MSPP Continues Commitment to the Mental Health of Veterans
Conference Series to Focus on the Individual Soldier, the Children of Soldiers and the Impact on Families
BOSTON, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP) has made a strong, ongoing commitment to meet the mental health needs of veterans and their families through many programs including a Yellow Ribbon Program campaign, assisted by Co-Chairman Senator John Kerry. The School is currently training six veterans and one reservist who wish to follow a professional career path as psychologists. The reservist intends to become a military psychologist " in order to give back."
There are estimates that 35 percent of the soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer post traumatic stress disorder and that nearly half returning with those disorders have suicidal thoughts. "There is a crucial need for mental health professionals and educators to understand the military culture in order to bring treatment and services to those in need. Offering education, training, and pertinent information to a variety of audiences is a step toward that goal," states Dr. Nicholas Covino, President of MSPP.
A Veterans' Mental Health Conference Series is planned for spring, 2010. All programs will be held at MSPP, 221 Rivermoor Street, Boston (West Roxbury), MA 02132.
"Recent Advances in the Psychological Treatment of PTSD"
Friday, March 26, 2010 – 9 am to 4:30 pm
Led by Terence Keane, Ph.D., Director of the National Center for PTSD Behavioral Science Division, the conference objectives include: Learning the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events and eventual development of PTSD; understanding the treatment methods known to promote improvement for individuals with PTSD.
"When a Parent Has Gone to War:
Building Services for Children in Military Families"
Saturday, April 24, 2010 – 9 am to 1 pm
Military families with young children face many stressors outside the experience of most of their neighbors, including absent parents, the threat of injury or death, and the disconnect between life for the deployed parent and for the family at home. Presenters Ellen DeVoe, PhD, LICSW, Betsy McAlister Groves, MSW, LICSW and Ruth Paris, PhD, LICSW will provide an orientation to working with military families who have very young children and introduce the audience to "the cycle of deployment" which describes the adjustments and transitions that young children and their parents face throughout each phase of deployment.
The program is presented by The Boston Institute for the Development of Infants and Parents in cooperation with the Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at MSPP.
"Working with Families of Soldiers and Veterans"
Friday, June 11, 2010 – 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Jaine Darwin, PsyD is Co-Director of SOFAR—strategic outreach to families of all reservists—which is a pro bono mental health project that provides support, psychotherapy, psycho-education and prevention services to extended family members of the National Guard and Military Reservists during deployment and to family members of veterans during re-integration. Dr. Darwin will share insight and services involved regarding how the whole family is impacted when a soldier deploys or a veteran returns.
Please Note: While the series is available to mental health/health professionals for continuing education credits, the second and third conferences of April 24 and June 11 are especially appropriate for military personnel, veterans and families and the general public. Military journalists and general media are also welcome.
For further information or to register for individual events or the series, please contact:
MSPP/CE mailing address:
MSPP/CE, 225 Nevada Street, Newton, MA 02460
Fax: 617-244-1072
Telephone: 617-244-1682
SOURCE Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
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