MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Thousands of military service members and their families are at risk of becoming victims of combat operational stress and stand to benefit from family-centered services, according to the Defense Health Board Task Force on Mental Health.
Research by the DHBTF on parents with stress reactions to combat demonstrated that such difficulties interfere with parenting, family life, child adjustment, disrupts family roles and routines, and decreases support within the family.
The Families OverComing Under Stress Project is a resiliency-building program, and is designed for Navy and Marine Corps families to address the impact of multiple deployments, combat stress and high operational tempo, on children and families. The program was developed in 2007 by the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery with the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.
Camp Pendleton is one of nine Navy and Marine Corps installations across the world with the privilege of having a FOCUS center available to its Marines, sailors and their families.
“The goal of the program is to promote strong military families through skill building activities and exercises,” said Dr. Melinda L. Morgan, site director, FOCUS Project, Camp Pendleton.
FOCUS’s staff works with family readiness officers, command elements, chaplains and Marine Corps Community Services personnel throughout Camp Pendleton to provide education during training days, predeployment and reunion briefs, and local school and community events, added Morgan.
Although MCCS and FOCUS programs work well together, FOCUS is designed to build specific skills that have been developed to support families and children living with combat operational stress.
During six to ten session programs, family members learn to identify and build upon the existing strengths of each individual family member, said Morgan.
“In groups and in individual family sessions, parents work with their teens and children to build family level skills to help improve family communication and address potentials for adversity,” said Morgan.
The FOCUS program is flexible and allows families to customize a recovery plan based on their specific needs. The staff can schedule meetings or counseling in the evening, during weekdays and sometimes Saturdays on and off base, helping everyone involved get the care they need.
Since introducing itself to the Camp Pendleton community, FOCUS has doubled its personnel and is able to operate at seven locations including main side, Wire Mountain and San Onofre.
“FOCUS has built strong relationships with other excellent providers serving our Navy and Marine families aboard Camp Pendleton and plays an integral role in enhancing family readiness,” said Morgan.
For more information on the FOCUS project, contact (760) 621-4533.