Faculty Q&A
Megan Shaine, Ph.D. Professor Shaine tells us what’s new in the counseling master’s program and about her research on the mental health care experiences of transgender military service members and veterans.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT HOOD AND WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY TEACHING? I started at Hood in fall 2016, so I am in my fourth year as a faculty member in the counseling program. I am an assistant professor and also serve as the practicum and internship coordinator, which means I oversee field placements for all of our graduate students. I teach Counseling Techniques, Trauma and Crisis Intervention, and our practicum and internship classes.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST RESEARCH. WHAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST IN TRANSGENDER MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS? As part of a bicoastal research partnership between Hood College and Portland State University (PSU) in Oregon, I recently completed a mixed-methods study of the mental health care experiences of trans military service members and veterans. My colleague, Deanna Cor, Ph.D. from PSU, and I worked with a team of students including Abbey McAlister ’19, Stephanie Kesner ’18 and Nicole Logan. We conducted 10 qualitative interviews and collected more than 50 survey responses from trans military service members and veterans. In both formats, we asked them about their experiences 12
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with mental health care providers both within and outside the U.S. military system, as well as barriers to accessing mental health care and experiences of discrimination. My interest in military populations stems from my own family’s history of service and my clinical work with military families. I became interested in the trans military population more specifically over the past several years, as they have endured a roller coaster in their pursuit of open service. After the Obama administration moved to end the ban on trans open service in 2016, the current administration has moved back: the ban is now back in effect as court battles continue. Dr. Cor and I became curious about our abilities as mental health care providers to serve this population, who we hypothesized may not feel safe seeking help within the military. This struck us as particularly concerning, given that this population, as members of both the trans and military communities, have a compounded risk for mental health challenges including suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
HOW CAN WE BETTER MEET THE MENTAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF THIS PARTICULAR POPULATION? First and foremost, trainees and experienced mental health care providers both within and outside the military should seek specialized training to work with both trans and military populations. Our participants reported feeling a persistent and
