Consultation With Military Children and Schools

A Proposed Model
Denise Horton Walden University

Military children face situations that are high school seniors have already either
unique. Their parents may be deployed at any dropped out or have skipped too much
time, causing separations and reorganization of school to graduate on time “ (War Takes a
the family. How to assist these children lead Toll,” n.d., para 4). A Web site (www.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

their lives despite constant change and threat to

militarystudent.org) has been set up for
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the family is an understudied area. This article

presents a potential consultation model to assist
military children, parents, educators, and
military children to remain in school and to stay military leaders to access assistance as a
motivated. By supporting the mental and emo- result of just such concerns. The Depart-
tional health of the children, the academic work ment of Education has created guides for
could be more consistent. A consultee-centered educators and schools to understand the
approach is reviewed. military family; however; it may take a
formal plan of action to make written
There are around 1.2 million U.S. guidelines adaptable and useful in the mil-
school-age children who have either one or itary culture.
both parents in the active component of the Military children see themselves as set
military (Finkel, Kelley, & Ashby, 2003). apart. Ender (2002) noted that these chil-
About 60% of those now serving have fam- dren are a unique subset of the culture.
ilies (Drummet, Coleman, & Cable, 2003). There have been labels that they, them-
Desert Storm deployed more women as the selves, as well as researchers have given
primary military member and Reservists them, such as “military brats” or “global
than ever before (Hardin, Hayes, Cheever, nomads.”
& Addy, 2003). With the war in Iraq and Drummet et al. (2003) noted that mili-
many other types of military missions in tary families face unique stressors, such as
place, the military forces are being sent on relocations to overseas assignments, sepa-
more deployments than ever before (Drum- ration from service members, and a contin-
met et al., 2003). uous level of reorganization-disorganiza-
An online article titled “War Takes a tion when reunions occur. Since LaGrone
Toll on Military Kids” quoted Dr. Jean (1978) argued that the military family has a
Silvernail, a program analyst from the Pen- unique set of patterns and stressors that
tagon’s Military Children in Transition and
Deployment Office, as stating, “One of the
things we know is that children under the Denise Horton, MS, LPC, is a doctoral can
stress of deployment are affected academ- didate in counseling psychology at Walden
ically, socially and emotionally” (“War University.
She seves the U.S. Army at Fort Dix as an
Takes a Toll,” n.d., para 11). An example
Alcohol and Drug Control officer and Employee
of one school in which there is a large Assistance Professional. She wishes to thank her
proportion of military children is at Fort husband William for his love and proofreading.
Hood, Texas. The nearby high school ex- Correspondence concerning this article
pected to graduate 396 students. The guid- should be addressed to Denise Horton, 46 Hilton
ance counselor at the school, Barbara Road, Mount Holly, NJ 08060. E-mail:
Critchfield, noted that “75– 80%” of the [email protected]

Copyright 2005 by the Educational Publishing Foundation and the Society of Consulting Psychology, 1065-9293/05/$12.00
DOI: 10.1037/1065-9293.57.4.259
259
Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Vol. 57, No. 4, 259 –265
 create a so-called “military family syn- school despite the changes in the family.
drome” (p. 1040), there have been conflict- Each branch of the military (Army, Navy,
ing ideas and opinions as to how the mili- Air Force, and Marines) shares similar is-
tary family copes with military life and sues. This article focuses on the Army as an
increased military deployments. The sys- example of what can be done. As this may
tems in place that offer assistance to active be considered a pilot program, the initial
component, Reservists, National Guard, efforts report on one on-post school that
and civilian contractors are not necessarily has students whose parents are deployed.
linked in ways that offer help in adaptation. The type of consultation model is defined
Bowen, Mancini, Martin, Ware, and and explained.
Nelson (2003) examined the strong points
that military families bring to the table. A Mental Health Model:
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

