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Conversations about the challenges military-connected kids face as they navigate multiple education systems from birth through high school.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
Destiny Huff discusses the unique stressors that military-connected families with special needs children experience, and the importance of education and advocacy. She shares resources and tools for educators, parents, mental and behavioral health professionals.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Fort Wainwright Community Spouses’ Club. To learn more, visit https://www.facebook.com/WainwrightCSC/.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Bio:
Destiny Huff, MS, LPC, CPCS is a neurodivergent military spouse of 9 years and mother of two boys. She runs a private practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapist (TF-CBT) in the Mental Health field. She also runs Destiny Huff Consulting and is a Special Education Parent Advocate and IEP Coach. Destiny is currently a Doctoral Candidate pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology and is passionate about helping her mental health clients deal with everyday stressors and develop new coping skills. She is passionate about helping parents navigate special education and work together to identify solutions that can assist their children in feeling safe, preserving their mental health, and thriving in their school setting. She also works with schools to train staff on Mental Health, Autism, ADHD, and IEPs in the school setting.
Resources:
Destiny Huff Consulting https://www.destinyhuffconsulting.com/
https://www.hrgcounseling.com/
Partners in PROMISE: https://thepromiseact.org/
Military One Source: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/special-needs/
Social Emotional Books for Military Kids: https://thepromiseact.org/social-emotional-books-for-military-kids/
Cleveland Clinic. Depression & Anxiety in Children. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14938-depression-in-children
https://www.divergentminds.org/
https://www.autisminblack.org/
https://www.additudemag.com/
Tuesday Oct 10, 2023
Tuesday Oct 10, 2023
CSM (Retired) Lamont “Chris” Christian discusses the importance of mental health and well-being within the military community. He includes strategies to find positive ways to change and begin healing, and how post traumatic growth is an integral part of the process.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from BAE Systems, Inc. To learn more, visit https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/home.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Resources:
https://www.thebigredbarnretreat.org/
Bio:
Lamont Christian, Command Sergeant Major (R) is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He entered the Army Reserves as a Parachute Rigger in 1986 and later entered active duty, completing Infantry One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He held every leadership position including Team leader, Squad Leader, Platoon Sergeant, First Sergeant and Command Sergeant Major.
He is recognized around the world as America’s Drill Sergeant having led the Army’s only Drill Sergeant Academy and having his voice premiered in the Gatorade HARD WORK military cadence commercial.
Later he was hand selected by the Army’s senior leaders to serve as the Senior Enlisted Leader for the Commander of the world’s largest training post and center of excellence for initial military training at Fort Jackson, SC.
Additionally, he has served and continues to serve the community at-large nationwide in various nonprofit causes for the betterment of social, economic and progressing services for veterans, first responders and those who support them and their Families. He has served on countless committees of change to include assisting the FDNY in meeting and exceeding federal mandates as well as being part of the National Major Gang Task Force. Since retiring in 2018, after 33 years of service, he continues to assist nonprofit organizations, Law Enforcement and First Responder organizations by providing leadership, training improvement and development. He is currently serving as the Director of Post Traumatic Growth at the Big Red Barn Retreat in Blythewood, SC and he is also serving as a Richland County Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy.
Tuesday Oct 03, 2023
Tuesday Oct 03, 2023
Dr. Emily Goodman-Scott discusses Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and the importance of the school counselors’ role in meeting the needs of all students. She highlights the benefits of universal mental health screenings in educational settings and how buy-in and support is critical to successful implementation. This interview was recorded during the MCEC Global Training Summit.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from BAE Systems, Inc. To learn more, visit https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/home.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Resources:
School Counselors for MTSS:
https://www.schoolcounselors4mtss.com/
Anti-Racism Counseling in Schools and Communities by Cheryl Holcomb McCoy
https://imis.counseling.org/store/detail.aspx?id=78181
Supporting All Students: Multitiered Systems of Support from an Antiracist and Critical Race Theory Lens
https://www.schoolcounselors4mtss.com/_files/ugd/7ddd06_87e7df0c2f1649649b039fb7277fa320.pdf
Bio:
Dr. Emily Goodman-Scott is an Associate Professor, Graduate Program Director, and School Counseling Coordinator at Old Dominion University, in VA, where she teaches the next generation of school counselors. Before that, she spent several years working as an elementary school counselor, a special education teacher, and in multiple mental health settings counseling youth.
