Military Social Work Practice: Starting the Conversation

Since the dawn of time humans have engaged in conflict and battle. Over the past decades we have witnessed the challenges faced by military members, veterans, and their families. Professional and community organizations are calling for education and training, programs, and effective interventions that focus on the needs of the military community. This book is a response to that call for action. Military life and its trials are fluid and ever changing, so producing a current and relevant manuscript of military social work issues can be challenging as well. The character of Military Social Work Practice: Starting the Conversation is different. It serves as a primer and a catalyst for thought and individual exploration into the military culture and the practice of mental health service delivery to military members, veterans, and their families. The presentation of material is conversational in nature and strives to point the reader toward topics for further research. This book provides the reader with a general introduction to military culture, the challenges of everyday life, consequences of deployment and battle for the service member and family, the most common battle injuries, and various support programs offered through the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, and community organizations. It is only through the collaborative efforts of professionals and military, government, and community organizations that we can grow our community capacity to adequately respond to the needs of military members, veterans, and their families and help them thrive and heal mind, body, and spirit. Although the primary audience is the social work student and professional, anyone helping the military community can benefit from these initial conversations.

Susan Denise Barnes is a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant. She spent 25 years as an aircraft maintenance data systems analyst and held a variety of leadership roles throughout her career. Additionally, she served as program manager, curriculum developer, and instructor for enlisted professional development programs at several assignments. She holds a Master of Social Work degree and a Doctor of Education degree and has taught military social work courses since 2012. As a massage therapist, she focused on treating military members and veterans with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. This is her first book about social work practice with the military.