One thing that is not new to military families is the struggle of deployments. A valuable member of the family is taken away, sometimes for over a year, and the hardships of that are hard to deal with.
Now, military families have free access to an online tool that is designed to help them navigate these harsh waters of absence in a way that only military families can understand.
Cohen Veterans Network, a nonprofit mental health network serving post-9/11 veterans, service members and their families, launched its Military Family Deployment Support Resource on Monday.
The resource posted online provides expert-informed resources on preparing children for a parent’s departure, managing stress, and keeping a family together when the service member arrives back home.
The organization has helped millions in the Armed Forces, and deployments or other extended stays due to military training are their specialty. When a service member leaves a family, many times the extra duties they had as a spouse or parent are burdened on their partner, which brings about untold levels of stress. Managing these responsibilities is what this tool is meant for.
“From preparing for separation to reconnecting after a deployment ends, each stage brings unique challenges,” Dr. Anthony Hassan, president and CEO of Cohen Veterans Network, said in a statement.
Broken into three phases, this tool helps a family manage and succeed throughout the different cycles of a deployment. Redeployment, time away, and reintegration are the levels at which this tool is meant to help a family, and each section is designed to overcome the harsh obstacles that come with each level.
Preparing the Family for Absence
Before the start of deployment, families face the unknown. In the abyss of a family that is dealing with a deployment, worries abound. Finances, legal documents, and familial duties are all worries that come up for those involved. How will they handle it? This is one tricky question that the Cohen Family Network tool is trying to help with.
The organization advises families to prepare early. This preparation, combined with effective communication, is the best way to go about a successful deployment leave and return. The children are especially vulnerable, and proper explanations are necessary to make sure they understand.
This tool is meant to help parents understand how to do that. Children can struggle or not understand why a parent is leaving, and all the pressures or problems that come with it.
The tool is meant to direct families towards resources that enable them to be successful in this venue. Preparation before absence is the key to managing early stress levels.
Research cited by the Department of Veterans Affairs talks about the emotional cycle of deployment. As soon as notice for deployment is received, stress is triggered automatically.
Different emotions can come up, such as fear, anger, and anticipatory stress. In these cycles, children’s responses can vastly differ. Age, maturity levels, and other behavioral factors are all variables that can contribute to feeling alone. VA points to the emotional health of the parent as an important part of coming to grips with these feelings.
Maintaining and Building
Upon leave, the remaining parent is responsible for the problems of the family. Communication with the deployed parent is inconsistent, sometimes not even existent, and therefore makes the parent feel completely alone. Children can then display changes in their behavior, as they are missing half of their parenting team.
The Cohens Veteran’s Network tool offers information on how to deal with these issues. Maintaining family connectedness, even in absence, helps to relieve these problems. Managing the house becomes easier with more tools available to the parent, which is what this resource strives to do.
Families can use alternative methods of communication when traditional methods have fallen by the wayside. Letters, photos, recorded messages, and other utilities are available for precisely this kind of problem. This can help the children and the parents feel connected to their loved one in the remoteness or their absence.
The resource also details how to keep the connection going between spouses. Couples need to prepare for limited communication styles and times, and learn how to operate individually but collectively, in a way that serves the children. This tool will help them to do that.
Financial and other practical means may be limited during deployments, and this tool can help with that issue. The resources available from this tool can help to achieve the solutions.
Homecoming is Just the Beginning
Upon completion of deployment, another stage begins for families. During the deployment, families often get used to operating without the service member. Adjustment time is often needed, and the transitions can sometimes be hard for both the families and the returning service members.
The Cohen Veterans Network has identified that these changing roles, miscommunication, and emotional stances that come with the reestablishment of a family have their problems. Family members may experience a stage of unease when they settle back into this rhythm.
This tool has separation guidance and reintegration guidance as well. A long-term RAND study of approximately 2,700 military families found that service members who completed more preparation activities before deployment reported greater satisfaction with parenting afterward.
Those who prepared more were able to handle deployment communication at a better rate than those who didn’t. Even though the study measured emotional difficulties and depression screening went up during the leave, most of the measures returned to normal after some time.
Mental Health is Always a Priority
These tools are not a replacement for professional health treatments. The CVN operates in 23 clinics around the United States and treats a whole host of mental issues that can come with this time of grief and uncertainty. Virtual therapy is available as well. For those who need it, help is there.
For military families, deployment involves doubt and pressures that are enormous. The Cohen Veterans Network has developed a tool to help cope with these issues and will be there for the long haul. Whether it is before, during, or after, they can help find a way to navigate these troubled times for families.
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