TPC-Journal-V4-Issue5

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 5 502 The school counselor also can partner with Justin’s mother during the deployment. Affirming her strengths and the warrior ethos that she too may carry, the school counselor might offer Justin’s mother support in terms of resources in the community that she might find helpful during this time (Bryan, 2005). After building rapport with her, the school counselor can encourage the mother to seek individual counseling or support groups to help with any emotional issues related to the absence of her husband, explaining the importance of her social and emotional functioning to the social and emotional functioning of her children (Chandra et al., 2010; Gibbs, Martin, Kupper, & Johnson, 2007). If Justin’s mother expresses concerns over confidentiality and fears endangering her husband’s upcoming promotion due to the appearance of weakness within the family, a common concern in the military community, the school counselor can work with Justin’s mother to find resources outside the military community or in a geographically remote area (Danish & Antonides, 2013; Dingfelder, 2009). In addition to supporting her emotionally, the school counselor might consider empowering Justin’s mother’s role as a parent as she cares for her young children during the deployment. She might educate Justin’s mother on the stages of deployment and how she might best help her children move through each of these stages (Cole, 2012). Finally, the school counselor might encourage and facilitate open communication between Justin and his mother so that they can express their feelings to one another. Justin’s mother should be aware of his struggles so that she can work to support him during the time of separation from his father (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012). Conclusion As seen in Justin’s case, a great need exists for culturally competent school counselors to support our military families (Brown & Lettieri, 2008; Gooddale et al., 2012). School counselors should be knowledgeable about military culture so that they can successfully support military families in overcoming the challenges that they face (Luby, 2012; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2014). Once school counselors are able to understand and navigate this unique culture, both the visible and invisible aspects, they will heed the call of providing equitable services to all students and their families (ASCA, 2009). Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Alexander, C. M., Kruczek, T., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2005). Building multicultural competencies in school counselor trainees: An international immersion experience. Counselor Education and Supervision , 44 , 255–266. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6978.2005.tb01754.x Allen, M., & Staley, L. (2007). Helping children cope when a loved one is on military deployment. Young Children , 62 , 82–87. American School Counselor Association. (2009). The professional counselor and cultural diversity . Retrieved from http:// www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/home/position%20statements/PS_CulturalDiversity.pdf American School Counselor Association. (2014). Online professional development . Retrieved from http://www. schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/professional-development/online-professional-development