How does the inclusion of underrepresented groups benefit military health research? How has the shift in basing patterns impacted reservist family culture? What ongoing consequences of sanctioned discrimination remain to be researched? In this episode of Beyond the Battlefield, host Dr. Nicholas Held meets with Dr. Dr. Vince Connelly and Ashley Ibbotson (MA) to discuss the state of research on reservist and 2SLGBTQIA+ military families, the unique differences in reservist family identities, and the lingering impact of the LGBT Purge in Canada.

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Ashley (Ash) Ibbotson (MA), is a research coordinator with the Trauma and Recovery Research Unit in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurociences at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Her research work has primarily focused on the experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ military members and Veterans, and the impacts of military sexual trauma on Canadian military Veterans.

Dr. Vince Connelly is Professor of Psychology and leads the psychology team at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK. His research work currently focuses on the organisational psychology of the Armed Forces. He has also published previously many international works in the field of education and psychology. Professor Connelly’s work on the Armed Forces has an emphasis on the differing personnel components of the Total Defense Force (Whole Force) and how they work together. The research impact of his work on Reserve Forces Integration between 2013 and 2020 was rated as “World Leading” by the UK Government Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2022. He has also investigated the civilian perception of veterans and has explored the crossover of veteran and reservist identity after compulsory service in Israel. His latest book “Contemporary Military Reserves: Between the Civilian and Military Worlds”, jointly edited with Eyal Ben-Ari, was published in 2023. Vince is a long serving British Army Reservist.

Check out Ashley Ibbotson et al.’s research article in JMVFH special edition 10.2, “The strength beside the uniform: Families of military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel”: https://bit.ly/3V2iPUX 

Also featured in this special edition: Dr. Vince Connelly et al.’s research article, “Reservist families and their understanding of military welfare support as a (non)military family”: https://bit.ly/3UU7t52 

Music Attribution: “Sonora” from Marianas by Quincas Moreira. Music Licensed under a Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  

Beyond the Battlefield is produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

How do roles within military and public safety personnel families impact a care partner’s self-perception? How are children impacted by the shift away from military base communities? What inspired the creation of PSPNET Families? In this episode of Beyond the Battlefield, host Dr. Nicholas Held meets with Dr. Rachael Gribble and Dr. Nathalie Reid to discuss recent advances in military and public safety personnel family health research, impactful resources tailored to the unique needs of Veteran and PSP care partners, and the complexity of military and public safety family members’ identities.

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Dr. Rachael Gribble is a Lecturer in War & Psychiatry at King’s College London, UK. As a mixed methods researcher with a background in public health, the focus of her work is on military families, women’s health and public attitudes to the military, with a primary aim of understanding how occupation influences the well-being of families. Her particular focus is on the health and well-being of partners of UK military personnel and veterans. 

While Dr. Nathalie Reid’s research program centers the experiences of educators in conversations around wellbeing in schools, her role as the Director of the Child Trauma Research Centre at the University of Regina has brought her to engage in research in 6 priority areas: child and youth mental health and wellbeing; prevention and intervention with children and youth; educators, education, and students’ mental health and wellbeing in schools; the pre- and-post migration traumas of refugee and immigrant children, youth, and families; climate trauma; and, supporting public safety personnel families. She engages in leading-edge, strength-based, and responsive projects that seek to innovatively engage with, support, and sustain the health and wellbeing of children and youth, as well as those entrusted with their care. She also focuses on innovative knowledge translation and mobilization to ensure that the research serves those for whom it is intended.

Check out Dr. Rachael Gribble (Spikol et al.)’s research article in JMVFH special edition 10.2, “The strength beside the uniform: Families of military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel”: https://bit.ly/3X0D5sm

Also featured in this special edition: Dr. Nathalie Reid et al.’s research article, “PSPNET Families Wellbeing Hub: A preliminary evaluation of online upstream supports for public safety personnel families”: https://bit.ly/3UWZtjQ

Music Attribution: “Sonora” from Marianas by Quincas Moreira. Music Licensed under a Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beyond the Battlefield is produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

How do children and care partners fit into the military and Veteran family research landscape? What does a carer or care partner look like in a military family? How are children impacted by a parent’s service? In this episode of Beyond the Battlefield, host Dr. Nicholas Held meets with Dr. Dr. Marg Rogers and Dr. Dannielle Post to discuss how changes in military culture have impacted the role of children, knowledge translation tactics improving the lives of families, and international advancements within the field of military family research.

