Counseling Military Veterans and First Responders
A 3-hour clinical course for licensed counselors on working with military service members, veterans, and first responders. Covers military and first responder culture, stigma and help-seeking, cumulative and critical-incident stress, moral injury versus PTSD, culturally informed screening for PTSD, mild TBI, substance use, sleep disturbance, and suicide risk (PCL-5, PHQ-9, C-SSRS, lethal-means counseling), and the evidence base for CPT, PE, and EMDR with adaptations for first responders, peer support, family and partner work, fitness-for-duty and confidentiality boundaries with employers, and referral to VA and Vet Center services.
3
CE Hours
5
Modules
22
Quiz Questions
4
Est. Minutes
What you'll learn
- Describe core features of military and first responder culture (rank, unit identity, mission orientation, gallows humor, shift work) and explain how each shapes stigma, help-seeking, and the therapeutic alliance.
- Differentiate cumulative occupational stress, critical-incident stress, PTSD, and moral injury using current diagnostic criteria and the Litz et al. (2009) moral injury model.
- Select and interpret culturally appropriate screening tools for PTSD, depression, suicide risk, alcohol use, mild TBI, and sleep disturbance (PCL-5, PHQ-9, C-SSRS, AUDIT-C, TBI screening questions), including what each instrument does and does not establish.
- Conduct lethal-means counseling with a service member, veteran, or first responder who has firearm access and build a collaborative safety plan that includes the Veterans Crisis Line (988, press 1).
- Compare the evidence base and core procedures of Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, and EMDR for military and first responder PTSD, and sequence a trauma-focused treatment plan from intake through maintenance.
- Apply ethical and legal boundaries around confidentiality, employer and command involvement, and fitness-for-duty requests, and make appropriate referrals to VA, Vet Center, peer support, and community resources.
Who it's for
Licensed mental health professionals (LPCs, LCSWs, LMFTs, NCCs, psychiatric NPs).
Approval & credit
CounselorReady is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP #7760). This course awards 3 NBCC-approved CE hours; a certificate is issued on completion. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CounselorReady is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.