Medical health professionals in Alabama looking to support their military have a place at the American Red Cross.
A resiliency program run by the non-profit is on the lookout for licensed behavioral health practitioners. The program aims at helping military members, veterans and their families tackle the challenges of military life through a series of workshops. The sessions cover coping with deployment, reconnection with family and friends, and a mind-body workshop.
Amy Teeter works for the Red Cross. She encouraged volunteers to get involved in supporting this initiative and discussed her firsthand experience as a military wife.
“I am also a military spouse, and I can say that during my husband’s deployment, I faced so many things that I wasn’t expecting," she explained. "You prepare and you prepare for what you think may happen, but there is always going to be something that comes along that you are unprepared for. Resiliency is something that I think we have all learned is a key part of keeping ourselves ready for whatever challenges may come along.”
Teeter also stressed the importance of preparing for the challenges of deployment for members of the military as well as their families.
“A big thing in the American Red Cross is that we prepare, we respond, and we recover," she said. "And so, we look at resiliency as preparing for that departure, then responding during that time – having the tools and skills to be able to do so – and recovering on the back-end when we are reunited or post-service, that we’re going to recover at the end.”
Volunteers for the resiliency program must be licensed behavioral health practitioners with an unrestricted clinical license.
No prior experience working with the military is required. The time commitment for volunteers is flexible.
For those without the required qualifications, there are alternative roles available within Red Cross programs.
