Career Counseling with Veterans

Career Counseling with Veterans

Agenda

 Introduction

 Description of the Population, Needs, Supports, & Interventions

 Research-Based Interventions

 Case Study

 Recommendations

 Conclusion

 Assessment of Learning

Discussion:

How comfortable would you feel counseling a veteran? What about a veteran from a different generation (e.g. World War II, Korea, Vietnam)?

Veteran Population

 Veterans are people who served in the military (U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard) in times of war or peace.

 In 2011 there were 43,942 veterans who served during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam era.

 One third of the adult homeless population is veterans, and 70 percent of these suffer from substance abuse.

 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the leading cause of homelessness and unemployment in veterans.

Veterans as a Population

By: Samantha Lucko

& Lauren Breit

• An estimated 300,000 out of 1.64 million soldiers deployed in 2007 suffer from PTSD or major depression.

• Approximately 80% of soldiers with PTSD also suffer from related major depression, anxiety disorders, chemical dependency/substance abuse disorders and suicide(2010)

• Research in the US and Canada have shown that veterans with “war-related trauma are more likely to use medical services had have hypertension, asthma, and chronic pain symptoms” than veterans without trauma (2010)

• “Combat trauma becomes a chronic, debilitating condition associated with a range of negative psychological, physical and social outcomes” for both themselves and their families (2010)

• Veterans with PTSD are 10 times more likely to be unemployed than other vets and in general earn 22% less per hour than peers without PTSD (2010)

Vocational Counseling with Veterans

Discussion:

 How comfortable would you feel working with a veteran who is disabled in medical aspects that are hard to understand (looks fine from the outside but has a lot going on inside)?

Challenges for Veterans

“For healing to take place, peacekeepers need to voice their grief and love not only for their dead military brothers but for the loss of innocence, the loss of their band of brothers, their military family and their military careers” and there is a need for interventions to “counteract the effects of combat-related trauma and prevent the descent of soldiers with PTSD reactions into chronic disability, unemployment and underemployment (2010)

Discussion:

 How comfortable would you feel working with a veteran who is so alarmingly handicap, from previous wounds of combat?

 The majority of programs offered to veterans tend to focus on the treatment of PTSD and do not address secondary/tertiary needs which are associated with relationships, family or career which are significantly affected by the primary traumatic symptoms

Historically, veterans would transition to "blue collar" and "pink collar" jobs after active service.

Vocational Counselor's Role

 Challenges outlined by WHO include “learning and applying knowledge, general tasks and demands, communication, mobility, self-care, domestic life, interpersonal interactions, and major life areas including community, social and civic life”

 Despite MH screening , approximately 3x times the number of veterans seek mental health services than the number who actually receive a diagnosis and/or referral to a mental health clinic - fewer than 10% of all veterans who receive mental health treatment were actually referred through the screening program

 Inform the veteran on how decisions will be made throughout the program, provide case management and support to facilitate successful completion of veteran goals, explore unique circumstances to identify a veterans specific vocational assets, limitations, and services needed to develop an effective plan to achieve suitable employment, Coordinate any other vocational rehabilitation services that may be needed to achieve successful rehabilitation, develop an individualized service plan to assist the veteran in reaching their goals, and follow up with the veteran after they complete their plan to ensure a successful transition and to assist the veteran in any other on the job or independent living needs.

 The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program was established by the Department of Veterans Affairs to “assist veterans with service connected disabilities prepare for, obtain and maintain suitable employment; and/or live as independently as possible.”

Veteran's Role

 Take an active, cooperative role in the process, maintain regular contact with the Voc Rehab Counselor and/or other service providers, seek assistance from the Voc Rehab Counselor for any specific barriers or issues that may prevent active participation in the program or obtaining employment, inform the Voc Rehab Counselor of any job acceptance, inform the Voc Rehab Counselor of progress in a training program including class schedules, grades, changes in a major or changes in a class schedule, discuss any special services needed with your Voc Rehab Counselor including activates of daily living, classroom and/or job accommodations, tutoring, or other special needs.

Interventions with Unemployed Veterans

Case Study

 Subject is a 37 year old male who was honorably discharged from the Marines after 9 years of service.

 He was in the 2003 invasion of Baghdad and received knee and shoulder injuries in Iraq as a part of a sniper team.

 After his injuries, he would seek adrenaline or alcohol to normalize civilian life.

 He attempted to work in machinery, although could not due to his war-time injuries.

