This post was uploaded by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and is part of a series of Military Family Caregiving posts published on the Military Families Learning Network blog.

This post was uploaded by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and is part of a series of Military Family Caregiving posts published on the Military Families Learning Network blog. The photo was found on the Department of Defenses‘ Flickr photostream.

The Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD is challenging service professionals, families and services members to ‘Take the Step’ in raising PTSD awareness this month by offering a four-week informational guide to PTSD learning. Each week the center offers tools to understanding this invisible wound found in so many returning service members.

• Week 1: Learn about PTSD
• Week 2: Challenge your Beliefs
• Week 3: Explore Options
• Week 4: Reach Out

Whether you are a health care professional, family member or friend of a warrior who may be suffering from PTSD it is important to encourage public awareness and to provide assistance to those impacted by the condition.

This post was uploaded by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and is part of a series of Military Family Caregiving posts published on the Military Families Learning Network blog.

All of us though can take a moment of silence to honor those who have fallen.

Wherever you are on Monday, May 27 At 3 PM (local time), please stop, and in your own way, have a moment of silence with thought or prayer for those who have fallen and other sacrifices made by veterans, service members, and their families.

 
This post was written by Anne Adrian, Social Media Strategist with the Military Families Learning Network.

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause for a moment of silence wherever they are at 3:00 p.m. local time on Monday to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

This post was uploaded by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and is part of a series of Military Family Caregiving posts published on the Military Families Learning Network blog.

This post was uploaded by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and is part of a series of Military Family Caregiving posts published on the Military Families Learning Network blog.

The webinar entitled, Be an Expert Problem Solver! Caregiving and Coping with TBI, will review many issues family members face living with someone who has traumatic brain injury (TBI).  The presenter will provide basic information about coping and will offer webinar participants the chance to identify his or her own problem or stressor within their caregiving role and provide feedback on how to handle the pressures of caregiving within their lives. Stressors many caregivers face may include hectic doctors’ schedules, keeping up with finances, maintaining a career, and child care. Learn how you can cope with overwhelming responsibilities in order to provide the necessary care for both you and your wounded warrior.

For more information on the webinar and to find out how to access the online conference go to: https://learn.extension.org/events/1053

This post was uploaded by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and is part of a series of Military Family Caregiving posts published on the Military Families Learning Network blog.

This post was uploaded by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and is part of a series of Military Family Caregiving posts published on the Military Families Learning Network blog.

This post was uploaded by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and published on the Military Families Learning Network blog.

Each of the conference times for the two-part webinar series is 75-minutes in length and will cover specific TBI information for military families:

• Part I (May 9, 2013) – TBI: What Families Need to Know
• Part II (May 16, 2013) – Be An Expert Problems Solver: Caregiving & Coping with TBI

Military TBI

TBI is known as the signature wound of war during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The number of those wounded with TBI and accompanying complications has necessitated major changes in the ways in which the Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs treats these injuries. Although family caregivers are to receive education about TBI as early as possible, many families find they need additional and ongoing support.

In this two-part presentation the presenter will review basic information about TBI, its complications and issues family members face living with TBI. The presentation will also provide information about coping and specific problem solving strategies that have been useful to other caregivers living with TBI and additional resources to further enhance caregiver knowledge.

Presenter

Timothy R. Elliott, Ph.D., ABPP, is a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University.  He holds a joint faculty appointment with the School of Rural Public Health at the Texas A&M Health Sciences Center.  He obtained his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1987. After his internship at the Seattle Veterans Administration Medical Center in Seattle, WA, he served on faculty with the Department of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.  He has also been a faculty member with the School of Medicine and with the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

His research has examined adjustment processes among persons living with chronic and disabling health conditions, with particular emphasis on the role of social problem-solving abilities and other factors that predict adjustment following disability.  This work has resulted in over 200 professional publications and federal grant funding for over 15 years (including support for five randomized clinical trials). His research team pioneered the use of long-distance technologies in providing problem solving training to family caregivers of persons with acquired disabilities, including the first randomized clinical trials of a psychological intervention for family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injuries, and for family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries.  In 2006, he was featured in the instructional DVD entitled, Caregiving, as part of the Psychotherapy Video/DVD Series on Relationships published by American Psychological Association.

He has recently been appointed to the Defense Health Board’s Neurological/Behavioral Health subcommittee to provide advice on psychological/mental health issues and neurological symptoms or conditions among service members and their families. He served as Editor for Rehabilitation Psychology (2006-2011), published by the American Psychological Association. Currently, he is the Editor of the Journal of Clinical Psychology. He was co-editor of the first edition of the Handbook of Rehabilitation Psychology (2000).  He is a Fellow of three APA divisions and holds board certification (ABPP) in rehabilitation psychology.

No registration is required to join the web conferences, simply go to each of the following webinars to attend.

Part I – TBI: What Families Need to Know

Part II – Be an Expert Problems Solver: Caregiving & Coping with TBI

The sites will provide handouts associated with each presentation and a direct link to join the event.

This post was written by Rachel Brauner of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Wounded Warrior Program and is part of a series of Military Family Caregiving posts published on the Military Families Learning Network blog.