Dr. Goodman-Scott is passionate about researching, writing, and presenting on school counseling topics, including MTSS. She’s presented across the U.S., offering trainings, keynotes, pre-conferences, and district-partnerships. She is the lead editor of the book, A School Counselor’s Guide to MTSS (2019, Routledge), and with colleagues authored Making MTSS Work, published by ASCA (2020).
After nearly 10 years as a board member for the Virginia School Counselor Association, Dr. Goodman-Scott served as Chair of the VSCA Board (2019-2020) and is presently the co-chair of the Research Committee. She co-coordinates a national network of school counseling faculty, was president of the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling (2020-2021), and represented Virginia at several White House School Counseling Convenings under First Lady Michelle Obama.
She recently was elected to the American Counseling Association governing council (2022-2025). She is on the editorial review board for multiple journals related to school counseling, including ASCA’s Professional School Counseling journal. Finally, she is proud to be a recipient of the 2020 American Counseling Association Research Award, and the 2018 Insiders Business: “Top 40 Under 40” recognition.
She lives in Virginia with her spouse and three spunky young children. On the weekends you can find her at a nearby park, leading Girl Scouts, or making brunch with her family.
You can follow her on Twitter: e_goodmanscott.
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Dr. Andrew Moon and Dr. Carla Stumpf Patton discuss grief resources for military-connected children, parents, and providers. This important conversation covers how to talk to young children about death by suicide or grieving the loss of a person, how both children and adults can care for themselves during grief, and where to find critical support throughout the process.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from BAE Systems, Inc. To learn more, visit https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/home.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Resources:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988
Free eBook, TAPS Grief to Growth: Healing after a suicide loss: https://www.taps.org/suicide/2021/guidebook
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors: https://www.taps.org/
National Military Survivor Helpline: 800-959-TAPS (8177)
Crisis Text Line: Text HELLO to 741741
Center for Loss and Life Transition: https://www.centerforloss.com/
Defense Suicide Prevention Office: https://www.dspo.mil
DoD Casualty Assistance: Gold Star Families & Casualty Assistance | Military OneSource
The Military Child Well-being Toolkit: https://www.militarychild.org/wellbeingtoolkit
Bios:
Dr. Andrew Moon, is a dynamically oriented, clinical psychologist, with a career focus on trauma, suicide prevention, and the emerging adult population, and has a passion for supervision, education, and training. Dr. Moon received his doctorate from Loyola University Maryland, where he benefitted from a variety of clinical experiences, including work in college counseling, community mental health, and the prison system. Dr. Moon went on to complete an accredited internship with James Madison University and a fellowship with The George Washington University. Prior to his current role with the Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Office, he gained experience in the field as lead for education and training in VA’s National Suicide Prevention Program and through clinical positions with Peace Corps and the Washington DC VA Medical Center, both focused on treatment after traumatic events. Dr. Moon has also taken various leadership opportunities in these roles related to training, education, and operations. His current role, Senior Advisor for Partnerships, Engagement, and Education, allows him to focus his day to day efforts on increasing the quality and reach of the projects and programs developed by the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, as well as increase the collaboration with internal and external partners. Dr. Moon is a DC area native and enjoys all things food and culture, making DC an ideal place to call home.
Dr. Carla Stumpf Patton, Ed.D., LMHC, NCC, FT, CCTP, serves as the Senior Director of Suicide Prevention & Postvention at Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), where she oversees programs and services provided to military community members and families after a suicide loss. She is a suicidologist and subject matter expert in the areas of grief, trauma, and suicide prevention, intervention, and Postvention, is a registered ASIST trainer in suicide first aid, and is trained in Psychological Autopsy Investigations and Crisis Response Planning. Dr. Stumpf Patton holds a B.S. in Psychology, an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Guidance Counseling, and a Doctorate of Education in Counseling Psychology. Her dissertation research focused on military families bereaved by suicide and was a key contributor in the development of the TAPS Suicide Prevention Model™. Dr. Stumpf Patton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a Certified Fellow Thanatologist, a National Certified Counselor, a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, a Florida Qualified Supervisor, and a counseling educator in higher academia. She is the surviving spouse of Sergeant Richard Stumpf, an Active-Duty U.S. Marine Corps Drill Instructor and Gulf War Era Combat Veteran who died by suicide in 1994, several days before their only child was born. She is remarried to a retired U.S. Marine, who was also a suicide survivor widower, with whom she shares five children.
