Division 19 (The Society for Military Psychology) is presented with a Presidential Citation for their extraordinary support provided to the National Psychological Association of Ukraine (NPAU).
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Division 19 leaders, William (Bill) Brim, PhD, and Andrea Israel, PhD, swiftly brought together a range of resources for soldiers, military families, children, and healthcare providers caught up in the war. Brim, Israel, and their colleagues not only provided these resources to NPAU, but they also adapted them to “social media sized” components to facilitate transfer between professionals and civilians in the highly fluid context of the invasion.
Division 19 recognized that support was needed on an ongoing basis. As the war has gone on, the Division has continued to provide psychological resources to NPAU, hosting the information on a dedicated webpage and translating as much as possible into Ukrainian. Brim, Israel, and other members have provided materials to assist in intervening with acute stress (e.g., iCover Ukraine, Responding to TBI, Sleep in Crisis, Combat Stress Response, Stress First-Aid); supporting military family needs (e.g., Blue Star Families, FOCUS, and NCSTN Resources); and implementing child-focused programs (e.g., Basic Ph Model for School-Age Children, Child-Friendly PFA). They have collaborated with Project Echo, a University of New Mexico initiative to empower local communities to access expert knowledge, to develop and implement training specifically for hospital providers confronted with myriad needs of soldiers and families facing the physical and emotional consequences of wartime trauma.
For their active provision of assistance to NPAU and the Ukrainian people, for their generosity of spirit, for their flexibility and openness, for their innovation and creativity, and for their potentially generational impact, I am delighted to provide Division 19: The Society for Military Psychology with this Presidential Citation.