In this episode, we discover the many phenomenal training opportunities within Army Psychology! Maybe you have considered pursuing the Army HPSP or you are currently serving and curious if pursuing a career-change to psychology is even possible. Spoiler alert, it absolutely is! We welcome CPT Contessa Tracy (USA) and CPT Thomas Ballas (USA) from the APA accredited internship program at Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Huston. These two talented interns share their training trajectory from graduate school practicum, internship applications, and completing a highly competitive internship program. They discuss various opportunities unique to Army Psychology and what it means to serve as an embedded mental health provider. We also open a unique conversation about supervising paraprofessional staff in the behavioral health field, an important factor of practicing psychology with active duty military units. Lastly, we touch on research opportunities as an Army Research Psychologist (71F).

Want to get connected with our guests or have feedback, suggestions, or recommendations? Send us an email at [email protected] or reach us on Facebook (https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/fb.com/Div19Students__;!!NCZxaNi9jForCP_SxBKJCA!GgSxbP7_EW4aYH-3HQSRn74DKxCMRvoo2wiWN52P4CQ2uMDZKCKnU4r4A9krCvPA$ (fb.com/Div19Students) ) or Twitter (@div19students).

Jillian C. Shipherd, Ph.D. is a clinical research psychologist, professor of psychiatry, and co-director for the Veterans Health Administration’s LGBT Health Program. With over 100 peer-reviewed publications and a book (!), Dr. Shipherd is a top scholar on the wellbeing of LGBTQ veterans. She’s dedicated her skills to improving the healthcare system to care for this unique population, and we discuss ways in which the DoD may build on the VA’s progress. Dr. Shipherd is the kind of person you want assigned to be on your team for a group project. She’s thorough, a wealth of knowledge, and walks the walk. If you’d rather listen to a conversation on LGBTQ wellbeing than read dozens of research papers, then this episode is for you!

Resources referenced in this episode:

Healthcare Equality Index 2020: https://www.hrc.org/resources/healthcare-equality-index

VA LGBT Health Program and LGBT Veteran Care Coordinators: https://www.patientcare.va.gov/lgbt/

Lt Col Julie Glover is a Physician Assistant in the U.S. Air Force, holds a Doctorate in Emergency Medicine, has deployed thrice, and has held a number of leadership roles. I knew her back when she was Capt Glover (!) and we were stationed together in northern Italy. We bonded over our love of cats, softball, and LGBTQ rights. In this episode, Lt Col Glover discusses the impact that repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell had on her ‘outness’ to military colleagues, her experiences disclosing her sexual orientation to military medical providers and her bosses, as well as the process of reckoning with negative religious messaging about same-sex desire. She also talks about her long-time girlfriend and what it’s been like to be in a same-sex relationship in the military. Lt Col Glover is one of those people who is constantly winning awards, earning more and more degrees, and remains startlingly humble. (That last sentence would make her very uncomfortable.)

Research psychologists are the backbone of psychological science, and many listeners have been asking to hear more about conducting research and applied work within the military. Join us for another exciting episode on the Intro to Military Psychology as we discuss a popular topic: conducting research with military populations! Listen in on our talk with Dr. Kristin Saboe, former Army psychologist who shares her experience working at the pentagon, deployed as a researcher on a Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT) and discussing her current interests in veteran employment. We host an interesting discussion about the unique ways military psychologists wear many hats from deployed locations to congressional legislature. Dr. Saboe is the recipient of the 2019 Society for Military Psychology's Early Career Psychologist Award, the 2020 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's Early Career Practitioner Award, and in 2019, she was selected to participate as one of 43 national leaders in the highly competitive George W. Bush Institute's Veterans Leadership Program.

Want to reach Dr. Saboe or have feedback, suggestions, recommendations? Send us an email at [email protected] or reach us on Facebook (https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/fb.com/Div19Students__;!!NCZxaNi9jForCP_SxBKJCA!GgSxbP7_EW4aYH-3HQSRn74DKxCMRvoo2wiWN52P4CQ2uMDZKCKnU4r4A9krCvPA$ (fb.com/Div19Students) ) or Twitter (@div19students).

Our inaugural episode for the LGBTQ Military series features a talk with Lt Col Bree Fram. She’s an astronautical engineer, published author, transgender advocate, and delightful person. We cover her impressive military career, including working at the Pentagon...twice(!), we talk 'misgendering,' 'passing,' and self-disclosure. Lt Col Fram also invites medical providers and mental health professionals to provide affirming care to LGBTQ patients...and tells us how. Acknowledging that we live in a unique historical time, one of open LGBTQ service, she provides a fresh perspective on how military leaders can harness the unique leadership skills that this community brings to the workplace.

