Families Under Fire: Systemic Therapy with Military Families

This book provides guidelines for systems-based practice for a broad spectrum of civilian mental health practitioners who provide professional services to military personnel, their spouses, and their family members. Civilian practitioners may not be as familiar with the military system and do not receive the same military mental healthcare training as providers on military installations, yet they are increasingly likely to provide services to these families as the provider networks on military bases are overwhelmed by the volume of new cases. Working therapeutically with military couples requires an understanding of the dynamic nature of the lives they lead. It also requires the understanding that some therapeutic models developed for couples and families in one branch of the armed services may have only limited applicability to other branches. The editors provide a nuts and bolts approach to military families utilizing a systems-based practice that is effective with families in the military, regardless of branch of service or the practitioners therapeutic preference.