INSIGHT Magazine

SPRING 2010

V OLUME 3

IS SUE 2

THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

the

Invisible Wounds of War

– A plague that has haunted soldiers for centuries –

P R E S ID E N T H O RO W I T Z ’ S FA R E W E L L C O U N S E L IN G H O ME L E S S V E T S T HE W O R S T D U T Y

SPRING 2010 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 2

editorial staff: Judy Beaupre Lindsay Beller Nathan Jones Kelli Langdon Beth VanDyke Contributing Writers: Robert D. Clark, Ph.D Pam DeFiglio Sara Schapmann Design: Bates Creative Group

“

We cannot forget that military kids serve in their own special way. They’re just like any other child—except their lives are turned upside down every time their mom or dad is gone halfway around the world, risking their lives so that all children can enjoy the freedoms of our democracy.

First Lady Michelle Obama

”

Contributing Photographers: Amy Braswell George DeLoache Kelli Langdon Tiffany Masson Ben Reed Loren Santow Cover DESIGN: Seth Sirbaugh

President and CEO Michael Horowitz, Ph.D. President, Chicago Campus Carroll Cradock, Ph.D. Vice President, Operations and President, L.A., Westwood, and Irvine Campuses Michele Nealon-Woods, Psy.D. ’00 President, Washington, D.C., Campus Orlando Taylor, Ph.D. INSIGHT is published twice annually by the Department of Marketing and Communications at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

It is mailed to alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the school.

Address changes and correspondence should be sent to: insight@thechicagoschool.edu Visit INSIGHT online at : http://insight-magazine.org

SPRING 2010 V OLUME 3 IS SUE 2 T HE M A G A Z INE FOR A L UMNI A ND F R IEND S OF T HE CHIC AG O S CHO OL OF PROFE S SION A L P S YCHOL O G Y

04 04

04 28 departments 3 President’s Letter 4 On Campus

20

Faculty visit Rwanda, students counsel homeless veterans in L.A., and in Chicago, students initiate a campaign for children’s rights.

8 Faculty A psychologist reflects on his tour in Vietnam, and four professors sound off on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

26 ALUMNI NEWS Meet your fellow alumni: a social networking guru and an investigator of the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

28 GIVING BACK A veteran fights back and voices support for military families.

29 Last page A look back at President Horowitz’s tenure.

FEATURES 14 THE INVISIBLE WOUNDS OF WAR A look at the psychological toll that the battlefront exacts on our fighting men and women, and how the military is changing to address the problem.

20 HOME AGAIN A program helps children like Micah cope after a parent returns from war.

24 DELIVERING THE BAD NEWS Meet the officers no military family ever wants to—the ones who notify the next of kin of a death.

{president’s letter} INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 3

The End of an Era

I

arrived at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology 10 years ago with a charge from the Board of Trustees to take our mission and approach to psychology education to new frontiers and to connect to more students and communities.

Every day since then I’ve joined you and others in advancing this vision. Along the way we never stopped in our cause to make The Chicago School of Professional Psychology a preeminent and nationally recognized graduate school.

There comes a time for all of us when we begin new chapters in our lives. For me, after long reflection, I have decided that the time has come to write the ending of one chapter and begin a new one. I have decided that 2010 will be the year I transition from the presidency of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

By the time you receive this issue of INSIGHT, a search will be well underway to find my successor—a person who will be a national voice for professional psychology education and an advocate for expanding the benefits of psychology and the related behavioral sciences.

As for me, I won’t be going far. Last year, a number of us here at TCSPP began creating something new and exciting: TCS Education System (TCS ES). A nonprofit organization, TCS ES will allow us to take the models of graduate education first developed here at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and apply them to other disciplines, such as education and human development and health and human services. The System also includes TCS Foundation, which will further connect us to new funding sources for the work that we do in the community both domestically and internationally.

It’s been an honor serving with you over the past decade. They have been the best 10 years of my life. Our work is only beginning, though, and I can’t wait to see where the next chapter takes us.

Michael Horowitz President

on campus

The Chicago School Here and Now

Dr. Mark Kassel works with Rwandan teachers.

Global HOPE Initiative Responds to Trauma Around the World

I

n a land where trauma has often defined everyday existence, a new project is taking shape and bringing hope and healing to survivors. The Global HOPE Training Initiative—HOPE stands for Healing Opportunities through Purposeful Engagement—calls upon the expertise of Chicago School faculty to train teachers in strategies and skills that can be used in the assessment, prevention, and treatment of trauma.

The small African nation of Rwanda—which continues to struggle with the aftermath of the 1994 genocide that took more than a million lives and left a trail of

destruction and human tragedy—is the first to benefit from the curriculum designed as a train-the-trainer initiative for trauma survivors. But it won’t be the last.

“We want to take the curriculum and apply it in other countries where there has been war, or natural disaster, or other tragedy,” said Tiffany Masson, assistant professor of forensic psychology. Dr. Masson and Dr. Mark Kassel, associate director of curriculum and instructional design, are spearheading the development of the curriculum, which they delivered for the first time in November 2009 to a group of 24 Rwandan teachers and psychologists.

“I felt so privileged to be there and that they (Rwandans) would trust me with their stories and share honestly about their struggles,” Dr. Masson said. “I feel I have a duty, now that I know what their needs are, to help them.”

One difference in societal perceptions stood out during her stay in Rwanda, she says. Whenever participants talked about trauma, they framed it in terms of genocide.

They had never considered domestic violence, child abuse, and children orphaned by AIDS deaths—all present in Rwanda—as traumatic.

“It wasn’t until the fourth day they could say, ‘Yes, we do have a problem

California Students Team with U.S. Vets Los Angeles is home to the largest homeless veteran population in the country: men and some women who live in cardboard boxes; sleep under bridges; or in best-case scenarios, find shelter and support in one of the residential centers set up for their care. Their mental health needs are many: psychotherapy to dispel the nightmares and flashbacks that continue to haunt them, professional help in overcoming decades of substance abuse, and assistance in re-establishing fractured relationships.

Thanks to a new partnership with the U.S. Veterans Initiative—the largest nonprofit organization in the country dedicated to helping homeless and at-risk veterans—students at The Chicago School Counseling Center are getting a hefty dose of the real-world experience that is central to their education, while also addressing some of the long-unmet needs of this population. Dr. Melodie Schaefer, director, who refers to her program as a “counseling center without walls,” oversees the work of six students at U.S. Vets centers in Inglewood and Long Beach.

“This is such a critical population,” says Dr. Schaefer, who devoted much of her career to working with veteran groups before joining The Chicago School in 2008. “On any given night, more than 40,000 homeless veterans call the streets of L.A. home.” The students provide individual and group therapy in projects that seek to reunite veterans with their children, counsel women veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder or sexual trauma, and work with disabled men struggling with substance abuse or transitioning from prison to mental health facilities.

While U.S. Vets serves men and women of all ages and from all wars, students have found that a majority of their clients are veterans of Vietnam, a conflict that few graduate school students remember.

“At least half of my clients are accessing services for the first time,” says Clinical Psy.D. student Shannon Chavez, to underscore how long it has taken some veterans—especially those from Vietnam—to take the step of seeking services. “I’ve never worked with this population

before and have never had the opportunity to see the effect of going through life homeless.

It’s been a powerful experience.”

The students, all pursuing Clinical Psy.D.s at the Westwood or Los Angeles campuses, talk about the emotional challenge of hearing clients’ life stories. While bound by confidentiality that prevents them from sharing specific cases, they speak in broad terms about once-strong men going to war for their country, coming home to the disdain many held for Vietnam veterans, desperately needing—but not receiving—treatment for PTSD or major depression, attempting suicide, and being rejected by families who felt they should “tough it out.”

“Some are very open and just want to be understood,” Kimberly Eddy-Bross says of the clients she has encountered. “But others can’t talk about their war experiences at all.”

For some students, a particularly daunting task has been working with women who suffered sexual harassment while in the military.

They are among the 15 to 50 percent of women who represent what Dr. Schaefer refers to as the military’s “best-kept secret”—women who were harassed or abused by their male counterparts while serving. These veterans, who are served through the U.S. Vets residential ADVANCE Women’s Program, represent a variety of ages, including some Vietnam veterans who are just now seeking help for the first time.

“They didn’t access services for years because they didn’t dare go to a facility where the males from the units were also being treated,” Dr. Schaefer says. “But these women have now reached out for help and are beginning to confront the issues that have been with them since their active duty days.”

U.S. Vets currently serves around 1,100 former military personnel through mental health services, job readiness training, and transitional housing and permanent housing for the homeless.

READ MORE ABOUT ON CAMPUS NEWS ONLINE. insight-magazine.org/ campus-news

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 5

with those things’,” said Dr. Kassel. Similarly, Rwandan school teachers had not connected their students’ wild or withdrawn behavior to stress caused by abuse or violence and its aftermath. “They thought the kids were just misbehaving. Now they understand the kids’ acting out is very often a symptom of trauma,” Dr. Kassel explained.

