Please respond to the two following peers
Brooke Climer
Manage Discussion
Jane, who is 32 recently lost her husband while on duty in Afghanistan. She is pregnant, but also has an 18-month-old son, looks exhausted, and is not eating or sleeping. This is not the only tragedy that Jane has suffered in her life. Her father died when she was 18, and she became very depressed, the recent loss of her husband could be causing Jane to relive the death of her father, especially because her children will now grow up without a father.
Jane would benefit from expressive and psychoanalytic therapy. The focus of these therapies is to process trauma, alternating between periods of processing and periods of destabilization (Wheeler, 2022). It would be helpful for Jane to talk about the trauma of her father’s death, as well as her husband’s death, and process her feelings. The therapist can help her slowly process these traumas followed by periods of grounding so that Jane feels safe and secure.
There are resources for Jane and her son. There are of course veteran support groups for the military personnel, but I found some resources specifically for family members that have lost their husbands/fathers in combat. Fallenpatriots.org assists widows of military veterans who have died while on active duty. They also hold events such as galas for military children who have lost their parents, as well as college scholarships.
I also found TAPS, which is a tradegy assistance program for providers. They offer support to survivors of military families that have lost their loved ones, as well as therapy options and support groups for the family. TAPS also places the families in support groups within their communities.
Cristina Pajarillaga
Resources I found.
https://www.va.gov/family-member-benefits/
https://www.fallenpatriots.org/family-support
https://www.ocvmfc.info/
Orange County veterans in orange county.
What is your biggest concern for Jane? What should be addressed first?
There is a lot going on with jane. My biggest concern is the safety of jane and her son. Physical and psychological safety. There are basics that she needs like housing and financial help. Followed by help with her son, her health, pregnancy, and her depression. She will need treatment considering she had a history of depression and now with what is happening with her with the recent loss of her husband. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Wheeler, 2022), starts with physiological needs then safety, and security followed by love and belonging, self-esteem and last is self-actualization. The physiological needs must be met before the rest. So I would start with her pregnancy and depression. I’m glad that she was seen by the midwife during her pregnancy, now we can help her with depression. According to Van Niel & Payne (2020), 10-20 % of women who are pregnant or were pregnant will likely have depression. History of depression, lack of social support, and financial difficulties are among some of the risk factors for maternal depression. I would start treating the depression at the same time, referring her to a social worker together and the veteran’s family resources.