Overview
"Topics in Deployment Psychology" is an intensive two-week course that provides in-depth training on deployment spectrum issues facing our service members, their families, and providers. This course, which is offered four to five times a year, is taught not only by CDP staff but also distinguished guest speakers with expertise in military behavioral health and deployment medicine.
Suggested Audience:
This course is geared toward uniformed behavioral health providers from all the branches of the military. Attendees have included military psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, physician assistants, and clinical nurse practitioners. While a large number of the attendees are established uniformed providers, many are currently in their internship or residency year and represent the newest generation of tri-service junior officers in the DoD.
Course Content:
The two-week course covers four broad topic areas identified as particularly key to the care of service members and their families:
1. Deployment 101: addresses the unique demands that service members and behavioral health providers may experience while deployed in settings like Iraq and Afghanistan. Military behavioral health professionals who have recently deployed give firsthand accounts of their experiences in forward operating areas.
2. Trauma and Resilience: addresses issues of psychological trauma and resilience particular to the experience of combat deployment. Participants learn evidence-based approaches to assess and treat combat operational stress, PTSD, suicidal behavior, and sleep problems, and they discuss military efforts to build troop resilience.
3. Behavioral Health Care of the Seriously Medically Injured: introduces participants to issues that arise when providing behavioral health care to individuals suffering from serious medical injuries, with a focus on the identification and treatment of blast-related traumatic brain injuries.
4. Deployment and Families: examines topics related to the impact of deployment, reintegration, and combat stress injuries on the service member and the family, with an emphasis on family function and resilience.
In addition to the four pillars listed above, a common course theme is the complicated dual relationship inherent to balancing the needs of the military with those of the individual service member. Ethical dilemmas, compassion fatigue, and new methods to combat stigma in any military environment are routinely presented from multiple perspectives throughout the course.
Location:
All two-week courses are held on the campus of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
Cost:
There is no fee for attending this program.
- The CDP has funds to support travel and per diem expenses for a limited number of Active Duty and Reserve Component personnel.
2010-2011 Training Schedule:
September 20- 29, 2010
November 30- December 9, 2010
February 1- 10, 2011
April 12- 21, 2011
June 7- 16, 2011
Registration Request:
Please complete the CDP's Registration Request Form.
