Combat Social Work: Applying the Lessons of War to the Realities of Human Services (Video)
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- Hi, this is Charles Figley. I'm talking to you about this book today. I'm a Professor in the
- School of Social Work and I'm also the Kurzweg Chair in Disaster Mental Health. All of this is to
- say that this is a great book, if I might say so. We've been working on this for five years
- and we meaning - Jeffrey Yarvis, who's a colonel in the army, and Bruce Thyer, a friend and
- former colleague at Florida State University, full professor.
- What we finally were able to do is to get twelve- thirteen actually, combat social workers to talk
- about their experiences. What was it like being in the military, first and foremost, many of whom had
- just left graduate school. So what was that like. What was it like joining and then being assigned
- to go overseas as a combat social worker. What was it like for them to leave their family
- and head across the ocean. What was it like for them as they face their own mortality. And also
- what was it like taking care of all these soldiers, marines, whoever they were assigned to take care of
- in the middle of combat. I think it's a remarkable set of a dozen
- a dozen combat social workers talking about their real world world experiences. Now,
- when I'm not writing books I'm a Professor in the School of Social Work. I've been studying
- trauma for a very, very long time as well as stress and families in addition to that
- combat. And so I'm hoping you'll think about this book, not necessarily to buy it. Go to the library.
- There should be several copies, I assure you. So hope to see you around campus. Bye.
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