The training initiative reflects The Chicago School’s vision of extending the healing effects of psychology around the world, especially to nations that have had little access to mental health knowledge or care. The vision is grounded in an intent to assist people in realizing their full potential and in a desire to lay groundwork for future peaceful relationships.

Drs. Masson and Kassel are using feedback gathered from the initial training project to refine the trauma curriculum.

Their goal is to enable Rwandan school teachers and orphanage workers to use the mental health skills they learn in the workshops to help students process trauma-related emotions and experience more peace in their lives.

The plan also calls for the 24 Rwandans who participated in the workshop, now called the Rwanda advisory board, to impart the curriculum content to school teachers and orphanage personnel throughout Rwanda in a trainthe-trainer model. TCSPP hopes to replicate that model in countries around the world, and is currently in discussions with representatives in China, Brazil, and Peru about potential project expansion.

on campus

The Chicago School Here and Now

Children’s Rights Campaign Inspires Students

Fyeqa Sheikh collects signatures for the campaign.

The signature on Krishna Chari’s email reads, “RATIFY the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).” Chari is pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and is one of many students who feels passionately about a recent initiative at The Chicago School.

Last November, The Chicago School officially launched an academic partnership with the U.S. campaign to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) through the school’s Center for International Studies (CIS).

The CRC is the first legally binding human rights treaty created by the United Nations to specifically promote and protect children worldwide. At this time, the United States and Somalia are the only members of the United Nations who have yet to ratify the treaty.

ACADEMICUPDATEs From Online to On Campus After five months of online interactions, the first cohort of The Chicago School’s new Ph.D. in International Psychology and Organizational Leadership online-blended programs met in person during an oncampus residency held Feb. 5-7, 2010.

The Chicago School convened 34 students from around the world in the first on-campus residency of its kind—a requirement for the new programs that began last fall. “It’s a face-to-face intensive weekend of study,” said Dr. Nancy Davis, Ph.D. residency coordinator. “We focused only on things they needed to do in person and that they couldn’t do well online.”

The central purpose of the residency was dissertation preparation.

Faculty designed a number of workshops to introduce students to the process, including how to write a problem statement and how to select a committee. In one exercise, students met with each faculty member for 10 minutes—speed-dating style—to determine who might be a good match for their dissertation committees.

The weekend included several other activities designed to introduce students to the school, to offer information on how to be a successful doctoral student, and to foster personal connections. President Michael Horowitz and Dr. Patricia Breen, senior vice president of academic affairs, gave welcome speeches at the first dinner. Later in the weekend, international psychologist Dr. Yael Danieli delivered a keynote address about trauma in organizations. Other speakers participated in panel discussions throughout the weekend.

Students gained a better understanding of the institution after a campus tour and presentations by staff. Their guests also attended a workshop on how to live with a doctoral candidate. The second and final on-campus residency for this cohort will take place in April 2011, while the first residency for the next cohort will occur in August 2010.

One of the most valuable aspects of the experience proved to be meeting each other in person. “What mattered more than the Organizational Leaderlearning was that we met and interfaced,” ship Ph.D. student Dr. Davis said. “We thrived together because Ted Scholz consults we had been online for five months sharing residency coordinator stories about each other, our workplaces, and Dr. Nancy Davis about our career aspirations.” his dissertation.

TCSPP Provides Vital Mental Health Services to Chicago’s South Side At a time when budget cuts to Chicago’s mental health services have left thousands without access to critical psychological services, The Chicago School has partnered with the Community Mental Health Council, Inc. (CMHC) to provide at least 3,200 hours of treatment to those in need.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) secured $350,000 in federal funding—a result of the FY 2010 Omnibus Appropriations Bill—to provide crucial

services to underserved and at-risk populations on Chicago’s South Side.

The allocation will allow The Chicago School to contribute the expertise of 10 doctoral students and postdoctoral clinicians to assist CMHC’s clients in four key areas—rehabilitation services, substance abuse, juvenile justice, and child and family services.

The ambitious endeavor is particularly timely given the current economic crisis.

“So many families struggle with treatable mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse,” said Rep. Jackson. “I applaud the efforts of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and the Community Mental Health Council as they work to prevent the suffering of thousands of children and adults. It is incredibly important, especially during times of crisis, to address the shortage of mental health professionals and provide patients with necessary, vital treatment.”

CMHC is located in the South Shore neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. It also has outpatient sites in the Englewood and Chatham-Avalon neighborhoods. Thousands of residents take advantage of its services, receiving help with the challenges of mental illness, substance abuse, and other behavior disorders.

Grant White (Psy.D. ‘93), associate vice president of CMHC’s Outpatient & Family Services and associate professor of clinical psychology at The Chicago School, will coordinate the project.

“In this situation, everybody wins,” Dr. White said. “Chicagoans—particularly on the South Side—get quality treatment right away, the council (CMHC) can keep up with the growing need for services in a shaky economy, and our students get priceless hands-on training. The Chicago School trains psychologists to make a real impact in the world, and this program will help doctoral (and other) students do just that right now when and where it is most needed.”

The Chicago School Builds Global Ties The Chicago School’s internationalization efforts received a recent boost when the International Council of Psychologists (ICP) chose TCSPP as the location of its home office and secretariat. The partnership is expected to strengthen universal ties with psychologists around the world and increase global opportunities for faculty and students.

The ICP’s mission is to advance psychology and the application of its scientific findings throughout the world.

The council builds on its objectives by developing globally focused research and action programs, providing educational opportunities, and sponsoring annual scholarly conferences. In August, Chicago will host the organization’s 68th annual conference, which will focus on the theme of Psychological Values Around the World, and will provide faculty, students, and alumni with the opportunity to attend presentations and workshops, as well as have the chance to network with renowned international psychologists.

As the ICP secretariat, TCSPP will be the central point for all marketing, communications, and administrative operations for the council. This mutually beneficial relationship will allow the school to play a more significant role in the ICP and provide students with access to international affairs fellowships with the secretariat office.

“Our affiliation with ICP represents an ideal partnership for our institution as we continue to grow our international initiatives,” says Emily Brinkmoeller, associate vice president of international initiatives. “The conference will be especially beneficial in that it will bring together elite psychologists from around the world and expose our faculty and students to new perspectives and innovative ideas.”

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 7

Dr. Nancy Dubrow, associate professor and director of the CIS, and Dr. Lori Ryan, a CIS postdoctoral fellow, are spearheading The Chicago School’s partnership with the campaign. Chari has been assisting them with their efforts from the beginning, and has seen the excitement and support for the movement grow within The Chicago School community.

“Throughout the course of the campaign, we have involved over 250 students and faculty who have dedicated their support to the campaign through letters to their senator and participation in workshops,” says Chari. “I think this shows that The Chicago School community as a whole is excited about the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of children who need it most.”

Dr. Dubrow hopes that The Chicago School’s involvement with the campaign extends beyond this particular project and into students’ future career paths.

“The bigger picture—the longer goal—is to teach students about advocacy, but also educate them for the future,” says Dr. Dubrow. “If they’re working in clinics, hospitals, or other settings and there is a problem with human rights or the juvenile justice system, they have the education to be able to act on that and advocate.”

From Chari’s perspective, the Children’s Rights Campaign is doing just that.

faculty

BE YOND THE CL A S SROOM

The title of this essay is taken from a 1973 Time magazine article, published shortly before I was discharged from the Air Force. It begins: Veterans of World War II returned to a grateful, generous country that was about to embark on an unprecedented quarter-century of prosperity. Korean War veterans cashed in on much the same rising curve of material benefits. Vietnam vets, by contrast, are the dubious beneficiaries of the nation’s immediate troubled past and uneasy future.

The Forgotten Warriors (by Robert D. Clark, Ph.D.) Professor, International & School Psychology

T

he topic of veterans is an acutely personal one for me. My brother and I followed each other in our tours of duty in Vietnam. Though we both were disabled during our service, Tom, now deceased, suffered far greater harm. My disability was mostly physical, while Tom’s cut to the heart of how he perceived himself as a person, and cast an ever-present shadow over his remaining years. To paraphrase Heraclitus’ famous quotation, one never steps back into the same life following experience in war. That was true of my brother as it is for all veterans before and since.

The television mini-series, The Pacific, chronicling battles of the Pacific theater during World War II, premiered in March on HBO. It was reminiscent of a series aired a decade ago, Band of Brothers, which followed E Company from 1942 to the final days of the war in Europe. The United States was involved in World War II for less than four years, but during the intervening decades, the war has inspired countless books, movies, plays, and retrospectives. It was called the “Good War”

by Studs Terkel, while those who lived, fought, and died during that era have been immortalized by Tom Brokaw as “The Greatest Generation.” Depictions of World War II reflect an illusion of clarity and rightness of the cause unmatched in the intervening conflicts.