sense of community was used as a mea- Consultee-Centered Approach

This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

surement or variable to examine how a

Brown, Pryzwansky, and Shulte (2001)
military community can be brought to-
suggested that the main goal of the mental
gether to reduce stress and help adaptation.
health model would be to improve the con-
Drummet et al. (2003) noted that there is
sultee’s ability to solve a problem. This
available information for military families
type of consultation is most appropriate in
to learn to adapt, yet accessing it is some- an on-post, military, school-based setting
times the hard part. There is still stigma as the recipient of the consultation services
attached to asking for help in the military may also be a military spouse. In addition,
setting. Programs for families are physi- it may be that the military service member
cally located on military installations, yet is deployed, creating problems in objec-
the families may be far from that installa- tively handling the level of stress children
tion. Cultural differences in how these pro- may have with their parent’s deployment.
grams are offered have gone unrecognized. Teachers or school personnel may have ex-
Being stationed abroad may limit some of pectations that the children who need assis-
the ways families communicate, gain em- tance should be able to handle their prob-
ployment, stay connected, and deal with the lems in the same fashion their own children
cultural constraints they encounter. can. Theme interference may also be prob-
Although there has been some research lematic, especially when the deployment is
on deployments and staying connected or to a war or combat zone. The teacher may
encouraging children in their education, be extending his or her own fear of loss
there is scant research into how to offer onto a client or child (Brown et al., 2001).
consultation to schools in which there are The added cultural burden of rank may
military children. The Department of Edu- cause confidence to be a problem. If the
cation offers a guidebook for educators teacher is having problems with the com-
who work with children of military fami- mander’s child, there may be a need to help
lies. In it there are recommended stages for show a sound and fair way to deal with
consultation services at every phase of de- concerns without fear of retribution or
ployment. Although there are suggestions harm to the service member’s career.
made to refer to mental health resources for In the case where the receipt of consul-
serious stress reactions, there is little in the tation is not a military member, but a civil-
way of preventive assistance in the guide- ian, with little background or experience
book. This article offers some initial steps with the military, there may be a knowl-
that could be adapted to assist teachers, edge gap where a consultant can help (Ed-
parents, and guidance counselors to help ucator’s Guide to the Military Child Dur-
the military children they serve to stay in ing Deployment, n.d.). The need to link

260 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

Fall 2005
 services or to make the school personnel parental deployment (i.e., acting out) in a
aware of how to access military systems preventative fashion, to link the parent who
could be very helpful. There is a possibility is at home with school resources before
that the civilian staff members may have there are problems in academics or behav-
strong feelings about the nature of the mil- ior, and to allow the child(ren) to know
itary that may be hampering their view- who and how to access help before they
point with an individual child. Whether the need it. There are existing programs, such
consultant is internal or external to the or- as fire prevention training or child abuse
ganization, there is a need to be account- prevention training, that could serve as
able to the chain of command. Knowing the models to increase buy-in from the parents
cycle of deployment and what can be put and children.
into place is outlined as a pilot proposal.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

Stages of Deployment
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Proposed Consultation Model

Predeployment. Prior to the military
Services could be developed at each parent’s departure, the unit often receives
stage of the deployment process: prede- some type of warning order before their
ployment, deployment, and postdeploy- specific date for deployment. During this
ment. The Educator’s Guide to Military phase, several useful interventions can be
Children During Deployment (n.d.) sug- implemented to offer an inoculation against
gested that there are specific and clear chal- the strain of potential separation.
lenges at each stage. Bell and Schumm Stress management classes for both par-
(2000), working from the Army Research ents and children can help them understand
Institute, noted the particular concerns for the stress they will feel and that they are not
adults and families at each stage of deploy- alone. Art projects can be done in a class-
ment. Knox and Price (1999) also sug- room setting or in a specialized class of-
gested that the combined efforts of profes- fered through family support centers at ev-
sional providers and families can ease the ery military installation. Drawing and cre-
stress of deployment through family readi- ating pictures of what they expect their
ness support groups at the unit level. parents to be facing may help children to
integrate and express their concerns so that
Project Outline an adult can help to sort them out. Johnson
(1998) suggested that art and art therapy
The target setting for the program could can enhance trust, build rapport, and help
be any on-post elementary school where a children to process internal struggles. Dur-
large contingent of military families has a ing the initial stages of the current conflict,
military member who is deployed. Most art has been used as a way for the children
Army installations have a school liaison to express their pride and patriotism for the
officer who could act as a gatekeeper. The mission their parent was involved in. Art
position is one in which the person knows can be used in family readiness groups in
the school, child development, and the the Reserve and National Guard sectors
teachers. The intended client should be the during support meetings to get to know the
teachers. children and families. Active involvement
processes can help to work out the feel-
Purpose and Objectives ings—for example, the use of poetry and
writing to give voice to the fears and con-
The purpose and objectives are as fol- cerns. Army family team-building classes,
lows: to train and support the teachers on which are designed and offered by family
how to handle behaviors associated with a support programs, already exist and teach

