Becoming a Battle Buddy: Providing Culturally Competent Care for Military

Becoming a Battle Buddy: Providing Culturally Competent Care for Military Populations

This program will combine the personal and professional experiences of the presenters to introduce counseling competencies when working with service members and veterans. It will focus on relevant social and cultural factors, common symptomatic presentations, and ways to assist military members with common mental health diagnoses. It will also discuss unique ethical issues when working with service members and veterans, specifically as it relates to reporting and working with active duty and reservists.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:

1. Gain knowledge about social and cultural dynamics to aid in building rapport with service members and veterans.
2. Gain knowledge and understanding of commonly presenting diagnoses and symptoms of service members and veterans.
3. Gain understanding of and strategies forways of addressing ethical issues unique to service members and veterans.
4. Learn specific treatment interventions and strategies for working with service members and veterans.

Requirements for Receiving CEU:

Attendance for the full 3.0 hours.

Submission of a completed evaluation form.

**PENDING APPROVAL BY LCA FOR 1.5 DIAGNOSIS & 1.5 ETHICS**

**PENDING APPROVAL BY NASW-LA for 1.5 ETHICS & 1.5 GENERAL**

Robyn is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S) in the state of Louisiana, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Arizona, & a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) in the state of North Carolina. She is a Level 2 Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP-II), Certified Military Clinical Counselor (CMCC), and Certified First Responder Counselor (CFRC) with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts degree both from Louisiana State University. Robyn is a Level 2 Internal Family Systems therapist, having completed Level 2 on Trauma & Neurobiology with Dr. Frank Anderson. Her specialties & interests include trauma, OCD, and military/first responder issues. She has undergone a variety of trauma-focused trainings including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Levels 1 & 2 of Internal Family Systems, EMDR + IFS Integrations, and various exposure techniques such as Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD.

She is co-owner of Clarté Counseling, LLC in Lafayette, LA and is dedicated to giving back to her profession. She is known for volunteering at the Louisiana Counseling Association conference for nine years, a volunteer for the American Red Cross, and provides several continued education presentations to help serve the need. As a military/first responder partner, she also has a passion for working with the United States military and our nation's first responders, offering free sessions to veterans, active duty, and reservists, and financial assistance to first responders as a contracted therapist with The Overwatch Collective. She has mostly recently been awarded the 2024 Humane and Caring Person award at the Louisiana Counseling Association conference highlighting her work offering over $47,000 of free therapy sessions to veterans and military members.

Dr. Jodi Manton is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor in the state of Louisiana and a National Certified Counselor. She has practiced in a variety of settings, including inpatient, community, and university facilities as well as serving as a school counselor for six years. For the past 3 years, she has owned and operated a private practice where she works with adolescents and adults with a variety of presenting concerns, including trauma, anxiety, depression and mood disorders, relational challenges, identity exploration, and phase of life difficulties. She also conducts family therapy at a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Manton serves as a supervisor for Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselors and is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice with the Counselor Education Program at LSU. As a military spouse, Dr. Manton has a passion for working with veterans, service members, and their families.

Host or Publisher Robyn Sonnier, LPC, NCC, CCTP