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Dr. Dannielle Post (Program Director: Bachelor of Health Science (Public Health), University of South Australia) is a senior lecturer who holds a PhD, Master of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Medical Science, with additional post-graduate training in public health research and evaluation. Dannielle conducts research and teaching within the field of public health, including, health promotion, determinants of health, and program design, implementation, and evaluation. Her research investigates the physical and psychological health and wellbeing of family carers, in particular family care-partners of Veterans. Dannielle has been involved in a number of studies assessing the physical and psychological well-being and support needs of carers of Veterans, and the effectiveness of UniSA’s Invictus Pathways Program. Dannielle is an Australian Mental Health Leaders Fellow (Cohort 3, 2019-2020), a member of the Executive Committee of the Public Health Association of Australia (SA Branch), an ARENA Member, and a member of the WAVES/Invictus Pathways Program Executive.

Dr. Marg Rogers is a Senior Lecturer of Early Childhood Education at the University of New England and a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Commonwealth Government funded Manna Institute that aims to improve the mental health of regional, rural and remote communities. Marg is a participatory and narrative researcher who researches with lived experience community members. As a children's author, she weaves these narratives into research-based storybooks for children to provide a springboard for discussions with parents, educators and family workers about difficult topics, such as parents working away, or those with service-related physical and mental health conditions. Specifically, she researches ways to support the wellbeing of military, first responder and remote worker families. As the lead for the Children's Family Resilience Programs team, Marg has worked to co-design and co-create award winning, online, free, early intervention supports for potentially vulnerable children from Defence, Veteran, First Responder and Remote Worker families.

Check out Dr. Marg Rogers et al.’s research article in JMVFH special edition 10.2, “The strength beside the uniform: Families of military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel”: https://bit.ly/3WFXqTO

Also featured in this special edition: Dr. Dannielle Post et al.’s research article, “Understanding the emotional and practical support needs of family care-partners of Veterans to promote well-being”: https://bit.ly/4dIlo6R 

Music Attribution: “Sonora” from Marianas by Quincas Moreira. Music Licensed under a Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beyond the Battlefield is produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

 How can we safely involve individuals with lived experience in research? What does ‘the right person’ look like, and when are they ready to get involved? What questions do we need to ask in order to achieve meaningful inclusion? In this episode of Beyond the Battlefield, host Dr. Nicholas Held meets with Dr. Sharon Lawn and Laryssa Lamrock to discuss current gaps in research practice, meaningful advances in emerging areas, and the implications of including lived experience perspectives within military family research.

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Laryssa Lamrock has worked with military, Veteran and first responder Families in different capacities over the last 20 years, including extensive experience in the field of family peer support with Operational Stress Injuries (OSIs) such as anxiety, PTSD and depression. Today, she is the National Strategic Advisor - Families for Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families. She participates on a number of Committees including, the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Advisory Council, the VAC Ministerial Advisory on Families and the Veterans Affairs Deputy Minister’s Commendation Awards Advisory Committee. Within her various roles, Laryssa has had numerous speaking engagements involving mental health awareness specific to OSIs, peer support and her lived personal experiences. Laryssa strongly believes in the importance of education and support for families of military members, Veterans and first responders living with post traumatic injuries. Along with her professional experiences, Laryssa is truly a military family member as she is the daughter, spouse and mother of formerly or currently serving Canadian Armed Forces members. Her personal experiences in supporting a loved one with OSI and her own journey with depression drives her passion for representing and advocating for families. She believes strongly not only in the importance of family involvement in the recovery process of their loved ones’ mental health injuries but also in the necessity of families being supported in their own experiences.

Dr. Sharon Lawn is a Professor at Flinders University where she is Co-Director of One Door, a research initiative focused on social health and wellbeing for Veterans and public safety personnel and their families. Sharon was previously Director of the Department of Psychiatry research unit, and lead South Australian Mental Health Commissioner in 2020-21. Sharon is also Executive Director of Lived Experience Australia, a nationally awarded mental health lived experience organisation. Sharon brings her personal lived experience and 20+ years supporting family members with mental health concerns to several national representative roles. Prior to these roles, Sharon worked in mental health, aged care and disability services in South Australia for 23 years. Sharon continues to undertake a broad range of mental health research and advocacy from a lived experience perspective. She is particularly passionate about addressing co-occurring physical health and mental health, stigma and coercion in care, system cultures, and exploring the person’s and their family’s experiences of seeking and receiving support within service systems. This currently includes project exploring Veteran suicide, women Veterans’ experiences of transition and the experiences of volunteer firefighters and their families.