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 261

Fall 2005
 everything needed to understand the mili- increase intergroup communication, which
tary culture. Parents and teachers can and is so important when families are separated.
should attend at initial stages of military Postdeployment. This phase is marked
life. It helps the adults to become members by an effort to reintegrate the service mem-
of the Army team. Creating a children’s ber back into a system that may have dra-
version of this program would help by link- matically adapted without them. Depend-
ing it to the needs of children and creating ing on the age of the child, several useful
supportive ways to make them also feel a programs could be implemented. A class to
part of the team. Existing services could be explain the impact of trauma and stress
used to manage this. Classes on how to reactions that is geared toward specific age
handle the media are important to consider. groups may serve to educate the family to
News reports can be very scary as often what the military member may be experi-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

encing. Fathers and mothers experiencing

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what they report is the number of deaths.

posttraumatic stress reactions may not be
Reporters seeking a good story will ask for
prepared for the amount and degree of need
information they have no real need to know
in their children (Caselli & Motta, 1995).
and could essentially compromise security
Children need an understanding that they
of a unit without realizing it. Drummet et did not cause the changes in their parents.
al. (2003) suggested that incomplete reports Continued use of support groups and active
or rumors have increased the fear and anx- methods like poetry or art to allow children
iety in the general public and, more specif- to express themselves can be helpful. There
ically, military families. Children may re- should be a focus on classroom structure
quire help to sort out the media messages and how it is affecting the children. There
and learn for themselves how to understand may be a need to offer more or less struc-
the reporting. Each installation has a public ture depending on how the children work
affairs specialist who could serve as an through the adaptation of the family. Anger
additional source of support to such a class. management and antiviolence programs
Deployment phase. When the service should be a part of the prevention strategy.
member actually boards a plane and departs Preventive approaches to behavior may
for a location that is subject to change, the stop serious incidents from happening as
children and parent left behind are “reorga- the reorganization of the family may create
nized” to adjust to the loss. A deployment a number of feelings, including the anger
newspaper for children could be developed that the parent may feel as a part of the
that passes on information about their par- posttraumatic stress. A project such as this
ents in language they understand. This may may take up to a year or more depending on
prove helpful as a communication tool. the amount of time a unit is deployed. Fol-
Support groups for parents and children can low-up services to ensure that the consult-
aid in providing a safe place to share com- ees are managing their needs may further
mon concerns and get answers that come extend the time line to 18 months to 2
from the command. years.
Grief training for guidance counselors
Data Collection Strategies
may support the transitional loss felt by the
children as a result of the departure of their Perhaps most helpful as a starting point
parent. Younger children may experience at the outset of a consultation would be for
separation anxiety from the parent who is at the consultant to review the previous years’
home. Providing Web links to family readi- records, including both guidance counselor
ness groups and the phone number of a records and disciplinary records, and to of-
person who knows what is going on could fer a pretest for stress before the deploy-

262 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

Fall 2005
 ment for the family. Postdeployment com- well with other agencies. Linkage across
parisons to this type of baseline data would programs may not work. There may be a
assist in determining the impact of the in- need to make referrals that are not readily
terventions offered. Surveys of client satis- available, for example, psychological ser-
faction with the programs implemented vices for children.
would also offer qualitative data. One crit- Other ethical and clinical considerations
ical sign of satisfaction with the military is should be taken into account as the consul-
retention in service. Drummet et al. (2003) tation is developed. The consultant should
noted that satisfaction with military life has clarify the need to report child abuse con-
been seen by some as one of the most accu- cerns. A child left at home without adult
rate predictors of retention in the service. supervision is not unheard of in a military
There are multicultural considerations in setting. Children may disclose concerns
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

this type of consultation with this popula- about the parent they are at home with, who
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