Flash forward: The United States is again engaged in a war on two fronts, Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike the war portrayed on television, these ongoing wars are more reminiscent of that one fought in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The extended years of conflict and continuous deployments weigh heavily on the lives of military personnel and their families.

Further, the frustrations inherent in the indeterminate nature of the “enemy” and the mission creep contribute to the feeling of endless conflict and illusory resolution.

Fortunately, today’s active duty military personnel and veterans are held in higher regard than were my contemporaries four decades ago. Though the term “hero” is cheapened by its profligate use in too many contexts and situations, the heroism and devotion to duty of today’s military is of equal gauge to service personnel at any time in our nation’s history. My fear as I write today is that the nature of contemporary war is grossly misunderstood, and the toll it takes on military personnel and their families remains underappreciated. We are all too easily inured by the media reports of military deaths and disfiguring injuries. We let ourselves become detached and unengaged; in a sense we defer responsibility to others far removed from our comfortable daily lives.

I chose to become a psychologist following my military service in part to give back to my contemporaries, but perhaps more importantly, to learn more about human motivation—my own included—and response to stress. I am optimistic that psychology can contribute in significant and meaningful ways in the intervention and prevention of the causes of societal strife. One small step has come with the inauguration of the first doctoral program of its kind in the world: the Ph.D. program in International Psychology. I believe we have an obligation, as Albee stated many years ago, to give psychology away. To me that means harnessing the power of our discipline and focusing it on the small and the big issues in our society. The world, personal and societal, that Tom and I left to go to Vietnam was neither the same one we stepped back into upon our return to “the world” nor were we the same naïve young men. It is our obligation today to simultaneously address the mental health needs of those involved in conflicts and to work to prevent such future conflicts.

INSIGHT MAGAZINE

F ac u l t y I n the N e w s Dr. Michael Barr, assistant professor of business psychology, was quoted in a Desert News website story titled, “Layoffs Can Take Their Toll on Workplace Survivors, Too” (2/1). He was also quoted in a College Recruiter website story titled, “Being Positive Doesn’t Mean Being Panglossian,” about positive thinking in the workplace (2/18).

Chicago Campus President Carroll Cradock was quoted in an ABC7 feature about coping with family conflict during the holidays (12/21).

She was also quoted—along with Dr. Grant White, associate professor of clinical psychology— in a Chicago Tribune story titled, “Federal Funds Ease Anxiety at South Side Mental Health Agency,” about the federally funded project with the Community Mental Health Council (1/6). Both Dr. Cradock and Dr. White were quoted in The Chicago Defender’s profile of that initiative as well (1/13).

Dr. Lukasz Konopka, professor of clinical psychology, was quoted in a Chicago Sun-Times story titled, “Museum of Science and Industry to Open New Weather Exhibit,” about people’s fascination with weather (3/16).

Dr. Cynthia Langtiw, assistant professor of counseling psychology, was quoted in a Christian Science Monitor website story titled, “After Haiti Earthquake, U.S. Kids Launch Their Own Aid Efforts,” about the psychological effects of the Haiti disaster (1/26).

Dr. Paul Larson, professor of clinical psychology, was featured in an ABC7 story about detecting signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans returning from war by analyzing stress levels in their voices (11/15).

He was also interviewed by USA Today for a story titled, “Caregiving Strains Families of Veterans with Severe Injuries,” about Afghan and Iraqi war veterans’ caretakers (1/27).

ally competent curriculum that is helping to change Latino mental health services (1/20).

Dr. Melodie Schaefer, executive director of The Chicago School Counseling Centers, bylined the article, “The Best Valentine’s Tips for Singles!,” which was posted on the Single Minded Women website in February.

Dr. Christoph Leonhard, professor of clinical psychology, was quoted in a ChicagoNow and RedEye story titled, “Dare to be Scared,” about people involved in thrill seeking events and haunted houses (10/30).

Dr. Daniela Schreier, assistant professor of clinical counseling, contributed her expertise to several media outlets since our last INSIGHT issue. Among these, she was interviewed by CBS2 for a story about Chicagoans’ knowledge of their politicians (11/03), two stories about Tiger Woods (12/4 and 2/18), and a story about the new French law regarding psychological abuse in relationships (1/6). She was also quoted in the New York Daily News about a new study indicating that women are bigger hypochondriacs than men, but are less likely to die of illness (3/26).

Dr. Virginia Quiñonez, assistant professor of clinical counseling, was interviewed for a feature story on the Latina Voices website, which focused on her creation and implementation of a cultur-

Dr. Debra Warner, associate professor of forensic psychology, now serves as the only psychologist on the Quality Health Medical Advisory Board. Qualityhealth.com is a website that pro-

What is that barcode thingy?

vides articles and information about pressing health matters (12/1).

Dr. Nancy Zarse, associate professor of forensic psychology, was quoted in a Military Spouse website story titled, “The Tragedy of Inaction,” about shared responsibility to our military community and why people fail to intervene in others’ affairs (11/12). She also appeared on the national cable program “E! Investigates: Kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard,” serving as a clinical psychology expert on the case (1/20).

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and Garfield Park Preparatory Academy were mentioned in a Rockford Register Start website story titled, “Area School Teams up with Academy for Good Cause” (2/1).

The State Journal Register, a Springfield newspaper, mentioned The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in a story titled, “Program Helps Soldiers, Families Return to Daily Life,” and its involvement in the Yellow Ribbon Program (1/16).

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faculty

BE YOND THE CL A S SROOM

Q&A

Dr . SPA E TH

Dr . L A R S O N

INSIGHT: Let’s talk about the psychological impact that this policy has had on servicemen and women, including the 13,000 who have been dishonorably discharged as a result.

Dr. Larson: The impact has been to force men and women who are gay or lesbian to lead a double life. When society as a whole has made significant strides in being able to integrate fully our gay and lesbian people, the military has not done so.

expectations and his belief in not only the military, but in the American way.

INSIGHT: Can you talk more about the impact on the transgender population?

Dr. Rönne: I’ve known many transgender people with long, eminent military careers.

No one ever knew that they were transgender, but I know of several people who have purple hearts and served as Green Berets and were transgender the whole time but living as their biological sex. I know of one young man who, on a whim, joined the military after several years as a cross dresser, and we all thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this can’t be good.’ He came back about three months later, and he had been separated. He said that he had taken a dress with him and kept it in his locker hidden under things—a slinky red

Dr . Rö nne

S

ince 1993 when the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy became law, it has dictated the way in which gay and lesbian military personnel have been identified and treated. Although U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently announced the easing of DADT restrictions, the psychological impact that has been experienced by servicemen and women—gay, straight, and transgendered—remains. To discuss this issue and its effect on the military and those serving, we gathered four Chicago School faculty: Dr. Drake Spaeth, assistant professor of clinical counseling; Dr. Paul Larson, professor of clinical psychology; Dr. Kerri Rönne, associate professor of clinical psychology, and Dr. Anthony Petroy, associate professor and dean of Online-Blended Programs.

Dr. Spaeth: I was active duty Air Force between 1996 to 2000.

We were peripherally aware of DADT, but I did have coworkers whom I suspected were really struggling with this policy and keeping quiet about it. And I could see that it looked like they were certainly undergoing the stress of all of that.

Dr. Petroy: I’ve seen a lot working with online programs throughout my career in academia. I separated from the service in 1992 before DADT actually came about. I was stationed overseas for the majority of the time. Online programs were very popular with military personnel. One student was stationed at my base, and he always achieved the highest reviews. He was discharged for being gay in the military, and he filed a lawsuit against the military. It really impacted his ability to perform as a student or even in life because it changed the dynamics of his

Dr . PE TROY

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 11

dress—and at some point, his barrack mates found it. They assumed that he had somehow snuck a woman into the barracks, and he got great acclaim for this; it was like, ‘Yay boy, you go.’ Eventually this got to superior officers who called him in and, because he was in trouble for that, he said, ‘Well, actually the dress is mine.’ And they just kind of quietly said, ‘Oh, well, in that case, you can leave. No dishonor, but we’re just going to separate you.’

Dr. Petroy: It brings about thoughts about M*A*S*H and watching Klinger.

Dr. Rönne: There are many reasons why transgender people are not allowed to join the military. Many, especially transsexuals, are taking hormones and are considered unfit for duty generally because of the possibility of being in a foreign country where they couldn’t get their medication, much like being diabetic and insulin dependent would get you out of the military for the same reason. Also many people who are transgender had surgery that may render them looking not exactly like other people. The physical exam requires a genital exam, and if you look abnormal in any way, you’re not accepted into the military.

Dr. Larson: What has happened since gay liberation is

“ When society as a whole has made significant strides in being able to integrate fully our gay and lesbian people,

the military has not done so.” people saying, ‘I want to be who I am and serve at the same time.’ That’s what’s caused the tension that resulted in the DADT policy, which was supposedly a compromise between forces of change and forces of resistance.

