Military Mental Health Counseling, Moral Injury, and Guidelines for Earning the Circle of Trust

9:00 am to 12:00pm

LIVE WEBINAR

Presenter: Mark A. Stebnicki, Ph.D., LCMHC, DCMHS, CRC, CMCC

Free to ALL New York State Social Workers

This workshop is approved for 3.0 continuing education credit hours for licensed social workers, licensed mental health counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists

Workshop Description

Since the global war on terrorism began in 2001, social workers and other mental health professionals have provided therapeutic programs and services to an increasing number of service members, veterans, veterans with disabilities, and military families. The signature injuries related to combat operations in the Middle East and elsewhere, relate to complex posttraumatic stress and other co-occurring mental health conditions, traumatic brain and blast injuries, as well as other chronic long term medical and physical health conditions. There are unique cultural differences in providing mental health services to the military versus civilians. Clearly, the military meets the definition of a culture. They have their own operational language, rituals, customs, values, beliefs, mission objectives, and organizational structure. The military indoctrination process is symbolized by boot camp or basic training, where the ethos and cultural identity is shaped as it relates to the occupation itself. Today’s military culture is changing. The Armed Forces reflects more racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural diversity than in any other war. Active duty minority men and women now comprise about 40% of the total U.S. military forces. The challenge for social workers and other mental health professionals is to earn the circle of trust and apply comprehensive clinical assessment, diagnosis, and mental health treatment within the cultural context of the military.

Participants in this workshop will:

• Be offered guidelines for facilitating the military intake interview by applying specific questions for military service members and veterans in the areas of general military intake, family, and deployment-related questions.
• Differentiate and identify salient features in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of military versus civilian mental health and co-occurring conditions.
• Identify and evaluate the veterans’ experience of moral injury by appraising the invisible wounds of moral injury and facilitate strategies to healing this unique type of trauma and spiritual crisis.  

Learning Objectives

After the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Apply intake interviewing technics for military service members and veterans.
• Differentiate the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of military versus civilian mental health and co-occurring conditions.
• Identify and Evaluate the veterans’ experience of moral injury.

This workshop is approved for 3.0 continuing education credit hours.

NASW-NYS is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (Provider ID #0014), licensed mental health counselors (Provider ID #MHC-0053), and licensed marriage and family therapists. (Provider ID #MFT-0037)

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Presenter:

Mark A. Stebnicki, Ph.D., LCMHC, DCMHS, CRC, CMCC is Professor Emeritus and former Coordinator of the Military and Trauma Counseling (MTC) Certificate Program which he developed in 2015 in the Department of Addictions and Rehabilitation at East Carolina University. Dr. Stebnicki also developed the national Clinical Military Counseling Certificate (CMCC) program; a 12 hr CE program offered nationally through the Telehealth Certificate Institute of New York. Dr. Stebnicki has been a counselor educator, researcher, and psychotherapist with over 30 years’ experience in rehabilitation and mental health. He has worked with adolescents and adults specializing in stress, trauma, grief, loss, and the psychosocial aspects of chronic illness and disability. His primary focus is working with military service members, veterans, veterans with disabilities, and military families. Dr. Stebnicki has published 9 professional textbooks, 40 journal articles and book chapters, and has provided over 100 presentations nationally, regionally, and statewide, He has served on many statewide and national professional counseling boards. .