Resources referenced in this episode:

-Disclosure documentary: https://www.netflix.com/title/81284247 (https://www.netflix.com/title/81284247)

-Lt Col Fram's forthcoming book: https://nyupress.org/9781479801053/with-honor-and-integrity/ (https://nyupress.org/9781479801053/with-honor-and-integrity/)

-SPARTA: https://spartapride.org/ (https://spartapride.org/)

Beyond the conventional roles (Therapist, Researcher, Educator, Etc.), one hat psychologists wear is that of an advocate. In this episode, we examine how military psychologists can advocate and contribute to organizational and societal change for the betterment. We discuss with Dr. Nicholas Grant, recipient of multiple accolades for his research, leadership, and contribution in his service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) communities. Dr. Grant currently serves as a Navy psychologist and is the President-Elect of the GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality. He has previously served alongside Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as a Congressional Fellow with the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Through his past and current policy and legislative work, his advocacy efforts are directed toward LGBTQ equality, particularly on health care and military policies as they pertain to transgender service members. Additionally, he is an active volunteer, expert, and leader in LGBTQ communities as well as Division 19 and Division 44, The Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, of the APA, where he often lends his expertise to advocate for change. Dr. Grant shares his advocacy experience and how he applies his experience in military context to promote policy change.

Want to reach Dr. Grant or have feedback, suggestions, recommendations? Send us an email at [email protected] or reach us on Facebook (fb.com/Div19Students) or Twitter (@div19students).

What do COVID vaccine development and foreign language training have in common? Answer: they both involve psychological science. In this episode, we pivot to research and applied psychology, how they look in the military context and how they are used to solve "real world problems." We talk to the current and past president of Division 19, Drs. Maurice Sipos and Eric Surface, about their perspectives on the topic. Dr. Sipos is an Active Duty Army psychologist with a PhD in Experimental Psychology, with an emphasis on behavioral neuroscience. He is a Professor and the Director of Strategic Leadership Course in the Department of Command, Management, and Leadership at the US Army War College. His research focus is wide ranging, including impact of biological agents on human, behavioral health and well-being, leadership, mindfulness and moral courage. Dr. Surface is a civilian I/O psychologist who founded ALPS InsightsTM, a Raleigh-based company that provides research and consulting services for learning and development evaluation and analytics. Dr. Surface contributed to the success of US Special Operations by serving as a consultant and applied researcher, leading projects such as foreign language training effectiveness and training needs assessment studies. Drs. Sipos and Surface share with us their personal and professional experiences as military psychologists, how they became military psychologists, and their thoughts and recommendations to students interested in being a research/applied military psychologist.

Want to reach Drs. Sipos and Surface? Have feedback, suggestions, recommendations? Send us an email at [email protected] or reach us on Facebook (https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/fb.com/Div19Students__;!!NCZxaNi9jForCP_SxBKJCA!EiSf_pKPNU3e0u6ferREM2-rsPog-POyH5E-ZHmhCG6JKxDGJRmi46afqpVStw5f$ (fb.com/Div19Students) ) or Twitter (@div19students).

Intro to Military Psychology: Becoming an Active Duty Psychologist with CAPT John Ralph (Ret.), USN

You might be curious about military psychology as a career. You might also be wondering, how does one become a military psychologist? Many students are unsure where to start! If this resonates with you, this is just the episode you need to hear! In this episode, we collaborate with retired Navy psychologist and the National Director of Navy Psychology Training Programs CAPT (Ret.) Dr. John Ralph. We discuss the different training pathways to becoming a military psychologist in all service branches. Dr. Ralph also shares his journey into military psychology as well as a glimpse of his extensive experience as a military psychologist, such as being the first ship psychologist aboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) to leading the midshipmen development center at US Naval Academy to becoming the training director of Navy psychology.

Want to reach Dr. Ralph or have feedback, suggestions, recommendations? Send us an email at [email protected] or reach us on Facebook (fb.com/Div19Students ) or Twitter (@div19students).

Are you curious what it is like serving as a military psychologist in operational settings? Wondering what is life like as an active duty psychologist? In our inaugural episode, we learn just that from retired (Col) Dr. Mark Staal. Dr. Staal has worked as licensed psychologist for 25 years, serving 20+ years as an active-duty military psychologist with the US Air Force and is an expert in the field of operational psychological, ethics, and the psychological science pertaining to national security. He is an esteemed authored to multiple articles, chapters and books on these topics and he continues to push the literary needle forward in these specialty areas. On this episode we discuss his career and experience as a military psychologist, from being a NASA Aerospace Psychology Fellow to a senior Air Force operational psychologist across the world. Join us for an exciting review of what it’s like to serve as a military psychologist in active duty settings. Dr. Staal shares multiple tips for anyone considering this as a potential career path!

He most recently co-authored a book “Operational Psychology: A New Field to Support National Security and Public Safety,” which digs deep into the ethical issues surrounding the work of operational military psychology practitioners. Dr. Staal is an avid participant in Division 19, the Society for Military Psychology and is currently operating his own consulting firm - http://www.ossconsultation.com/index.html (http://www.ossconsultation.com/index.html)

Want to reach Dr. Staal or have feedback, suggestions, recommendations? Send us an email at [email protected] or reach us on Facebook (https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/fb.com/Div19Students__;!!NCZxaNi9jForCP_SxBKJCA!GgSxbP7_EW4aYH-3HQSRn74DKxCMRvoo2wiWN52P4CQ2uMDZKCKnU4r4A9krCvPA$ (fb.com/Div19Students) ) or Twitter (@div19students).

Welcome to our new Series, Introduction to Military Psychology! Subscribe to the Military Psychology Podcast Network feed for free access, and follow the Society for Military Psychology at www.militarypsych.org and on social media at @APADIV19. [email protected] is a good way to get in touch with us.