Disability & Mental Health in the Military

About

Military service is both honorable and demanding, for service members and their families. Disability, whether incurred as a result of combat, service-related injury or even the diagnosis of a disabling condition in the family can make an already demanding life more difficult. Add nearly three years of a Covid-19 pandemic, a global health threat we know has escalated cases of mental health concerns nationally, outside of military service!

This webinar discusses the intersection of disability with military service for service members and their families, looking closely at the impact of trauma on the brain and possible physical cues and reactions when a trauma response occurs.  Service providers will have an opportunity to consider posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicidal ideation, and trauma responses with helpful interventions and resources.

People living with disability are not extraordinary, nor are they difficult to work with.  They are, instead, ordinary people living with difficult, often extraordinary circumstances. And they can be helped.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify types of disability military personnel and families might encounter, as well as the frequent links between trauma and disability.
2. Examine brain chemistry and body reactions that typically occur with a trauma response.
3. Review the differences clinicians must consider in terms of active duty versus veteran and identify types of supports for military personnel and their families.
4. Identify symptoms of PTSD and possible supports for providers working with military personnel and their families.
5. Emphasize three key components necessary for recovery from trauma.

Presenters

Laura G. Buckner, M.Ed., LPC, M.O.M.
Program Manager, Community Education
Texas Center for Disability Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
Mentor Trainer, The Learning Community for Person Centered Practices
Charting the LifeCourse Ambassador

Laura Buckner is a Licensed Professional Counselor and former special educator. Buckner is a frequent keynote presenter and trainer speaking on the state and national levels to a wide variety of audiences, including service professionals, educators, medical professionals, state agency staff, advocacy groups, and families of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Buckner’s area of expertise includes person centered practices, leadership and advocacy, trauma informed care, and supporting families and individuals with IDD to live lives they find meaningful with access to necessary supports and services. She serves as a Program Manager at the Texas Center for Disability Studies at The University of Texas at Austin; prior to her employment with the TCDS, she served 8 years as the Program Coordinator of the Texas Partners in Policymaking program. Buckner is a Founding Partner of The Institute for Person Centered Practices (www.person-centered-practices.org) and a Mentor Trainer with The Learning Community for Person Centered Practices (TLCPCP) (www.learningcommunity.us). She is a lover of rescued dogs and hummingbirds, devoted wife to Ron, Mom to sons Michael and David, and Lala to grand-girl Raven.

Joanna Goodwin, LPC
Executive Director and Founder
Operation True North

Joanna Goodwin is a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology and a Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor. She is the Executive Director and Founder of Operation True North, a 501(c)3 non-profit which treats mental health challenges in veterans, first responders, medical personnel, and their families. Goodwin joined the Air National Guard in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. She was enlisted and worked her way up the ranks as an aircraft mechanic; and in 2006 she was commissioned as a maintenance officer. While in the military, Joanna deployed to the Middle East five times in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, and Freedoms Sentinel. Her deployment to Afghanistan, where she became a combat veteran was by far her most defining. Goodwin retired from the military September 2016. While serving her country, she also served the people in her community as she worked in the mental health field for the past 24 years. She has worked in in-patient and out-patient mental health settings as well as foster care and adoption. She has conducted staff training on a variety of topics for residential treatment facilities and mental health clinics. Goodwin’s area of expertise includes trauma informed care, assisting veterans and their families understand their trauma, how to reconnect with their communities, and how to access needed care. She is a devoted wife of Philip and Mom to son, Richard.

Continuing Education (CE) Credit

Continuing Education

• Social Work, LPC, LMFT: Programming approval for 1.0 CE credits will be obtained for Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists from the University of Texas at Austin, Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Check with your state licensing agency for reciprocity and/or credit approval if licensed for other professions or in one of the following states: CO, FL, HI, IA, KS, KY, NY, ND, OH, OK. (*Expires: 9/21/24)
• Case Manager: This program has been submitted to the Commission for Case Manager Certification for approval to provide board certified case managers with 1.0 clock hours. (*Expires: 9/21/23)
• Board Certified Patient Advocates: This program has been pre-approved by The Patient Advocate Certification Board to provide continuing education credit to Board Certified Patient Advocates (BCPA). The course has been approved for a total of 1.0 CE contact hour, of which 0.0 are in the area of Ethics. (*Expires: 9/21/24)
• Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE):  This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.0 CE credit for CFLE. (*Expires: 9/21/24)
• Certificates of Attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their training activities.

Event Materials

Presentation Slides (PDF)

Webinar Flyer (PDF)

Pay Attention to Your Body

Suicide Prevention & Working with Military Families

Moral Injury: Suicide Risk, Survivor’s Guilt & Other Clinical Manifestations

Surmounting Social Isolation & Loneliness: Mindfulness Meditation

Photo Credit: iStock/Makhbubakhon Ismatova