Looking After the Clinical and Social Support Needs of Military Families Impacted by Operational Stress Injuries.

摘要

Over the last two decades, Canadian military members have experienced a significant increase in their participation in military operations, both abroad and at home, escalating the number of soldiers dealing with psychological injuries. Those returning home from deployment with symptoms of psychological distress and reduced functioning have a profound impact on their family system. Families, specifically spouses, are often the sole source of support for the injured persons. Their long-term efforts to empathize for their partners and cope with the effects of caring for them, directly impacts their health and social functioning. Thus, assisting the supporting spouses to repair any damage done to the system itself is crucial to prevent burn out, but also to ensure the successful treatment of these military members. To do so the Canadian Forces has established two programs dedicated to assisting military members and their families dealing with psychological injuries resulting from military operations. These programs work in collaboration to offer different services that compliment each other and provide a holistic approach to prevention, education and treatment. The first program provides clinical expertise in treating these families; while the second offers a new approach to providing social support services, through the utilization of a network of peers, who have also experienced the stress of caring for psychologically injured members. Even with this cohesive service system, there are still barriers and challenges to providing care to this population, and future enhancements to this system are required in order to fully meet their needs.