Social Workers In The Military

Combat veterans are among the highest at risk for issues in transitioning form military life to civilian. Many potentially suffer from both physical and/or mental traumas. Many veterans and even active duty services members have allowed the unofficial culture of if you need mental or medical help you are weak. Many military families are also afraid of utilizing family support mechanisms out of fear of

INTRODUCTION: How many people have a Veteran in their family or know one? If yes do you help them or is it someone else’s problem. Well many people think it’s someone else problem, but the truth is it’s our problem.

This meek beginning social work had progressed into a professional service with treatment obligations in all patient care areas, helping patients ←and→ families to attain their highest level of adjustment/coping in society, endorsing vocational ←and→ psychosocial rehabilitation. Social workers developed implemented treatment approaches which addressed individual social difficulties work with acute/chronic medical conditions, dying patients, bereaved families. VA social workers were liable for ensuring continuity of care through the admission, evaluation, treatment, follow-up processes this consisted of coordinating discharge planning providing case management services based on the patients clinical community health social services

When I first started to research about how the American society helps discharged soldiers, I first wanted to know what type of help society offer to them. The article “10 Organizations that Help Veterans Transition to Civilian Life” published by Vista College helped me view a plethora of organizations that offer help to veterans. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) organization helps “connect veterans to one another and educate them on,” issues and benefits they could get when transitioning

Once Veterans meet criteria, they will be assigned a MHICM social worker. ?He or she will meet with the Veteran at the clinic, plan home visits or meet at a place in the community. ?Depending on the Veteran?s needs, social workers can help with learning about mental illness and learning how to solve problems including: learning how to manage money, keeping medical and mental health care appointments, learning about medications, finding safe independent housing, and finding activities that are meaningful for our Veterans.

Social workers’ commitment to social justice means they want everyone to have a fair and equal opportunity to an assessment. In line with fairness, social workers should tell carers about their right to refuse an assessment as their permission, and not the person receiving care, is needed before the carer’s assessment can commence. In addition, social workers, bound by legislation regarding confidentiality and information sharing, must reserve the carer’s right to privacy whilst uphold their right to a fair hearing. This is achieved by only disclosing carer’s personal details to 3rd parties with consent, unless a safeguarding concern arises.

The beliefs, values, and customs that are associated with the armed forces has cultivated into a unique culture within the military community (Hall, 2016, p. 41). In essence, a sub-culture has been established that is distinctly different from the culture of the United States. Thus, those that enter military service resign themselves to the fact that the military lifestyle is a departure from the civilian lifestyle and therefore, will differ from society as a whole. The military itself is rigidly structured, an aspect that essential not just to the military’s purpose, but to its continued existence. Thus, personnel, and by extension their families, are required to not only adhere to the many rules and regulations, but embrace them as well (Hall, 2016). Honor is a central tenet within the armed services and is ingrained within the culture (Hall, 2016). As such, the military mission has created a culture that champions having “the right stuff”, so to speak, and encourages the suppression of feelings and emotions (Hall, 2016, p. 11). Moreover, this warrior society embraces secrecy, stoicism, and denial, as these concepts are viewed as essential ingredients to the success of the self,

The morale and welfare of the men and women that serve our country is considered one of America’s primary missions. Throughout the course of American history, the U.S. government has set forth initiatives as well as mandated laws; with efforts to provide aid and support services for members of the armed services.

In actuality, veterans continue to face barriers on their process for resocialization. Despite the effort that society puts in to ease such transition veterans find difficulty adapting to modern society due to a warfare identity. The military trains its veterans with the purpose to make them stronger in personality as well as to teach them how to control their emotions. Veterans are force to assimilate the military culture by detaching from their very own self-identity prior to the military. The identity that has been created by the military is also responsible for the negative stigma that our veterans’ currently suffer in today’s society. They are often portray as, murderous and violent. These traits are not strictly related to combat, but

military who understand the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life after being conditioned into service. Although some have the support of family friends, it’s not always the case for those who undergo extended service for the United States. After serving a certain amount of time for the United States, it only seems fair that veterans should be able experience an easier transition and at least be provided with easier access to care for possible psychological trauma and other behavioral needs.

With the withdrawal of U.S. military troops from Iraq and the reduction in force due to federal budget constraints, thousands of military members are returning to civilian life. For some military service member the adjustment to civilian life is challenging. During the reintegration period, veterans face a variety of issues from relating to friends and family, moving to find work, entering the work force and creating a new structure within their daily lives. Not all problems can be solved, but as a step forward every veteran should be assigned a social worker and provided with better job preference within federal, state and county sections. Reintegration process has come a long way from previous years, but there are still visible issue that

Upon learning from a Connecticut National Guard recruiter that I was ineligible to enlist in any branch of the United States Armed Forces due to a chronic illness that will require medication indefinitely, I was devastated. However, despite this devastation, it was my desire to serve and to be a part of the military culture that became the driving force behind the decision to become a certified Military Service Members, Veterans and Their Families – Advanced Social Worker (MVF-ASW). Even though this career does not involve being on the front lines, I can still provide direct services to the children of active duty service members as they navigate the extended deployments, frequent moves and strained familial relationships. Even though this particular credential is not mandatory to work as a youth services coordinator on a military base, it is recommended because it will provide me with the specialized knowledge and understanding of military culture that can help me to be a more effective social worker in this particular field.

A service member’s emotional and psychological issues are not like malfunctions of a piece of equipment and must not be treated as a troubleshooting problem in a technical manual. And yet this seems to be the only way the military, as a whole, knows how to address the issue of a service members mental health. It requires a holistic approach that is not currently embraced by the military. Historically, the military has been ill-equipped to handle the shifting nature of the psychological issues created by introducing a service member to the battlefield.

As the article states, readers could not have imagined America would soon witness the worst terrorist attack in its history, followed by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With such a tragic event such as war, the social work profession will be hugely affected. With the return of veterans a lot of them will be out of a job, so social workers will be presented with more cases in trying to help these veterans obtain some type of stable income. The field of social work will also be affected by how the professionals handle cases with clients that have encountered a traumatic event such as war, and may suffer from PTSD. They will have to have awareness of the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder has increased, especially for those veterans from the

Medical social workers collaborate with other human service workers to help severely ill patients, suffering from physical and psychological issues. Throughout the many challenges of patients, medical social workers and other professionals meet the common and severe needs of people with physical and mental illnesses. Andrews, Darnell, McBride, & Gehlert (2013) state “Social workers are familiar with the complex and overlapping systems that must be negotiated to ensure that the social, psychological and economic needs of individuals and groups are addressed in a way that underscores optimal health” (p. 67). Once the patient discuss their core issues with the medical social worker and other medical staff members at the hospital, physicians, nurses, and medical social workers can give patients ' positive feedback the concerns their health and well-being. Medical social workers interact with each other for the patient’s safety.