The reunion of military families following deployment may not be the honeymoon phase that families often hope for. Tensions and conflict may arise, and service members and their loved ones may have little support to deal with the challenges of the reunion phase.

The American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) group has developed a series of modules called Reconnection Workshops. These 2 hour sessions cover such topics as communication, depression, stress and trauma, anger, and children. Designed for small groups, the information can also be adapted for larger audiences.

The workshops are free and are led by licensed mental health professionals.

If you know a military family or small group that would benefit from one or more of these workshops, please pass the information on to them.

If you are a licensed mental health professional with a master’s degree or higher, please consider this valuable opportunity to help military families. You can apply to become a facilitator by emailing reconnection@redcross.org.

For more information please contact me at martha@marthateater.com. You can also email reconnection@redcross.org.

Let’s do all we can to support and honor our service members and their families as they return home from deployments. Their service and sacrifice are much appreciated.