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
“Are the kids okay?” Mental health in children and teens has been at the forefront of topics for concern, especially since the pandemic. Ross Szabo discusses the importance of mental health education in schools, and how we can normalize talking about it in our everyday conversations.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from BAE Systems, Inc. To learn more, visit https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/home.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Resources:
https://humanpowerproject.com/
About Ross Szabo
Talking about emotions can be a challenge, but Ross’s brutally honest, relatable and humorous approach puts audiences at ease as they confront a difficult topic.
When Ross was a freshman in college, everything on the surface seemed to be fine. He was making friends, getting good grades and had a fun social life. However, no one could have imagined how many emotions he was suppressing. Ross was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 16, was hospitalized for attempting to take his own life during his senior year of high school, and like so many other freshman, just wanted to fit in. He tried to hide what he was feeling to convince everyone that everything was ok, but that can only last for so long. Ross’s story resonates with the millions of college students who are putting on a happy face to hide their true emotions.
Ross uses tasteful humor and insights to help participants understand common mental health conditions and individual differences. He also covers warning signs that students can look for in their friends and peers, as well as resources that can provide guidance in these sensitive situations.
Ross is NOW the CEO of the Human Power Project. He is an award-winning mental health speaker, writer, trainer and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Ross has spoken to more than 1 million students about the importance of mental health and provided a positive example to empower them to seek help. He received the 2010 Didi Hirsch Removing the Stigma Leadership Award, 2012 Changing Minds Award and had his advocacy work entered into the Congressional Record. He is the co-author of Behind Happy Faces; Taking Charge of Your Mental Health and a blogger for The Huffington Post.
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
Dr. Stephen Cozza and Dr. Christin Ogle talk about safety practices for young military families in and around the home and highlight resources available in the Safe is Strong toolkit, developed and designed to strengthen family health and safety.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Mildenhall Spouses’ Association. To learn more, visit https://www.mildenhallspousesassociation.com/.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Resources:
https://www.cstsonline.org/safe/welcome
Bios:
Stephen J. Cozza, MD, is Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the Uniformed Services University where he serves as Associate Director, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) and is responsible for the Child and Family Program. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He received his medical degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
He completed his residency in General Psychiatry and fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Cozza is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in the specialties of General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He has served in a variety of positions of responsibility in the Department of Psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to include Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service, Program Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program and Chief, Department of Psychiatry.
He retired from the U.S. Army in 2006 after 25 years of military service. Dr. Cozza’s professional interests have been in the areas of clinical and community response to trauma in both military and civilian communities, including the impact of deployment and combat injury, illness and death on military service members, their families and their children. Dr. Cozza has highlighted the impact of deployment, injury, illness and death on the children and families of military service members.
He has also examined the risk for prolonged grief disorder, a unique grief-related clinical condition, in families affected by sudden and violent deaths, including those bereaved due to combat, suicide, homicide, accident, and terrorism. He is published in the scientific literature and has presented on these topics at multiple national and international scientific meetings. Dr. Cozza serves as a scientific advisor to several national organizations that focus on the needs of military children and families.
Christin M. Ogle, Ph.D. is a Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS). Dr. Ogle’s research examines the impact of traumatic events and trauma-related psychopathology on health and development across the lifespan.
Dr. Ogle received undergraduate training at Reed College (Portland, Oregon); doctoral training in Developmental Psychology at the University of California, Davis; and post-doctoral training at Duke University Medical Center’s Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development as well as Duke University’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Prior to her position at CSTS, Dr. Ogle served as the American Psychological Association’s Executive Branch Science Fellow at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Department of Justice where she provided subject-matter expertise and programmatic support for NIJ’s research portfolios on children’s exposure to violence and violence against women.