Check out Laryssa Lamrock’s foreword in JMVFH special edition 10.2, “The strength beside the uniform: Families of military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel”: https://bit.ly/3Wxl5Wj

Also featured in this special edition: Dr. Sharon Lawn et al.’s research article, “Fam

Beyond the Battlefield is produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

How has the sense of community and cohesion within military base environments impacted the children of military members? How has the shift toward dual income and dual-serving family structures affected the families of those who serve? How does gender influence military family dynamics? In this episode of Beyond the Battlefield, host Dr. Nicholas Held meets with Dr. Linna Tam-Seto and Dr. Deborah Norris to discuss the current state of military family research, recent shifts in military family identity, and how the impact of gendered expectations and community have changed military family dynamics over time.

Your voice matters! Let us know what you thought of this episode: https://bit.ly/49O3fBm

Holding undergraduate and graduate degrees in Family Science, Dr. Deborah Norris is a professor in the Department of Family Studies and Gerontology at Mount Saint Vincent University. Informed by ecological theory and critical theory, Dr. Norris’ research program is applied, collaborative, and interdisciplinary. She has facilitated studies focusing on the mental health and well-being of veteran families with a particular emphasis on resilience. Dr. Norris’ military and Veteran family research program was recognized through her designation as a Fellow with the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR) in 2017.

Dr. Linna Tam-Seto is Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She holds a PhD in Rehabilitation Science (Queen’s) and is a registered occupational therapist with experience working in child, adolescent, and family mental health and supporting evidence-based professional practice. Dr. Tam-Seto was the inaugural Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Canadian Defence and Security Network completing her work at the Centre for International and Defence Policy (Queen’s) developing a mentorship program aimed at supporting women in the Canadian Armed Forces. She is a Research Scientist with the Families Matter Research Group. Dr. Tam-Seto’s research interests include understanding the health and well-being of Canada’s military members, Veterans, public safety personnel, and their families with a focus on life transitions and changes.

Check out Dr. Tam-Seto and Dr. Norris’s research article in JMVFH special edition 10.2, “The strength beside the uniform: Families of military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel”: https://bit.ly/4dqljEI 

Music Attribution: “Sonora” from Marianas by Quincas Moreira. Music Licensed under a Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beyond the Battlefield is produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

What does a military family look like? How has this structure changed? What are current gaps in family research? In this episode of Beyond the Battlefield, host Dr. Nicholas Held meets with Dr. Heidi Cramm and Prof. Nicola Fear to discuss the purpose behind Beyond the Battlefield, explain how lifestyle dimensions are being used to better help military families, and provide insight on the future of family health research.

Your voice matters! Let us know what you thought of this episode: https://bit.ly/49O3fBm 

Dr. Heidi Cramm, PhD, OTReg (Ont.), is a professor in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s University and research lead for the Families Matter Research Group. Cramm’s research is dedicated to the mental health and well-being of defence and public safety families, working in close collaboration with the Garnet Families Network, a research ecosystem for defence and public safety families. She is also the Families Advisor for the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

Prof. Nicola T. Fear, BSc (Hons), MSc, DPhil (OXON), joined the Academic Department of Military Mental Health (ADMMH) at King's College London in 2004. She also worked as an epidemiologist for the Leukaemia Research Fund (University of Leeds) and the UK Ministry of Defence. Since 2011, Fear has been Director of the King’s Centre of Military Health Research (KCMHR) alongside Professor Sir Simon Wessely. In 2014, King’s College London awarded Fear a Chair in Epidemiology. She is one of the Principal Investigators on the KCMHR military cohort study and leads several studies looking at the impact of military service on families. Fear obtained a BSc(Hons) in Pharmacology from King’s College London before training as an epidemiologist the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London) and the University of Oxford.

Check out Dr. Cramm and Prof. Fear’s guest editorial in JMVFH special edition 10.2, “The strength beside the uniform: Families of military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel”: https://jmvfh.utpjournals.press/toc/jmvfh/10/2

Music Attribution: “Sonora” from Marianas by Quincas Moreira. Music Licensed under a Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beyond the Battlefield is produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

Host Dr. Nicholas Held introduces Beyond the Battlefield, produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research. Each week, we meet with leading researchers and people of lived experience to discuss issues affecting military, Veterans, and families. We are kicking off this podcast with a series dedicated to military family research. Come learn from an amazing group of guests, each highlighting diverse areas of research and programs to support families within Canada and internationally. Please take the time to subscribe in advance wherever you find your podcasts, and keep an eye out for the release of episode number one, coming up soon on May 6th, 2024. 

Beyond the Battlefield is produced by the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.