tion. For disabled or special needs parents may be experiencing depression, alcohol or
or children in the unit, classes and instruc- drug problems, or any number of mental
tion may need to be adapted given their health concerns. Family support centers or
special needs. Any foreign-born spouse Army community service offices have
whose language is other than English may trained social workers available to meet the
need translation services. An understanding problems of spouse and child abuse in the
of the differences in culture with the mili- military settings (Knox & Price, 1999). The
tary setting would be critical. There may be consultant must be clear about how these
families who are new to military jargon and situations are to be handled and docu-
lifestyle. This group would especially ben- mented. With increasing military deploy-
efit from Army family team-building ments, all service branches within the mil-
classes offered by the Army community itary could adapt this type of program.
service center on the installation. Linking Web-based models are being developed al-
them to the needed service would be facil- ready. The Army has a contracted service
itated through this consultation. for families called Army One Source that is
intended to meet the needs of the spouses
Challenges and Limitations primarily. Kelley (2002) noted many other
civilian sector employers are offering more
It is not always known when a unit is mobile jobs to women, taking them away
deploying so the timelines for a consulta- for extended period from their children. A
tion may be different or hard to put into program to help keep children emotionally
place at critical times. The unit may be motivated and coping well with extended
redeploying after a short time home, mak- separations from parents may benefit other
ing the reunion phase nonexistent and cre- industries, especially those in which a par-
ating yet new turmoil for the family. Com- ent has to travel extensively.
mand pressure to quickly have a viable
program for families may interfere with the Consultation in a Military Setting
consultation being properly organized and
adequately assessed. Commanders are held W. B. Johnson (2002) stated that when
accountable for the results of any family acting as a consultant in the military set-
program. If a consultation is not successful, ting, it is important to be mindful of the
it may be seen as poor leadership by a special cultural context. W. B. Johnson rec-
commander. This kind of pressure can ommended considering the setting as a
lessen the support for the program. There cross-cultural one. The ability to work
may be territorial overlap with current ser- within a multicultural setting would be a
vices, which may need to be coordinated valuable skill. Everything in the military

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 263

Fall 2005
 environment is directed toward the mission tem. Reserve and National Guard families
of protecting and defending the country. often reside some distance from a military
Support services like the school exist to installation that could offer support and
allow the military member to focus on his awareness of the benefits afforded to them.
or her job of preparation for deployment. School systems on-post and school systems
Johnson also noted that to be an effective located off the installation have different
consultant, one needs to be able to use levels of understanding and support of the
clinical skills, such as understanding pa- military. The programming mentioned in
thology and therapy techniques, to assist at this article can be accomplished, to a great
both individual and organizational levels. extent, with support services already in
An understanding of organizational sys- place. Retention in the military is in part
tems and the ability to apply research and based on the health and happiness of the
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

statistics were also seen as skills needed to

This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

families. In addition, if the military mem-

be competent as a consulting psychologist
ber can stay focused on their military job
in a military setting (W. B. Johnson, 2002).
while in the field, it would enhance their
In addition, W. B. Johnson suggested that
readiness. If the children could stay focused
an ethical consultant is one who has the
on their job at school, the family could also
personal traits that engender trust and con-
fidence and who is emotionally able to be more mission ready.
work in this type of arena. Military children face academic issues
Caplan, Caplan, and Erchul (1994) ex- when they are required to move from state
plained that when the consultant is internal to state as a natural process of the military
to the organization, team work, confidenti- lifestyle. Some of the families move to a
ality, and communication are all areas that temporary location to be closer to family
have to be addressed. The consultant must during the deployment of their military
be able to work within a network or system member. Moving to a new school district
of professionals while maintaining dignity may occur at any time of the year. Little is
and respect for all. The ability to analyze known about the children’s inner struggle
and accurately interpret the context are rel- with the absence of a military parent. A
evant skills for the consultant. comprehensive program such as the one
Sandoval (2003) felt that being an active outlined in this article may provide avenues
listener, asking questions, separating and for the children to safely express their
maintaining healthy boundaries from the needs, without fear of harm to their parents’
consultee, assessing the needs of the con- careers.
sultee, knowing how to build relationships, The teacher in the classroom may also
and maintaining body language that trans- be facing the stress of deployment of a
mits trust and confidence are all skills military member of the family. A consul-
needed to create change in others. tant can offer objective support to the
school as an organization as well as indi-
Discussion vidual support to the teacher. Application
Knox and Price (1999) noted that there and organization of systems that may not
has been tremendous shifting in the way the be accessed could offer increased use of the
military works as an organization. Reliance already existing programs. The military as
on Reserve and National Guard troops has an organization is evolving to accommo-
changed the culture of the military. Fami- date the members who have families. Pre-
lies who previously did not know much vention can assist commanders in retaining
about the military are being forced to unit members as they can offer better as-
quickly understand a fairly complex sys- sistance to the family left behind.

264 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

Fall 2005
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