Dr. Ogle currently holds leadership positions within the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Lucy discusses her experiences as a military child and how she navigates being the new kid at school (again!). Lucy is also the Middle School Spotlight Winner in the MCEC Call for the Arts contest, for her beautiful song, #Life of a Military Kid, and talks about her love of music, and how life inspires her songwriting.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Daughters of the American Revolution. To learn more, visit https://www.dar.org/.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Bio:
Lucy is a 13-year-old 8th grader at Horace O’Bryant Middle School. Lucy is a proud military kid and has lived in St. Charles, Missouri; Jacksonville, FL; Rota, Spain; and Key West, FL. Lucy loves all things musical and plays the ukulele, guitalele, and guitar. She will be joining her school’s jazz band this year. Lucy is a member of her school’s dance team and helps her coach with choreography. She loves all things musical and can often be found singing, dancing, and writing songs for hours at a time. Lucy is a member of the National Junior Honor Society and maintains excellent grades. She is a loving sister, a kind friend, and a wonderful daughter!
Resources:
MCEC Back to School Toolkit:
https://www.militarychild.org/backtoschool
Military and Family Life Counseling
https://www.militaryonesource.mil/non-medical-counseling/military-and-family-life-counseling/
MCEC Call for the Arts
https://www.militarychild.org/programs/the-call-for-the-arts
Thursday Aug 31, 2023
Thursday Aug 31, 2023
In this mini podcast episode, you'll hear how MCEC has partnered with the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Department and Project ECHO® to host Professional Learning Communities (PLC) as a NEW way for educators to collaborate with and utilize a network of peers and partners to support military-connected students. Tara Gleason, Director of Programs at MCEC, discusses how the ECHO model is being used for professional development training.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Texas Education Agency. To learn more, visit https: https://tea.texas.gov/.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Bio:
Tara Gleason joined the MCEC family in 2009 and is the proud parent of three military-connected children. Over the years she has served in multiple capacities throughout the organization and now serves as the Director of Programs. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Education in Human Services with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction.
Resources:
https://hsc.unm.edu/echo/what-we-do/about-the-echo-model.html
https://www.militarychild.org/purplestarschools#echo
https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/other-services/military-families/purple-star-campus-designation
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Jennifer Predny, the parent of four military-connected children talks about the impact of multiple transitions and how they have affected her family. She gives insight on how parents can assist their children navigate being the new kid at school.
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Hanscom Spouses’ Club. To learn more, visit https: https://hanscomsc.org/.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Bio:
Jennifer Predny is an Army wife of 17 years and has four children, ages 16, 15, 11, and 9. Over the years Jennifer has learned how to navigate advocating for a child with a 504 plan in several different school systems, homeschooling for elementary, middle, and high school kids in two different states, transitioning kids from homeschool to public school, and everything in between. Jennifer is an avid volunteer, former PTO President, and Senior Advisor to her husband’s unit. She has a B.A. in English Creative Writing and will graduate with her MFA in Creative Writing this fall.
Resources:
MCEC Back to School Toolkit:
https://www.militarychild.org/backtoschool
MCEC is the national advocate for Purple Star Schools. Interested in learning more? Visit:
Tuesday Aug 22, 2023
Tuesday Aug 22, 2023
Kendall Harrison, Wylie High School History teacher and Student 2 Student sponsor in Abilene, Texas talks about supporting military-connected students and their families with a long-standing and successful student program. She includes some tips on how to make new students feel welcome during the Back-to-School season. Their first home football game is this week, so… Go Bulldogs!
This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Texas Education Agency. To learn more, visit https: https://tea.texas.gov/.
Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.
Show Notes:
Bio:
Kendall Harrison
I live in Abilene, TX with my husband, Justin, and my two boys, Ryder and Reece. I teach 11th grade US History at Abilene Wylie High School and will be starting my 18th year of teaching. I am the Student 2 Student Sponsor and have been since the beginning of the program in 2015. One of my favorite things about the S2S program is to watch a new student that we welcomed to school get involved in the program because they remember what it was like to be the new student. I have enjoyed being a part of this group and seeing how students help students as peers.
Resources:
MCEC Student 2 Student:
https://www.militarychild.org/programs/student-2-student
Wylie High School Student 2 Student:
https://www.wyliebulldogs.org/domain/107
MCEC Back to School Toolkit:
https://www.militarychild.org/backtoschool
Wylie High School:
https://www.wyliebulldogs.org/hs
https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/other-services/military-families/purple-star-campus-designation