Dr. Spaeth: I always heard the rationale that they were afraid of the impact on the morale of a unit. If suddenly there were military members coming out as gay—the fights that it would cause, and if there were prejudicial feelings, it would be those kinds of divisive conflicts that would disrupt the trust and the cohesion of the unit itself.

Dr. Rönne: I think people express fears, some of which are real issues that should be considered and some of which are irrational and mass discrimination. For example, people automatically say, ‘Well, morale will suffer. You’re going to have men housed together—some are gay, some are straight. They’ll be sharing bathrooms. This is going to be a disaster.’ But in reality, any time you go to a health club, you have gay and straight

people sharing bathrooms all the time, and how often do you hear of any incident happening that’s a problem?

Dr. Larson: The argument about unit cohesion was used when we integrated the military with African Americans, and when we brought women into the military. And the solution is not to not do that, but to then provide training and support and leadership to say this is what we’re doing, and this is why we’re doing it.

INSIGHT: The Pentagon announced recently that they were changing the policy to make it harder to dishonorably discharge somebody because of sexual orientation. What kind of impact will this latest policy have?

Dr. Larson: I think it’s significant that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff indicated that it’s not if we are going to change, but how we are going to change. That was a very clear signal that the very top leadership of the uniformed military services is fundamentally behind this.

Now there are obviously going

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BE YOND THE CL A S SROOM

evolution in attitudes and people who have been feeling more empowered to be supportive of that.

to be some people who will voice concerns, but the military is an organization where top down following orders is the culture.

Dr. Petroy: I am heartened to see senior leadership in the military courageously acknowledging that it’s the, ‘right thing to do’. It stands in contrast to what happened when President Clinton tried to open it up completely.

There was such a backlash that he put DADT in place as a compromise. Of course, no one was happy with that, and everybody remembers him for putting in place this awful policy. But he did it because he was trying to have it be more open, and it just wasn’t flying. Now there’s been an

INSIGHT: Those of you who were in the military, was there any training around this issue at all?

Dr. Spaeth: It was taboo, actually. If we were told anything about it, it would be to avoid even asking questions remotely close to it in evaluations and assessments.

Dr. Petroy: You didn’t want to be associated with any dialogue or any discussion around that just because of the fear or the stigma that came along with that. If you were talking about it, either you were associated with it or you knew something, and so they would call you into quarters to discuss it. I was in one of the three installations that had nuclear weapons and we would have 10-day deployments. When you’re out there with a group of men for 10 days, and you’re restricted in your interactions with other people … if you’re discussing

that stuff and someone higher up would hear something like that, it would be detrimental to your career.

Dr. Spaeth: Yeah, I would echo that. There was always the possible threat of demotion if you’re doing anything that they would disapprove of. It was very rare in the mental health flight for anyone to be given an official order by the head of the mental health clinic who would have to step forward as Lieutenant Colonel Smith as opposed to Dr. Smith.

He would have to assume that kind of persona and give you an official order.

INSIGHT: What ethical dilemmas does that set up for mental health professionals?

Dr. Spaeth: There are notorious discussions about the ethical quandaries that active duty military psychologists and mental health professionals face trying to navigate the demands of the APA versus the demands of DOD. One big issue involves informed consent and confidentiality.

The fact is in addition to what I

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 13

like to call the ‘big three’—danger to self, danger to others, disclosure of child abuse—where we would have to inform clients, we might have to break confidentiality. There was a whole list of things that we would have to add to that. If the Office of Security Investigation was investigating some incidents, we would have to make records fully available to them.

If their commanding officer would ask for the records, we would have to make those records fully available to them. It always pushed the boundaries of protecting confidentiality as defined by the APA and similar governing bodies. At the same time, the APA supported for the most part the military psychologist’s position as long as you made APA aware of what your dilemma was every step of the way. In the real sense, the Department of Defense is really who you work for, and that’s part of the ethical issue there. If you, as a psychologist, feel that the person would benefit from talking about their sexual orientation, you still had to not do that to protect their own interest in remaining employed and remaining in active duty. So there’s where I think it can potentially become tough.

INSIGHT: Do you have any thoughts about the long-range psychological impact of somebody who has served or who has had to enforce these rules?

Dr. Larson: I think that those who were discharged because of their sexual orientation will probably have more negative consequences long term, but not by too much from those who just kept a cover all the way through then retired. It would be different. The stigma of being discharged, the lack of veterans’ benefits that would come with that,

“ There are notorious discussions about the ethical quandaries that active duty military psychologists and mental health professionals face trying to navigate the demands of

the APA versus the demands of DOD.” are very different than having to live a double life and feeling the tension of needing to hide all the time. Each of those different classes of people will have consequences that are slightly different.

Dr. Rönne: I do know people who have left the military specifically because they wanted to express their gender identity. Oftentimes, as transgender people age, they feel a stronger need to express their true self. So as they get to be middle age, they are just no longer able or willing to hide that any more. They have left long-standing military careers in order to be freer to be who they are.

Dr. Spaeth: It could potentially engender a crisis of identity or selfhood that could go either way.

It could be a real positive and empowering movement toward authenticity, or it could potentially be stigmatizing and, again, sharpening the sense of incongruence.

INSIGHT: How do you see your roles as faculty members at a school of psychology dealing with this issue?

Dr. Larson: I stand very much in favor of full and complete integration of people of various gender and sexual orientations into our program, into society, as a whole.

I look forward to the time when people who are in the military could be as completely open and well integrated into the communities as

the students and faculty who are gay and lesbians here are.

Dr. Spaeth: It’s important to me also, in terms of teaching diversity to students, that we really tackle that issue and educate students about military culture. Engaging with individuals from that culture is like engaging with individuals from other cultural realities too. I always feel like I’m in an interesting position as a former active duty member because I’m both critical of the military on many levels, especially around DADT, but I also feel a loyalty and a defensiveness where the military is concerned.

Dr. Petroy: I think it is critical for us to maintain that integrity of enforcing and working with diversity strongly in the classroom.

Dr. Rönne: We all have a strong duty to deal with issues related to discrimination and stigma in the world in general, and I think the military is part of that. When I teach my course on transgender issues, we talk about the military, but we also talk about many other elements of our society that are unfair and discriminatory to people with gender variance. So I see it as a component of an almost universal problem that is critical for our students to be educated about.

VIEW A VIDEO OF THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW AND ADD YOUR COMMENTS ONLINE. insight-magazine.org/QA

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 15

the

Invisible Wounds of War

A plague that has haunted soldiers for centuries {by Judy Beaupre}

L

ong misunderstood, too often ignored, and repeatedly misdiagnosed, it has gone by a multitude of names. World War II veterans struggled with the symptoms of “battle fatigue,” while their fathers and uncles spoke in whispers of “shell shock,” the mysterious malady that for many defined the months—even years—following the First World War. And five decades before, men in Confederate grey and Union blue returned from the bloodiest war in American history, forever burdened with memories of death and devastation, an enigmatic syndrome that became known as “soldier’s heart.”

It was not until the Vietnam War that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) began gaining recognition as the real and debilitating affliction it is. No longer dismissed as an indicator of personal weakness, cowardice, or damaged nerves, PTSD captured the attention

of the mental health community—making its way into the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in 1980. Not far behind came the attention of the media, the Pentagon, and the public at large.

“It’s taken us a long time to recognize that an elevated level of stress as a result of combat is really the norm,” says U.S. Navy Commander John Ralph, director of mental health services for the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. “It is universal; no one can deploy and not experience it. Our focus now is to distinguish temporary stress from PTSD and to let troops know that it’s important to deal with.”

Today, some seven years into the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the prevalence of post-combat psychological and cognitive problems has reached unprecedented levels, sounded new alarms within the military and veterans’ communities, and led to a myriad of initiatives designed to

understand, diagnose, and heal these invisible wounds of war. A 2008 study by the Rand Center for Military Health Policy Research estimated that 20 percent (more than 300,000) of soldiers returning from Middle East deployments had met the screening criteria for PTSD and/or major depression, and that 320,000 had experienced a probable traumatic brain injury (TBI). Overall, Rand speculated, one in three U.S. servicemen and women were returning from combat duties with significant psychological problems.

Worse, only half had sought or received treatment for their injuries.

death of a civilian. The study represented the first large-scale nongovernmental assessment of the psychological and cognitive needs of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and representing all branches of the armed forces.

Robert Diosdado, who served as a platoon leader and brigade training officer, and more recently, as a civilian organizational consultant to the U.S. Army, believes direct combat exposure is not a required determinant of PTSD. Different kinds of wars call for different definitions of trauma, he says, and today’s typical combat tour is characterized by

“ It took years to realize that the cumulative impact of treating those who had experienced the horror firsthand could be

just as traumatizing.”

As the longest-running wars fought by an all-volunteer United States military, the current conflicts have resulted in the deployment of almost 2 million troops and, for many, prolonged and repeated periods of combat-related stress or traumatic events. Evidence gathered by the Rand Center suggests that the psychological toll of the deployments may be disproportionately high compared with physical injuries.

