Institute for Disaster Mental Health to host training workshop at SUNY New Paltz

NEW PALTZ — The Institute for Disaster Mental Health (IDMH) at the State University of New Paltz, in collaboration with the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP), will hold a workshop, titled “Military Culture, Military Sexual Assault, and Sleep Issues,” from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11, Student Union 62-63, on the New Paltz campus.

The one-day workshop will provide an overview of the U.S. military, including its demographics and culture; military sexual assault, including common myths regarding sexual trauma, the environment surrounding sexual trauma, and resources for clinicians helping sexual trauma survivors; and deployment-related sleep disturbances and insomnia.

Holly O’Reilly, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and lead trainer on Traumatic Stress and Sexual Assault at the CDP, will lead the workshop.

“Working with the Center for Deployment Psychology allows the Institute for Disaster Mental Health to extend our focus on helping survivors of disasters and other traumatic events and to provide our colleagues with cutting-edge training regarding addressing the specific needs of veterans and their families,” said Dr. Karla Vermeulen, IDMH acting director. “The quality of their trainings is extraordinary, and this particular event will provide an important introduction to military culture as well as insight into assisting those coping with sleep issues or the traumatic impact of military sexual assault.”

Since 2007, the Center has trained more than 20,000 professionals to assist service members, veterans, and their families throughout the deployment cycle.

Registration is $48. Lunch, parking, and materials are included in the fee. Continuing Education credits are available with a number of professional organizations for an additional $19.99. For more information or to register visit www.newpaltz.edu/idmh/cdp.html.