Case Study: Air Force Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Steven Callaghan
SSgt Steven Callaghan recently returned from a six-month deployment to the country of Kuwait, during which he worked as a mechanic on large military vehicles. He has been married for seven years to his wife, Alexa, and they have two young children, Seth, age four, and Katie, who is 16 months old. SSgt Callaghan also has primary custody of a son, Brandon (age seven), from a previous relationship. For the past two years, Alexa has worked for a local accounting company. They live near Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, where Steven is stationed. Steven's primary job in the Air Force is a vehicle mechanic. He previously deployed to Iraq three years ago. During that tour, he was reassigned to work as a security forces member which required him to help guard a large Air Base for six months. Unlike his regular job in the Air Force, his work as guard often required him to confront potential and real enemy combatants.
SSgt Callahan and Alexa have been fighting almost daily since his return from Kuwait three months ago. They usually argue about how they should parent their two older children, Seth and Brandon. In general, Alexa is more lenient with rules and prefers to talk to the kids about expectations or problems. Steven, on the contrary, describes himself as a much harder disciplinarian. He feels that after one of the parents has specified a responsibility to the children, that they should comply exactly as stated.
When Steven was in Kuwait, Alexa reports that things went rather well within the family. Both Brandon and Seth enjoyed school, had no described behavioral problems, and made several same-age friends in their neighborhood. Since their father's return, however, Brandon has gotten into some minor altercations with classmates and Seth is not sleeping well. Alexa is now spending more time at her accounting job, while Steven has been home earlier than usual. She has been having recurring headaches and often has trouble falling and staying asleep. Alexa has been prescribed several mediations for these problems, but states that they do not seem to ease the headaches, and that her sleeping pills "knock me out when I take them."
You meet Steven and Alexa at the counseling clinic where you work as a civilian therapist (clinical social worker) in downtown Sumter, SC. They were referred to your clinic by Military One Source, which is a counseling and information service available to military members and their families. Alexa made the appointment requesting marital counseling and at the suggestion of her primary care physician. After a brief meeting with the two of them, you speak with them individually. During this individual meeting time, each denies any domestic violence, child abuse, suicidal thoughts, or infidelity within the relationship. Alexa tells you that she is concerned about how much Steven drinks on the weekends when he is with his co-workers. She also states that he sometimes seems quite jealous of the time that she spends with her co-workers. Steven states that he does not know why things are problematic within the relationship right now; he would simply like the family to get back to the way things were before he went on his last deployment.
After the individual meetings, you again meet with Steven and Alexa to formulate some joint goals for counseling. They both agree to meet with you weekly for a one-hour session over the next six weeks.
Now that we have read about SSgt Callaghan and his family, let's reflect on the ways that may best help them by developing a brief intervention plan that focuses on the following:
1. Describe the stages of deployment and how this relates to this family.
2. What are the identified issues based upon your assessment of the stages of deployment, case information, and literature on common problems?
3. Determine at least three goals for SSgt Callaghan and his family.
Consider three community or military programs that could assist SSgt Callaghan and his family.
1. What are at least three strengths that SSgt Callaghan and his family exemplify?
2. Please use correct APA 7th Edition with appropriate headers and scholarly writing.