“We found that the single biggest risk factor for PTSD and major depression was exposure to trauma,” said Terri Tanielian, co-director of the study. “The more exposures a soldier experienced, regardless of number or length of deployments, the more likely he was to return home with psychological problems requiring treatment.”

The study identified 23 experiences—including 11 that were rated highly predictive—that contribute most often to post-combat anxiety and depression. They range from engaging in hand-to-hand combat to having a friend killed to being responsible for the

“months of boredom, followed by a few moments of sheer terror and chaos.

“There are no front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has changed the combat dynamic,” says Diosdado, who, from his post in Afghanistan, is pursuing a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in an effort to integrate psychological theory into the work he currently does for the Army. Because all troops deployed to these countries work under a constant threat of mortar attacks, suicide bombers, or encountering improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the projected threat is often far worse than the actual event, he explains. “The fear of being attacked is almost unbearable for some people. I’ve seen soldiers attempt to substantiate their continued fears by creating a reality in which they were actually involved in combat.”

Taking action The upside is that the military has taken huge strides in understanding and treating the PTSD and/or major depression

that so often accompany deployment to a battle zone. While diagnoses of these conditions far exceed those of previous wars, military mental health professionals readily acknowledge that the trend can be attributed in part to their increased capacity to recognize and address the symptoms than ever before in history.

Since Civil War days (when mustered soldiers bearing obvious symptoms of what today would be diagnosed as PTSD were put on trains home with only the name of their hometown pinned to their uniform) and early 20th century wars (when mental health professionals were used primarily for intelligence and “sanity” testing of recruits), the military has made steady progress in its incorporation of psychology into wartime healthcare strategies.

It was during the 1960s and 1970s—as the war in Vietnam was escalating—that an understanding of combat-related trauma was beginning to take hold, psychology professionals agree. But while the problem was gaining acceptance, it would be years before evidence-based treatments were available to provide the early and aggressive therapy that is often recommended as a result of today’s post-deployment screening.

“Back in Vietnam, a soldier had to be involved in something horrific to even be considered for a diagnosis of PTSD,” says Dr. Larry James, a clinical psychologist and retired Army colonel who directed mental health services at both Walter Reed and Tripler Army Medical Centers during his 22-year military career. “It took years to realize that the cumulative impact of treating those who had experienced the horror firsthand could be just as traumatizing and require similar levels of therapy.”

Further complicating the mental health environment of that era was the fact that troops were returning from an unpopular war to homecomings that were often anything but welcoming.

While the previous generation had returned from World War II and Korea

PTSD By the Numbers 1 in 5

soldiers who returned from the Middle East reported symptoms of PTSD or major depression, yet only 53 percent of these sought treatment.

19 percent

of returning service members from the Middle East reported a possible traumatic brain injury, but only 43 percent were evaluated for it.

6,000

of the nation’s 30,000 annual suicides are committed by veterans.

$6.2 billion

The two-year cost of treating soldiers with symptoms of PTSD or depression is $6.2 billion, taking into account medical care, lost productivity, and losses from suicide.

$24 billioN

Claims for PTSD and other psychological conditions account for more than one third of the $24 billion spent last year compensating veterans from the Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

2 times

Veterans with PTSD are 2 times more likely to divorce than veterans without it.

75 percent

of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans with partners reported at least one family adjustment issue. Of these, 54 percent reported shouting with, shoving, or pushing current or former partners.

380,509

veterans have been compensated for treatment.

PTSD AND WOMEN

20 percent

of women deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with PTSD.

27 percent

of female Vietnam War veterans suffered PTSD symptoms after the war compared with 31 percent of male veterans.

Sources: National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Rand Center for Military Health Policy Research, U.S. Department of Defense, Chicago Tribune

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 17

heralded as heroes, Vietnam veterans “were afraid to wear their uniforms through the airport for fear of being spit upon,” says Dr. James, who is now president of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Military Psychology (Division 19) and dean of the Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. “This just added to the stress and depression that many had experienced during their months in Southeast Asia.”

But gradually times have changed. Today initiatives taken by all service branches, as well as the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, have dramatically altered the ways in which troops are assessed and treated during all phases of deployment and its aftermath. Dr. Ralph points to the Navy’s decision 15 years ago to begin putting clinical psychologists on every aircraft carrier.

“This represents a total change in the outlook of the Navy at large,” he says.

“Commanding officers used to have to make the difficult and expensive decision to send sailors with psychological problems off the ship, but we have gotten that number down to almost zero. Psychologists are now on board and available to help sailors talk through problems and resolve personal issues. It’s a very different model for us.”

The Navy also provides medical services for the Marine Corps, which for the first time in the coming fiscal year will embed clinical psychologists in units serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Before, psychologists were primarily attached to hospitals. It made the whole idea of mental health more mysterious and much more prone to stigma,” says Dr. Eric Getka, national training director for navy psychology. “By having them available to marines in the field and as an actual part of their unit, we’ve come a long way in dispelling the myths around mental health care.”

Dr. Ralph attributes changes in the healthcare focus of the Navy to a combination of compassion and pragmatism on the part of senior officers. It’s the right thing to do for our men and women in uniform, he says, but it also reflects officers’ sense of responsibility to doing their jobs well.

“Officers need to make sure their men are ready to fight. They have to be attuned to anything that could degrade that readiness,” he says. “Losing people to mental health problems has an adverse effect on everyone involved.”

The Army, too, has increased its focus on the mental health of its troops. In collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, it offers a pilot program in master resilience training as part

priations defense subcommittee in March.

“I’m personally frustrated that we haven’t stemmed the tide.”

Fighting Stigma Despite the proactive stance that the military is taking toward the psychological health of its troops, however, barriers that are hard to overcome remain. Stigma is still a central issue, even as the armed services struggle to

“ Now we have crusty generals talking about their own issues to troops.

I can remember a time when no admiral or general would ever admit to having problems like that.” of a newly launched Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, which prepares troops for the physical and psychological challenges of sustained operations.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey recently pinned his hopes on the new fitness program as a means of reducing the continuing rise in suicides in the Army.

“We’ve increased by about 18 suicides a year since 2004 and this past year, after all the effort we made, we increased by another 20,” he told the Senate Appro-

PTSD through the

Wars

convey the message that combat stress is universal, inevitable, and not necessarily an indication of disorder. A big deterrent to coming forward for screening or treatment, they say, is the fear of sabotaging their careers, forfeiting the next promotion, or losing their security clearance. A big step forward was taken in 2008 when a Defense Department policy was revised to allow a way around what U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called “the infamous Question 21.”

Question 21—long a standard part of the Questionnaire for National Security Positions—asked if the applicant had ever sought mental health care. Fearful that an affirmative response would jeopardize their future in the military, respondents frequently avoided admitting to symptoms of combat-related stress so they could answer “no.” The 2008 change allows applicants to respond “no” if the care they received was not court-ordered and was “strictly related to adjustments from service in a military combat environment.”

“Now we have crusty generals talking about their own issues to troops,” Dr. James says. “I can remember a time when no admiral or general would ever admit to having problems like that.”

For veterans, services and resources have also increased steadily and in fact, rather dramatically. Dr. Antonette Zeiss, deputy chief for mental health services at the Department of Veterans Affairs, says her office has responded to its growing awareness of the need for comprehensive mental health services for veterans by almost doubling the number of VA psychologists in recent years, from 1,800 in 2005 to almost 3,500 today. Although VA services were originally reserved for low-income veterans, that also has changed for troops who have served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, she adds.

All are eligible for lifetime medical and

The Civil War

WORLD WAR I

WORLD WAR II

Jacob Mendez Da Costa evaluated 300 soldiers who featured symptoms of anxiety.

In 1871 he reported that the disorder, called Da Costa’s syndrome, was most commonly seen in soldiers during time of stress, especially when fear was involved.

Da Costa’s syndrome became known as soldier’s heart or effort syndrome, and more research was done to determine its cause and most effective treatment. Effort syndrome was the third most common reason for disability in England, and 44,000 veterans received pensions for this condition.

Few studies about World War II and the Korean War are available. One study estimated that 1 out of 20 veterans suffered PTSD symptoms, including bad dreams, irritability, and flashbacks.

depression. We can offer a whole range of evidence-based psychosocial therapies that work.”

Women in the Military One group that stands out in their vulnerability to combat-related stress, research shows, is women.

Despite the increased presence and more versatile use of women in all service branches (no longer are their options limited to nursing and clerical positions), accommodations for them have not kept up.

“They will report for duty in a combat zone to find that only one tent and one shower has been allotted for all of them,” says Capt. Kathryn Serbin, a psychiatric clinical specialist with the Navy Reserves, explaining why women’s hygiene and physical health suffer during deployment. “Urinary tract and vaginal infections are common during deployment where resources for self care and appropriate primary care for women are scarce or unavailable.”

