Military and Family Members
You might want to talk to someone about what is going on inside you but, who would understand? Counseling a military member involves knowing the environment.
I have that perspective. I was a dependent to my father who was in the Army for over 30 years. I joined the US Army Reserves and served a number of years until I met my husband, on active duty in the Navy. Soon thereafter, he joined the US Army and we spent the bulk of our career relocating to numerous bases across the world until he retired after 20 years of service. As life would have it, our son joined the US Army and is currently on active duty. I have been through deployments, separations, training exercises, disabilities and purple hearts.
Sometimes, at family gatherings, that one relative might lean over and ask you “How many people have you killed?” Outsiders may scrutinize your every movement because they are concerned that you may attack your neighbor in an outrage or that you suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Your kids, “Military Brats”, are thought to be damaged because they have moved so many times and never established long-term relationships. Some people even say that “Every military marriage ends up in divorce” and look for flaws in your relationship at home.
Rumors. Gossip. It doesn’t have to be this way…Let me help you heal the wounds…
Sometimes we face challenges that the average person never dreamed of experiencing….
How do we talk about those haunting nightmares, the seething anger, (even over small details), or the self-loathing about things we never imagined we would have to do, and we did do them.
There is guilt, fear, numbness and, yet, at the same time…a sense of accomplishment for doing service for others, success at making a difference in people’s lives and achievement in a challenging career.
Complicated emotions. It doesn’t have to be this way…Let me help you heal the wounds…
We just keep doing our jobs, living our lives as a military family the best we know how. Sometimes it is not just the returning service member that is affected. Often, problems occur with the wives, partners, parents and children. They can experience a multitude of negative emotions that can disrupt their lives and they don’t know how to deal with the emotions.
Who can they go to?
Personally, I have experience with living the military life and the challenges it presents. I have navigated through the obstacles, trained with the best and will work with you so that you can live your life again.
Counseling has shown significant results in relieving, and even curing, some of the difficulties that service members and/or family members face.
Relationships have been reestablished and are thriving. There is great promise that the experienced symptoms will diminish and normalcy will return.