Explosions at the Intersection of Military Culture and Mental Health ~ A CSJV-CAMFT Connects Event

"Explosions at the Intersection of Military Culture and Mental Health"A chance to network with members of your community, and enjoy a featured presentation from a local professional! Breakfast Provided. (2 CEUs)

This event is on a Friday, in response to members wanting to save their weekends for family time and self-care. 

Presenter: Dr. Howsepian, M.D., M.A., Ph.D. Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Brief Description: The U.S. Military, like the U.S. in general, is comprised of multiple, overlapping cultures. These military cultures share multiple elements with American cultures, but there are also several discordant elements that make the diagnosis and treatment of military veterans a sometimes perilous endeavor. This presentation will address areas of opacity in military cultures which, unless clarified, pose significant risks, not only in understanding, assessing, and treating veterans, generally, but also pose more narrow risks of patient-therapist interpersonal discord, therapeutic stalemates, relational ruptures and, in the worst case scenarios, veteran suicides.

Purpose: To understand the manner in which misunderstanding and mismanaging veterans might be avoided by better understanding military cultures, characteristic ‘hidden' military injuries, and veterans' identities.
Learning Objectives:

(1) To contextualize military experience in a cultural matrix.

 (2) To recognize core elements of veteran identity and threats to this identity. 

(3) To understand veterans’ ambivalences regarding, and resistances to, treatment. 

(4) To appreciate some of the more common challenges to assessing and treating veterans. 

(5) To explore approaches for preventing veteran suicide.

About the Instructor:

A.A. Howsepian, M.D., Ph.D. is Staff Psychiatrist and Director of Electroconvulsive Therapy at the Veterans Administration Central California Health Care Center in Fresno, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the University of California, San Francisco -Fresno Medical Education Program (UCSF-FMEP), and Instructor in the Department of Counseling Education and Rehabilitation at California State University, Fresno and in the Department of Philosophy at Fresno Pacific University. He teaches courses in Psychopharmacology, Psychiatry and Religion, Psychiatric Ethics, Sexual Dysfunction, Paraphilias and Perversions, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Forensic Psychiatry, and Philosophy of Mind. He also has a consultation-only primarily forensic private practice, ‘Comprehensive Psychiatry Consultation Services.’ Dr. Howsepian has approximately 50 publications in Psychiatry, Neurology, and Philosophy journals. His Ph.D. is in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame.

$30 for CSJV-CAMFT Members (All Levels)

$45 for Non-Members

$55 All Walk-Ins At the Door )no guarantee of extra food for walk-ins)

Course meets the qualifications for 2 hours of continuing education credit for LMFT's , LPCCs, and/or LCSW's as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.  CAMFT-CSJV Chapter is approved by CAMFT as a Continuing Education Provider (CEP #62276)

Refund Policy: Fees for chapter events are nonrefundable except in the case that the event is cancelled or rescheduled.

Facilities and programs are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you have a special need and plan to attend the workshop, please contact  csjvcamft@gmail.com. Please allow as much advance notice as is possible to ensure we have ample opportunity to meet your needs.