Description

Write a 3-4 page paper in APA format discussing the book's material under

" Taking its Toll" on pages 10-16. The title page and abstract page are

not required, but the reference page is required.

Taking Its Toll

What distinguishes this conflict from previous wars is the number of service

members who don’t die but suffer appalling injuries. In Vietnam and

Korea, about three Americans were wounded for everyone who died; the

ratio in World War II was about two wounded for each death. In Iraq, 16

soldiers are wounded or get sick for everyone who dies (Ephron & Childress,

2007). In addition, those who do return injured are often amputees

or injured in such a grievous fashion that it will take years of treatment,

both psychological and physical, for them to heal. The young veteran who

hanged himself has twice turned away from the Veterans Administration,

the second time because he was told alcoholics must dry out before

being accepted into an inpatient program. A spokesperson for the Veterans

Administration who wanted to remain anonymous was quoted in the

article as saying, “The system does not treat mental health with the same

urgency it treats general health care” (Ephron & Childress, 2007, ¶ 21). It is

hoped that civilian counselors who understand and are interested in working

with military service members and their families can begin to take up

some of the slack.

John Clark (2006), in a letter to the editor of the American Counseling

Association’s Counseling Today newspaper, stated, “We have been recognizing

and honoring the correlation between a soldier’s home life and

job performance” (p. 4) since 1965. It was called the “X-Factor” for years because it was understood that the stress and strain on relationships are

real and traumatic. “I would suggest the focus be on support; normalizing

the anger, fear, and sadness; and working to accept the major changes in

the relationship. War and war games change the person; new roles change

the spouse. Counseling can help to move the partners to acceptance and

embracement of the new ‘other’ ” (p. 4).

I could not say it any better. Although we might believe that the military

would have the capacity to care for its members, as well as for their

families, the fact is that they don’t, and the military is very aware of the

problems and needs that are being created for the future. As the number of

families that need services increases, civilian counselors are being called

on to work with military families, either during active duty or later. In

theory and techniques, do not have an understanding of the military culture.

Numerous reasons why these services are not available and what is

causing the increased need for these services are pointed out in chapter 2

when we explore the difference between the military in the days of the

draft versus the all-volunteer military. Although the military has taken

major steps in the past two decades to meet the needs of military families,

there will be a greater and greater need for families and service members to

find civilian counselors who understand their unique needs and can work

with them to reach their personal and emotional goals.