• Vocational Rehabilitation using Narrative Therapy
• Holistic Green-Jobs Training Programming for Veterans
• Veteran's Transition Program - 80 hour residential treatment using the Five Stage Model

• He was enrolled in Supportive Education Programs for Returning Veterans (SERV) cohort-based classes which are designed to transition veterans into a college setting and increase the likelihood of retention and graduation rates. The curriculum establishes an academic and social framework designed to improve concentration, memory, problem solving, and learning, while minimizing social isolation.

 Resiliency-related measures have been shown to be “effective longitudinal predictors of college adjustment and graduation”. The courses were intended to foster social change, physical, psychological, and academic improvement.

Discussion:

What other interventions might you have used on this client?

Five Stage Model

Recommendations

Conclusion

 When working with this population, understand that the trauma specific individuals went through can vary to each military member. One person’s perspective of one incident can vary from another just as a civilian’s would.

 Treat these veterans as decent human beings and not as a handicap. Many men and women who leave the military acknowledge their service with pride but don’t want to be seen as “unable.”

 Understand that pride is instilled in each individual, so sometimes asking for help and receiving it is one of the hardest things these individuals can do. Veterans who seek help voluntarily are already a step ahead of those who refuse it or those who are unaware of the resources available.

 The veteran population is a large population with WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War area veterans, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan area veterans who struggle with job placement

 PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and homelessness are issues which this population

 Historically, veterans are place in “blue collar” or “pink collar” jobs

 Holistic Interventions, such as Narrative and Solution based interventions are effective for this population, as well as group therapy which addresses vocational issues, as well as rebuilding camaraderie and traumatic events are also indicated

References:

11 Facts About Veterans. (n.d.). Do Something. Retrieved June 22, 2014, from https://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-veterans

Bellotti, C., Laffaye, C., Weingardt, K. R., Fischer, M., Schumacher, T. (2011). Re-visioning veteran readjustment: Evaluating outcomes of a green-jobs training program. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, Vol 35(1), 51-57.

Bertoch, S., & Ruff, E. (July, 2008). War: The impact and implications of public policy and advocacy for the career development of veterans. Roundtable presented at the annual meeting of the National Career Development Association, Washington, D.C. http://www.google.com/url? sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.career.fsu.edu%2Fdocuments%2Fncda_2008%2F1- 11.doc&ei=y1-nU-eqOdCcyASJtIGwCw&usg=AFQjCNG-eYoxm98N_4TXJzEFBP_rUwoRlA&sig2=S_1Jcl3eueUsyKB- 9eyqQQ&bvm=bv.69411363,d.aWw

Brito, J., Callahan, P., & Marks, W. (2008, November 14). Case study: a hispanic combat veteran returns to college. . Retrieved, from http://vets.arizona.edu/clearinghouse/documents/case_study.pdf

Davis, L. L., Pilkinton, P., Poddar, S., Blansett, C., Toscano, R., & Parker, P. E. (2014). Impact of social challenges on gaining employment for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: An exploratory moderator analysis. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 37(2), 107-109. doi:10.1037/prj0000058ieshok, T. S., Hastings, S., Ebberwein, C., Wettersten, K., & Owen, A. (1999). Telling a good story: Using narratives in vocational rehabilitation with veterans. The Career Development Quarterly, 47(3), 204-214.

Furbish, D. S. (2014), A Review of Career Development for Transitioning Veterans. Jnl of Employment Counseling, 51: 44–46. doi: 10.1002/j.2161- 1920.2014.00040.x

Goldberg, R. W., & Resnick, S. G. (2010). US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) efforts to promote psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 33(4), 255-258. doi:10.2975/33.4.2010.255.258

Nelson, A. (1947). Types of vocational counseling problems: a study of two hundred disabled male veterans. Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 3252-256. doi:10.1002/1097-4679(194707)3:3<252::AID-JCLP2270030307>3.0.CO;2-0

Prudential Financial, Inc. (2012).Veterans Employment Challenges [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.prudential.com/documents/public/VeteransEmploymentChallenges.pdf

Shatkin, L. (n.d.). Veteran's Career Paths Show Value of Real-World Information. . Retrieved January 1, 2014, from http://www.skilledup.com/blog/veterans- career-paths-show-value-of-real-world-information/

Westwood, M. J., McLean, H., Cave, D., Borgen, W., & Slakov, P. (2010). Coming home: A group-based approach for assisting military veterans in transition. Journal For Specialists In Group Work, 35(1), 44-68. doi:10.1080/01933920903466059