Serving Military and Veteran Families: Theories, Research, and Application

Serving Military and Veteran Families introduces readers to the unique culture of military families, their resilience, and the challenges of military life. It reviews the latest research, theories, policies, and programs to prepare readers for understanding and working with military and veteran families. It also offers practical knowledge about the challenges that come with military family life and the federal policies, laws, and programs that support military and veteran families.

Boasting a new full-color design and rich with pedagogy, the text also includes several boxed elements in each chapter. "Spotlight on Research" highlights researchers who study military and veteran families with the goal of informing and enriching the work of family support professionals. "Voices from the Frontline" presents the real-life stories of support program leaders, practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and most importantly service members and veterans and their families. "Tips from the Frontline" offers concrete, hands-on suggestions based on the experiences and wisdom of the people featured in the text and the broader research and practice communities.

Third Edition features:

• Streamlined focus on theories and the addition of the contextual model of family stress and life course theory, including an interview with Glen Elder in which he shares his perspective on the development of life course theory and how it can be applied to understand development across individuals and cohorts.
• Personal accounts of 70 program leaders, practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and, significantly, service members, veterans, and family members who offer insight into their personal experiences, successes, and challenges associated with military life.
• 20 new interviews with service members, veterans, family members, researchers, and clinicians that bring important topics to life.
• Updated demographics and descriptions of service members, veterans, and their families.
• Expanded descriptions of mental health treatment approaches with an emphasis on including family members.
• Updated exercises focused on providing services to military and veteran families.
• New online resources designed to further enrich discourse and discussion.

Serving Military and Veteran Families is designed as a core text for advanced undergraduate or graduate courses on military and veteran families, or as a supplement for related courses taught in family science, human development, family life education, social work, and clinical or counseling psychology programs. Providing a foundation for working with increased sensitivity, knowledge, and respect, the text can also be a useful resource for helping professionals who work with military and veteran families.