Capt. Serbin agrees with others interviewed for stories in this issue in identifying sexual harassment as one of the biggest—and under-addressed—challenges that women face when mobilized.

“Sexual assault in the military is greatly underreported,” she says. “Often it’s the women themselves who won’t report it.

If they do, they find themselves revictim-

KOREAN WAR

VIETNAM WAR

A study about PTSD rates in a group of male U.S. veterans of World War II and Korea found that almost 10 percent showed symptoms consistent with a partial PTSD diagnosis.

An estimated 15.2 percent of male and 8.5 percent of female Vietnam veterans met criteria for PTSD while veterans with high levels of war-zone exposure had significantly higher rates, with 35.8 percent of men and 17.5 percent of women meeting criteria for current PTSD. It is estimated that 30 percent have experienced the disorder at some point since returning from Vietnam.

ized—ostracized and further harassed.

Anecdotally, I’ve heard from women that they’re encouraged not to bring their concerns forward.”

In addition to her reserve role for the Navy, Capt. Serbin serves in a voluntary capacity with the Returning Warriors Program, and co-facilitates a workshop specifically for women warriors to tell their stories. She also works as a civilian at the Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes, where she heads the gynecology clinic.

“We are recognizing the strain on our returning women,” she says. “Whether they are serving as MPs, or out with a convoy, they are supposed to just suck it up, rather than show how they’re feeling.

The Returning Warriors Program gives women an opportunity to tell their stories, often the first chance they’ve had,” Capt. Serbin says. If they’re not comfortable sharing their story with a group they can write it.

“I see myself as an advocate for women—encouraging them to speak up and seek the medical care they need,” she says. “The expanding role of women in combat operations presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Further research is needed to assess the impact of war zone deployment on service women in order to narrow the knowledge gap on protection and enhancement of health and performance of military women.”

PERSIAN GULF WAR

Iraq/Afghanistan Wars

Evaluations of more than 80,000 veterans identified symptoms of PTSD in 5 to 15 percent of some veteran populations.

Estimates of PTSD from the war in Afghanistan are between 6 and 11 percent, while current estimates of PTSD in military personnel who served in Iraq range from 12 to 20 percent.

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 19

mental health care as long as they initially access services within the first five years after separating from the military.

Access doesn’t necessarily translate to services, though. Dr. Zeiss echoes the findings of the Rand report, saying that fewer than half of the 1.9 million veterans who have returned from active duty since 2002 have taken advantage of VA services.

“Almost half of those who did come in presented with a strong suggestion of PTSD or other psychological disorder,” she says.

These numbers do not include possible diagnoses of TBI, which is handled by another office at the VA, she added.

Mirroring changes that have taken place in the civilian world, both the armed forces and the VA have integrated mental health services into primary care settings, which allows them to reach many more patients. Troops and veterans resistant to seeking out the help of a psychologist will often open up about anxiety and depression symptoms in a primary care setting, again underscoring the pervasive role that stigma plays in mental health issues, experts say.

“Our services are so much better than they were for previous wars,” Dr. Zeiss says. “But it’s not because the war is different or the VA is different—it’s because psychology is different. We have so much more information available about the best treatment for PTSD and

A program helps

children cope after

a parent returns from

war

home {by Judy Beaupre}

Nine-year-old Micah wasn’t ready to talk about what he was feeling. But the cardboard tank he fashioned out of paper towel tubes, broken boxes, and egg cartons spoke volumes about what was on his mind.

A

participant in The Chicago School’s creative arts therapy sessions for children of Illinois National Guard personnel, Micah had been told he could make anything he wanted out of the discarded materials available.

His creation—held together by hot glue and masking tape—offered a revealing glimpse into the thoughts that preoccupied him. His dad, who had been deployed to Afghanistan, was home now. But somehow the anxieties that had defined his world for the past year didn’t go away so easily.

“The kids we see are at all different stages of willingness to talk,” says Drew Gleitzmann, a first-year Clinical Psy.D. student who worked with Micah on his project. “Some won’t admit to their fears, while I’ve had 6-year-olds say ‘I’m afraid Daddy will die’.” The experience of working with these children is a powerful one that keeps bringing him back, Drew says. Before coming to this session in Joliet, he had been to at least eight similar sessions that The Chicago School offers—in partnership with the Michael Reese Health Trust—in towns throughout Illinois.

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 21

Part of the Guard’s Family Reintegration Program, the initiative—which The Chicago School has recently named the Home Again project—uses music, drama, and art to help children begin the process of acknowledging and addressing their anxieties. Psychology graduate students attend the Saturday morning activities, working as volunteers with participants and assisting therapists from the Institute for Therapy through the Arts (ITA).

Under the direction of Clinical Psychology Assistant Professor Ted Rubenstein, who designed the project, they lead children ranging in age from 3 to 15 through activities using songs, musical instruments, painting, and performing as outlets for unvoiced feelings.

“We integrate the activities so that one builds on another, giving kids more opportunity to deal with what’s really on their mind,” says Katherine Dillingham, an ITA drama therapist who coordinates many of the sessions. Micah

Deployment Stages and Children’s Responses APA Presidential Task Force on Military Deployment Services for Youth, Families, and Service Members Pre-Deployment Infants

Fussy, changes in eating habits

Preschoolers

Confused, sad

School-age

Sad, angry, anxious

Adolescents

Withdrawn, deny feelings about pending separation

Deployment Infants

No research

Preschoolers

Sad, tantrums, changes in eating habits, symptoms of separation anxiety

School-age

Increased somatic complaints, mood changes, decline in school performance

Adolescents

Angry, aloof, apathetic, acting out, loss of interest in normal activities, decline in school performance

Post-Deployment Infants

May not recognize or be fearful of returning parent

Preschoolers

Happy and excited, but also experience anger at separation

School-age

Happy and angry, often leading to acting-out behaviors

Adolescents

Defiant, disappointed if their contributions at home are not acknowledged

illustrated her point by using his tank in an impromptu play that featured an imaginary “Colonel Bob” who carried wounded survivors to safety and looked in vain for a way back to base. When Micah was asked if his dad drove a tank in Afghanistan, though, he just shrugged.

“Our purpose is not to provide intensive therapy at these sessions,” Dillingham says.

“We’re not set up for that. We just want to give them permission to start a conversation at home.” Children leave the session with a workbook of activities they can do alone and with their family, and with a list of referral sources for families who want to pursue follow-up services.

Micah is among the 700,000 U.S. children who had at least one parent stationed overseas for military duty last year. An APA Task Force on Military Deployment Services, published in 2007, identified the “unique constellation of stressors” on these children and sum-

marized their responses to deployment, which varied by age, development stage, and family resilience factors. While preschoolers are likely to react with tantrums and separation anxiety, the report said, school-age children may experience mood shifts and declines in school performance. But deployment was found to have particularly detrimental effects on adolescents’ lives, often overtaxing their limited coping resources.

See chart above.

Although families look forward to their soldier’s homecoming—often with unrealistic expectations of picking up where they left off—such reunions usually come with their own set of stressors.

“Combat deployment can produce enormous ambiguity and chronic anxiety, but families tend to experience even greater levels of ambiguity when the soldier returns,” says Dr. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, director of the Military Family

very sensitive to a teacher or classmate who expresses anti-war views.

“They don’t want to be outed. Young children, particularly, are not yet ready to appreciate the political complexity of such viewpoints and they see the comments as criticism of their parent.”

Although the Home Again program has only been implemented in Illinois so far, The Chicago School is seeking funding to expand it geographically. Plans are also underway to develop modules of the project that specifically target preschoolers and teens, and that are adapted for families of fallen soldiers, families during deployment, and long-term follow up for families currently being served.

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 23

Research Institute at Purdue University. “The place that each person has in the family has to be renegotiated and it’s not always easy. A child might have reached puberty and have totally different expectations of the parent, and the spouse might have learned to make all the decisions and not be eager to give up this new level of autonomy.”

Good communication skills play a critical role in post-deployment family life, but it can be difficult to know what the boundaries are, Dr. Wadsworth says.

“Family members may say they want to hear about the soldier’s experiences, but the soldier can be dubious, not knowing whether they are really ready to hear what he has to confide.

It can cause a lot of anxiety—not knowing whether others will really understand.”

The APA Task Force reported that families of National Guard and Reserve personnel face even greater challenges during and after deployment than active duty families do. Both soldiers and family members are likely to experience higher stress because they are less prepared for the realities of combat and family separation. They often feel isolated in what they are going through because they are not surrounded by other families in the same situation.

Children can have a particularly hard time in a non-military environment if they’re the only one with a parent in harm’s way, Dr. Wadsworth says, adding that they can be

TIPS

f or Professionals Dealing with Military Families

If you provide CLIENT support:

E stablish a method to determine a patient’s military affiliation.

Learn about the medical benefits and other services offered through the Veterans Administration. rovide military-specific literature P on health resources, supports, and helping agencies in the local area.

