployments, one might think that
this stage of adjusting to new responsibilities and
being alone would get easier.
•Although a military spouse may be familiar with the
routine, (s)he may also be experiencing “burn-out”
and fatigue from the last deployment, and feel
overwhelmed at starting this stage again.

17. Deployment: Emotional Stage 4
Recovery and Stabilization :
•Spouses realize they are fundamentally resilient and
able to cope with the deployment. They develop
increased confidence and a positive outlook.
•Many resources are available to provide needed
support.

18. Redeployment
“At Ease”
•Demobilization is the period when Service Members
returning from theater arrive at the demobilization
station.
•Service Members may be extremely eager to get
home
•Family members will be just as anxious for their
arrival

19. Deployment: Emotional Stage 5
Anticipation of Return:
•Demobilization
•A happy and hectic time as families prepare for the
return of the service member
•Spouses, children, and parents need to talk about
realistic plans and expectations for the reunion
•Close your eyes …
•Troops in Combat
•Welcome Home Parade

20. Post-Deployment
• The Service member reunites with his/her family
• The process of “reintegrating” into his/her family
begins
• An exciting but challenging time, filled with mixed
emotions (anticipation, joy and relief)
• The most stressful phase of the deployment cycle
for many families

21. Post-Deployment: Reunion
“Fall In”
•Reintegration into civilian life poses new challenges
•Service member & family strive to regain normalcy
•Post-Deployment events occur at 30, 60, and 90-day
marks
•Service members receive information about services
and entitlements earned

22. Post-Deployment: Emotional Stage 6
Adjustment & Renegotiation:
•Families must reset their expectations and
renegotiate their roles
•Negotiation of the “new normal” begins
•Attempts at renegotiation may result in increasing
marital arguments
•Families need to be prepared to deal with the effects
of combat stress

23. Post-Deployment: Reintegration
“As You Were”
•Can take up to 6 months for the family to stabilize
•Even more difficult when a family must make a
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move immediately
•While the Service member was deployed, the family
may have changed a great deal

24. Changes for Family & Veteran
Family has...
•New routines
Veteran’s return can...
•Interrupt routine
•New responsibilities
•Throw off decision-making
•More independence and
confidence
•Cause family to walk on
eggshells
•Made many sacrifices
•Disrupt space
•Worried, felt lonely
•Not make everything perfect
•Gone through milestones that
were missed
•Not replace the sacrifices and
missed milestones

25. Post-Deployment: Emotional Stage 7
Reintegration and Stabilization:
•The couple and family stabilize their relationships
•The return of the Service member can sometimes
feel disruptive requiring renegotiated roles and
routines.
•Back to back deployments create stress as families
stabilize only to begin Stage 1 again.
•Combat stress can severely disrupt the stabilization
process

26. Treatment Approaches
Family treatment should focus on:
•Improving communication
•Reducing conflict among family members
•Addressing family disruption
•Educating family members about the effects of
combat stress on service members
(Foa, 2009)

27. Treatment Approaches
• Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy
• Brief Strategic Family Therapy
• Emotion Focused Family Therapy

28. Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy
General Concepts:
•Thoughts cause Feelings and Behaviors
•Emotions and reactions to life events are shaped by
interpretations of these events
•In relationships, cognitions, emotions and behavior
mutually influence one another
•Identify and challenge distorted cognitions
•Interventions are proactive, educational, and problem
solving
(Schwebel and Fine, 1992)

29. Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy
Goals:
•Behavior change: Increase positive behavior,
decrease maladaptive behavior.
•Cognitive Change: Facilitate family’s ability to
recognize and challenge distorted thinking.
•Education / Skill building: Teach communication,
negotiation, and problem solving skills
(Schwebel and Fine, 1992)

30. Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy
Strengths:
•Structured and Goal oriented
•Present focused and Time limited (10-20 sessions)
•Collaboration between family and therapist
•Research evidence supports its efficacy
•Appealing to clients – Proactive, problem solving and
skill building
•Flexible - Easily integrated with other approaches
(Schwebel and Fine, 1992)

31. Brief Strategic Family Therapy
General Concepts:
•Problems are created by dysfunctional interactional
patterns (communications & behaviors)
•Dysfunctional interactional patterns maintain the
problem and make it worse
•Symptoms have functions
•Dysfunction originates from mishandled transitions
•Works within the client’s frame of reference
(Szapocznik, Schwartz, Muir, & Hendricks Brown, 2012)

32. Brief Strategic Family Therapy
Goals:
•Preserving the family is desirable outcome
•To eliminate or reduce problem behaviors
•To change family interactions associated with
problem behaviors
•Focus on changing family dynamics
•To change the way family members behave toward
each other
(Szapocznik, Schwartz, Muir, & Hendricks Brown, 2012)

33. Brief Strategic Family Therapy
Strengths:
•Flexible approach
•Applicable across a range of ethnic/cultural groups
•Provides motivation that increases family
involvement
•Supports healthy family development
•Efficacious in treating child and adolescent behavior
problems and impaired family functioning
•Labeled as “model program” by USDHHS
(Szapocznik, Schwartz, Muir, & Hendricks Brown, 2012)

34. Emotion Focused Family Therapy
General Concepts:
•The relationship is the client
•Validates family members’ emotions and attachment
needs
•Therapy is a healing place where a corrective
emotional experience happens
•Views current negative emotional responses as
having been adaptive at some time
•However, previously adaptive behaviors are now
mismatched to the situation and are now maladaptive
(Johnson, 1996)

35. Emotion Focused Family Therapy
Goals:
•Family members learn to understand and express
underlying feelings
•Family members change their perceptions of each
other
•To create secure and lasting bonds between family
members
•To reinforce positive bonds that already exist
•To create an atmosphere of harmony and respect
where relationships can flourish
(Johnson, 1996)

36. Emotion Focused Family Therapy
Strengths:
•Present focused, Brief & Time limited(8-12 sessions)
•Research supports its efficacy with couples and
families
•Effective treatment for families facing depression,
grief, chronic illness, and PTSD
•Culturally sensitive - universal emotions are
examined within a personal cultural context
•Humanistic based and believes the family can heal
itself
•Couple in therapy
(Johnson, 1996)

37. The Military Family System
Questions?