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Hi. I’m Avery Jones. Welcome to the V.A. hospital where I work. Every year we help thousands of service men and women transition to life after deployment. In doing this, we’ve realized that family members of veterans also need our support. We see the unique challenges that spouses, partners, parents, siblings, and children of veterans face every day: first when the service members are deployed, and then again when they return home. That’s why we created this training program for family members of veterans, like you.

In this program, I’ll give you lots of practical information… things we learned by talking to veterans and family members who’ve been down this road before and know what to expect and how to handle common challenges.

We’ll discuss what you might expect from your service member’s return and how to recognize common signs of post-deployment stress—including signs of more serious conditions like PTSD. You’ll learn how to de-escalate an argument, re-negotiate family responsibilities, and discuss seeking counseling services at the V.A. Then we’ll summarize everything we’ve talked about and give you some parting thoughts for keeping your own family strong.

If at any time while taking this program you experience a negative emotional reaction and feel like talking to someone, you can connect with the V.A. (by clicking here: www.va.gov) or call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).

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