If you provide CLIENT care:

Use appropriate communication strategies to determine if the patient has been in a combat zone.

Understand the military has a language all its own.

Be aware of community mental health resources, and be prepared to refer patients if needed.

Educate staff on traumatic brain injury, combat stress, and PTSD to assist with recognizing signs or symptoms. isten to how the service L member and his/her family coped with deployment.

Be mindful of your own personal views of the military.

When treating children, find out if the child is experiencing the deployment of a parent. Many stress responses manifest in physical symptoms.

Source: The Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University

{ By Pam DEFiglio }

Delivering THE

Bad News

For those who get the news, it’s a moment of profound tragedy, one that will change their lives forever. And for those charged with

delivering the message, it is usually “the worst duty they have ever been assigned.”

Notifying the next of kin of a military death.

I

t’s the reason that armed services families panic the moment they see military officers coming up the walkway to their home. But those moments—which have taken place in one form or another as long as men and women have marched off to war—have prompted every service branch to begin looking to psychology as a means of helping all participants involved: the survivors, the officers who make the notification, and the casualty assistance officers, who spend months—even years—pro-

viding assistance and emotional support to the family.

Psychology factors into the military’s decision to make notifications via a personal visit, and it influences the way military personnel interact with survivors. During World War II, much-dreaded telegrams were used to announce deaths, but that was seen as cold and detached, said Army Col. Paul Bartone (Ret.), a research psychologist. Since at least the 1980s, military policy requires that an officer, accompanied by a chaplain if possible, make the notification.

“ The personal face-to-face notification of a death

is more respectful, and it conveys a higher level

of respect and concern for the family.” a four-person detail. The commanding officer makes the notification, then literally steps back and introduces the chaplain and casualty assistance officer.

“Then it’s our turn,” said Doty, who explained that families have told him they can’t bear to see the casualty notification officer for some time afterward. And, since Doty is the one who will be supporting them for several months, he doesn’t want them to see his face during the notification.

For the next of kin, the experience of hearing a loved one has died lies completely outside their frame of reference, said Dr. Todd DuBose, assistant professor in The Chicago School’s Clinical Psy.D. program. “Not only is it horrifying, the finality and irreversibility of this event has no prior framework with which to make sense of it. And making sense is our way of clawing at the walls as we fall into what feels like oblivion,” he said.

Delivering the tragic news also takes a toll on notification officers.

“Death telling is very taxing on the messenger,” said DuBose. “The messenger embodies the abstractionturned-reality, the un-thought horror … which becomes upon delivery the sinister visitation of … what is often experienced as personalized evil.”

With this heavy load upon them, notifiers also benefit from support.

“I’ve had chaplains tell me one of their main roles is to provide spiritual support to the notifiers. Once the notification is complete and they’re back in the car, the chaplain shifts his attention to the notifier.

That can lead to an ongoing relationship or a referral for counseling,” said Bartone.

“Many notifiers say it’s the worst duty they’ve ever had to do in their life,” said Doty, “but when they look back later, they

say it’s the most honorable duty they’ve ever had to do.”

Doty said that in four years of casualty assistance duty, he has learned to compartmentalize the intense emotions. After he leaves a notification or an emotional encounter with a survivor, he’s able to switch off the feelings and go back to his day.

“At first it gets to you, and then you get numb to it. I guess you have to—how do funeral directors do it?” he asked. “I do feel for the family, and I feel bad about this, but I’ve learned to shut it off.”

Dr. Debra Warner, lead forensics faculty at The Chicago School’s Los Angeles Campus, points out that while compartmentalization may work for some, everybody handles this kind of stress differently. People charged with emotionally taxing work have to find a way to turn it off, she says, or they will become so drained that they will become ineffective at their jobs.

“You have to be able to leave it at work, or you won’t be able to have a full life,” she said.

Bartone’s research has shown that notifiers who attended the funerals of the deceased showed fewer negative after-effects in terms of depression and anxiety symptoms.

“They had a psychological advantage of closure,” he said. “They were able to see the family members after the initial shock, and that facilitated a healthy processing for the notifiers.”

READ MORE ABOUT THIS STORY ONLINE. insight-magazine.org/bad-news

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 25

“The personal face-to-face notification of a death is more respectful, and it conveys a higher level of respect and concern for the family,” said Bartone, a senior research fellow at National Defense University in Washington, D.C. “The personal visit helps families cope with the devastating experience.”

Originally, the military sent one person to both deliver the news and then support the family and assist them with funeral arrangements, death benefits, and other matters.

“But for many people, there’s a negative association with the face of the person who brings that bad news,” said Bartone.

“They’re having an acute stress reaction.

There may be an actual imprinting process that occurs of the various images immediately surrounding that time frame—predominantly the face of the person bearing the bad news.”

Knowing this, the Army now uses a team of officers to make death notifications, employing a “bad cop-good cop” process designed to make it easier on family members. The casualty notification officer, who is required to be of a rank equal to or higher than the deceased, plays “bad cop,” delivering the horrible news.

The casualty assistance officer then steps in as “good cop” to comfort the family and gently hold their hands through the funeral, the delivery of personal belongings, and application for benefits.

The 2009 movie The Messenger shows actor Woody Harrelson’s character training actor Ben Foster’s character for the notification role in the Army.

They deliver their devastating message respectfully, state the few details of the death that are known, offer condolences, say that a casualty assistance officer will be in touch soon, and depart. The casualty assistance officer usually makes contact within hours.

The Marines bring the two roles closer together. Gunnery Sgt. Shawn Doty of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines serves as a casualty assistance call officer in Chicago, and goes to the survivors’ home as part of

alumni news

STAY CONNECTED, GE T IN VOLV ED

John Fowler (M.A. ’09)

New Path to Career Success Through #SocialMedia*

J

ohn Fowler needed to find a job. With graduation looming, he turned to social networking sites like LinkedIn and Twitter in search of a career consulting position that would put his master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology to good use.

When a simple keyword search for a company on LinkedIn revealed a shared connection with Julie Bechtold, The Chicago School’s director of career services, Fowler contacted her to set up an informational interview. After their conversation veered from how she got into career coaching to his interest in LinkedIn as a powerful networking tool, she offered him the opportunity to create a workshop for students.

He developed a webinar and an in-person workshop to educate students about how to use the site, which allows anyone to post a résumé and to search for and connect with professional contacts. He soon realized that

the product could both further his own job development and be useful for businesses and individuals who wanted to use social media to build their brands. “I use the quote, ‘Facebook is like my home, LinkedIn is like my office, and Twitter is like a cocktail party,’” he says.

Fowler launched JR Consulting and has since conducted social networking trainings at other schools such as Argosy University, Harrison College, and DePaul University. With nearly four out of five Internet users visiting a social networking site at least once a month, it’s no surprise that the need for such training is on the rise.

He specializes in LinkedIn and Twitter. “LinkedIn is more trusted.

You have to have a commonality with a contact before you can share messages,” he explains. “Twitter is more open and global, so you can fire when you want. It’s easier to have access with knowledge leaders in a particular industry.”

Fowler advises clients on how to approach both sites—users

should determine their goals, develop a strategy, and spend time wisely—as well as pitfalls to avoid. “If you don’t develop a strategy and know what you’re doing, you’re wasting time and putting your reputation at risk,” he says. Fowler also recommends not relying solely on social networking for a job search. “I view social media tools as platforms for initiating and establishing relationships. It’s not a replacement for the face-to-face, but it’s a way to find the right people.”

He took his own advice and kept up with his contacts, including a classmate who helped him land a contract job as an organizational consultant with the management consulting firm Vincent Associates. He continues to provide social media training on the side.

Fowler’s interest in psychology developed while working as a manager at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, where he was learning how to run a business, but also becoming intrigued by the recruiting process.

This led him to enroll in an industrial and organizational psychology class at a nearby community college. “I realized that I could marry my business expertise with my love for psychology,” he says.

Fowler moved from St. Louis to Chicago to enroll at The Chicago School. “I went into it with the mindset of becoming an organizational consultant,” he says. “The skills I gained were related to talent management—how to attract, retain, and develop talent.”

While he now works in his chosen field, Fowler continues to reap the professional benefits of social networking. A few months ago, he was reading a book called Networlding, found the author on Twitter, and tweeted his interest. “The next

thing I know, she contacted me to collaborate on her next book,” he says. “Twitter allowed me to have access, to interact with her, and by including a link to my LinkedIn profile on my Twitter page, she assessed my skills and background and determined that I would make a good partner.”

The book’s title? Graduate to LinkedIn: Jumpstart Your Career Support Network Now. Follow him on Twitter @johnrayfowler.

* A hashtag (#) is a mark that Twitter users place before a word or phrase that indicates a topic of interest, for example: The New Path to Career Success is #SocialMedia. This allows other Twitter users to search easily for the same topic.

