Date: April 25, 2003
Contact: Helen Mitternight
(202) 336-5898

APA OFFERS MATERIALS TO EASE HOMECOMING FOR RETURNING MILITARY AND THEIR FAMILIES

WASHINGTON D.C., April 25, 2003 -- The American Psychological Association (APA) announced today that it is offering online materials to help those returning from military service as well as their families.

"Homecoming often is idealized as a time when family disruptions that arose during the war will be resolved," said Russ Newman, Ph.D., J.D., executive director for professional practice at the APA. "The truth is that often homecoming is the start of a whole new set of challenges because of the adjustments the family had to make during the war."

The online brochure, "Homecoming: Resilience After Wartime," points out that even when the war is over, stress and uncertainty can require the skills of resilience both from those coming home, and from those who stayed home. The brochure offers tips that include breaking problems down into manageable chunks, keeping problems in perspective, and relying on strategies used during previous times of stress or trauma. The brochure also includes a warning symptom checklist to help people recognize when stress is not being properly managed.

The homecoming and other resilience and war materials are an outgrowth of APA's successful Road to Resilience campaign that was launched in response to September 11, 2001. More than 78,000 Road to Resilience brochures have been requested since the launch. The group of resilience materials relating to the war include the Homecoming brochure, as well as print and online versions of Resilience In A Time of War brochures aimed at consumers; parents and teachers of very young children; parents and teachers of elementary school children; parents and teachers of middle school children; parents and teachers of highschoolers; and teens.

The materials are available for free download at http://helping.apa.org/resilience/homecoming.html

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The American Psychological Association (APA), located in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. Its membership includes 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. APA works to advance psychology as a science and profession and as a means of promoting health, education, and human welfare.