J oh n F ow l e r ’ s

–Top 5 Tips– for Building Your Online Professional Brand:

1 Speak to what you’ve done, what you currently do, and who you aspire to be.

2 Create a headline that defines you as a professional, not your title or the company you work for.

3 Communicate how you can add value to a project, organization, or profession. Why would a potential employer or business partner choose your brand?

4 Convey to your audience who you are as a person.

What are your values and passions? What drives you to succeed?

5 Use keywords relevant to your industry or occupation so that people can find you on the Web.

Influencing Change from Inside

W

hen the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed during its re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere in 2003, Lt. Col. Tracy Dillinger was one of a team of expert astronauts, physicists, military officers, and psychologists called together to investigate the cause. The six-month investigation revealed that the accident could not be attributed to technical malfunction alone, but that organizational and human factors played a role as well. As a clinical and organizational psychologist, Dr. Dillinger was involved in identifying those factors, which included issues of communication, trust, and decision-making.

It was not her first experience investigating a high-profile aviation mishap. As chief of Air Force aviation psychology at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, she had participated in numerous accident investigations—sometimes as many as two or three a month during her five years in the position.

“It can be a pretty intense experience, particularly when you’re working on an investigation that has so much public attention,” she says. “But it’s a good example of the kind of unique role that a psychologist can play in the military.”

Dr. Dillinger’s Air Force career, which began as an intern and progressed to her current assignment as manager of safety culture at NASA, has also represented her evolution from a clinical to an organizational psychologist. Although she completed her Psy.D. with the intention of pursuing a career as a clinical practitioner, her focus changed as she moved through the ranks and posts of Air Force life.

The progression just happened as opportunities presented themselves, she says.

Although she maintains her clinical licensure as a link to the direct service career that is now part of her past, she admits that there are some parts of that life—like middle-ofthe-night trips to the emergency room when a client is in crisis—that she doesn’t miss.

“In some ways, organizational psychology isn’t that different, though,” she says. “It’s just that your patient is an organization. You still need to assess strengths and weaknesses and

figure out how to treat it. It’s about changing your perspective.”

The daughter of two psychologists, she decided early in life that she would follow in her parents’ footsteps. Although she began working as a crisis center volunteer at 18, she deliberately slowed her academic pace, completing a master’s degree before enrolling in The Chicago School’s five-year clinical Psy.D. program.

“I didn’t want to hang a shingle out at 24, she says. “Psychology is not a novice’s profession.

There’s a lot that goes into being a good therapist and managing a patient load and I wanted to make sure I was really ready. I was much more comfortable entering the profession at 30.”

Her decision to join the military came in response to a tragedy—the suicide of a friend who had battled PTSD since his return from Vietnam.

“It was a personally motivating event for me.

I decided right then and there that I wanted to be in the military, as a practicing psychologist, so that I could help identify people who were suffering and do something about it before it was too late.” Her choice was reinforced, she says, as she watched international problems escalate and saw the need for good professional psychologists in the inner circle of government and military leadership. “You can’t dictate change from the outside—I wanted to be on the inside where I could be part of helping leaders make good decisions.”

alumni C O U N C I L : Dr. Susanne FrancisThornton to Chair TCS Alumni Council Susanne Francis-Thornton

(Psy.D. ’03) took the helm as The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Alumni Council Chair. Dr. Francis-Thornton is the executive director of the Cornerstone Counseling Centers of Chicago (CCCOC) and has served as adjunct professor in the Clinical and Forensic Psychology departments since 2003.

She replaces Elizabeth “Scottie” Girouard (M.A. ’03), who served as the Alumni Council Chair for three years.

Enhancing mentoring opportunities between and for alumni and students is one of her core objectives.

“One of our current, proudest pieces of how we are connecting alumni to the school is the mentoring program—including the longer term mentoring program that is in place as well as encouraging alumni to come back and speak on panels and have a continued relationship with the school,” she says.

Efforts to realize these goals will include networking events, career advancement lectures, and philanthropic opportunities. A Student Ambassador program will allow four students to participate in all council activities and have voting rights. She will also work to expand membership to include representatives from all program areas.

“The better we are at representing all constituencies of the school, the better we are able to give back to up-and-coming students,” she says.

David Miller Accepts Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Position David Miller (M.A. ’07) is the new assistant director of alumni relations. He replaces Elizabeth VanDyke.

Miller is a graduate of the Industrial and Organizational Psychology program and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. He worked for RAJ Associates from 2007-09 as a consultant specializing in management training, team building, and individual coaching.

Miller returned to TCSPP in May 2009 to become an admissions counselor for online-blended programs.

INSIGHT MAGAZINE SPRING 2010 27

Lt. Col. Tracy Dillinger (Psy.D. ’94)

giving back

TH A NK S & RECOGNITION, OPP ORT UNITIES TO GI V E

A Veteran Fights Back Voicing Support for Military Families

P

aul A. Dillon was 25, a young husband and new father, armed with two college degrees and a promising future, when he was forced to come face to face with his own mortality.

He was not alone, but that didn’t make it easier. The year was 1970. The place was South Vietnam.

Four decades later, Mr. Dillon sits on The Chicago School Board of Trustees, one of the institution’s strongest proponents of using the power and the potential of psychology to support the millions of troops and veterans who came before and after him.

“Were there psychological issues that manifested themselves in the soldiers I knew? I’m sure there were, but I wouldn’t have recognized the signs. The Army didn’t talk about those things in those days,” he says.

As a ROTC-trained first lieutenant, Mr. Dillon worked with Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority, negotiating air space agreements that would allow U.S. military planes to take off and land in the embattled region. Frequent trips into the field to supervise mobile radio control tower personnel brought the war into clear focus for him, but he refers to the “culture shock of seeing people work and live as they did thousands of years ago” as an equally impactful experience.

“When you come from a college-educated, middle-class background of fast cars and supermarkets, you have no frame of reference for the work you see people doing with primitive farm implements,” he says. “It takes time for you to become acclimated to your surroundings.” It just adds to the stress of being in a war zone and separated from your family, he adds.

Today, Mr. Dillon is a strong voice in support of initiatives like the Home Again project that The Chicago School has undertaken in partnership with the Illinois National Guard and the Michael Reese Health Trust (see story, page 20).

The services provided to the families of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan—and especially activities that encourage children to deal with the fears brought about by a parent’s

deployment—are critical additions to the mental health initiatives that are receiving increasing priority in organizations striving to meet the needs of military and veteran families.

“When I was in the service, there were absolutely no services targeted to the psychological issues that families experienced,” he says. “It was hard—it was very, very hard, but you did the best you could. When I think back to what it was like during my one deployment, I can’t even imagine what it’s like for the families of soldiers

“The Army didn’t talk about those things in those days.” who serve multiple tours of duty. The volunteer soldiers of today are true heroes in my book.”

While acknowledging the difficulty of returning home from a war that was not widely supported, Mr. Dillon reflects on the changes in popular sentiment he witnessed over the years that followed. The turning point, he says, was the Vietnam Veterans Parade that took place in 1986 in downtown Chicago.

“That day, you just got a sense that something big was happening,” he recalls. “I was in a business suit and I stopped to watch. First came the marchers in fatigues and medals, led by General Westmoreland. It was like a coming out party for

Mr. Dillon, left, with a former college roommate, Captain Gary W. McKillips, at the headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division Pleiku, South Vietnam, in 1970.

veterans. Then came the veterans in wheelchairs, all to an outpouring of support—it was like one of the ticker tape parades from old news reels. For the first time, we sensed the feeling of ‘welcome home’.”

During his 35-year career in the professional services industry, Mr. Dillon has been active in a wide array of community activities and served on numerous nonprofit boards, but says he has experienced particular satisfaction serving as a Chicago School trustee. His tenure—which was jump-started when he happened to sit next to President Horowitz at a community event—has seen him integrally involved in marketing and publicity functions, in governance, and in connecting the school with individuals and organizations that have helped it grow in both potential and public recognition. He has been instrumental in securing several of the honorary degree recipients and commencement speakers who have shared the platform at recent graduations.

“The true highlight of being a trustee is attending commencement,” he says. “This job isn’t about budgets or buildings or accounting systems. It’s about watching the expressions on the faces of graduates—and watching their eyes dance in the light—as they pick up their diplomas. No matter what’s going on in your life, that day is an uplifting experience. And those students are why trustees like me give our time and treasure.”

last page

A Decade of Innovation Under the leadership of its seventh president, The Chicago School grew from a small institution with a single doctoral program to the world’s leading graduate school devoted exclusively to psychology and the related behavioral sciences. While our physical location changed and expanded, so too did our vision for the future. We articulated a new approach to psychology education, known as the Engaged Professional Model, and let inspiration pave the way as we designed programs focused on the application of psychology to disparate fields.

These efforts were so successful—as was the culture of innovation that transpired—that we now bid farewell to Dr. Michael Horowitz as Chicago School president as he takes the helm of TCS Education System.

VIEW AN ONLINE SLIDESHOW OF DR. HOROWITZ. insight-magazine.org/ dr-horowitz

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