Hey everybody, it's Doc V from Call Sign Wizard. Today we're going to be talking about doing an intake with a veteran. Picture this. You're sitting across from a new client, a veteran, and you're about to start the intake. They look calm, maybe even stoic, and you dive into those standard questions. Employment, family, stressors, etc. But somewhere right in the middle, you realize something's missing. You're not capturing the whole story. And for veterans, that something missing isn't small, it's the difference between surface level therapy and deep transformative work. Today, we're going to talk about what makes a Veteran's Intake Unique. We'll look at the questions that matter, the layers of experience that shape them, and why every question you ask is a piece of the bigger picture. This is Call Sign Wizard, the podcast for therapists who work with veterans, and I'm your host, Doc V, a veteran, therapist, and your guide to understanding the unique challenges veterans face. Each week we go into topics like PTSD, chronic pain, and military culture to help you better understand and serve those who served. Whether you're a seasoned therapist or new to working with veterans. This podcast is here to provide the insights, tools, and supports that you need. Let's start with the basics, service, rank, and branch. Now, you might be wondering why it matters if they were an Army Private or a Navy Lieutenant, but here's the truth. In the military, rank isn't just a title. It defines daily life. It determines where you live, how you're treated, and even the level of respect that you can command. Rank is a whole culture in itself, and I know from experience. I was a private. I went through that process of going from an E 1 all the way up to an E 6 NCO. I was deployed as an NCO, and then later on I became an O 2. I was direct commissioned as a first lieutenant and moved all the way up into being a major or an O 4. So I understand, some of the different levels of respect that you get in each of those stages. And then there's training. Why did the service member join? Some enlist out of family tradition, others out of a sense of necessity, right? They need to get out of the area they're in. They need to make money for their families. Or maybe a sense of duty. After 9 11, there were a lot of people that enlisted in a sense of patriotism. Or maybe they're just searching for a sense of purpose. Understanding their why tells you more than just motivation. It gives you insight into their identity. Are they someone who wanted to protect? To serve? To get more money for college? Or just to escape? Each answer will open up a new idea, a new part, a new chapter of who they are. And lastly, we also want to look at family history. Was there a lineage of service? A lineage of service can carry pressure, pride, or expectation. Did you enter the same service as somebody in your family? Did you get the same rank, the same training? Knowing all of this information can help you set the stage for all that follows. The next big piece we want to talk about is training. This is where the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or the ASVAB, comes in. And this isn't just a test, it's the test. It determines where you're going to end up, where you're going to be placed in the military. And the placement can feel like fate. Did the veteran end up where they expected, where they wanted to be, in the job or position that they hoped for? Were they proud of the role or frustrated by it? This frustration can come from not meeting those expectations from family members, as we discussed before. Then we dive into their specific role. Military has jobs, just like anywhere else does, and these jobs are unique, they're precise, you can be a combat medic, an intelligent analyst, an engineer, or you can be in the infantry. each role comes with unique responsibilities and potential traumas. And let's not forget the leadership roles. If they were in command, the weight that they carried wasn't just theirs, it was the weight of everyone underneath them. A leader's stress is amplified by responsibility and knowing if they led gives you a lens into the pressure that they felt every single day. You can also give you a lens into some of the resources they have because if they have the qualities that allowed them to be a good leader, those qualities can also serve in the therapeutic process. Now let's talk a little bit about deployments. Here's where things get even more layered. For veterans, the word deployment isn't just a trip or assignment. It's like a chapter of their life. Sometimes six months, sometimes a year, sometimes more. And sometimes with more deployments stacking on top of each other. The number of deployments and where they served, these details matter a lot. Did they go to a high conflict combat zone? Or were they stationed somewhere with constant tension? Or were they in a place deployed with no tension at all. Each deployment location can be a piece of their trauma or resilience history. Then we look at their training, the training that they underwent. And I'm not talking about basic training alone, even though that is definitely one of those trainings that we all talk about. I'm talking about specialized, rigorous, sometimes extreme training, ranger training, other special forces training. For some, trauma starts here. And yes, hazing can be a real part of that picture. In some units and some trainings, hazing isn't uncommon and the emotional scars it leaves can be just as impactful as combat. Physical and mental injuries. Injuries aren't just occupational hazards for veterans, they can be life altering experiences. Sometimes invisible, and sometimes very visible. Traumatic brain injuries or PTSD can be considered invisible trauma. Asking about injuries isn't just a checklist. It's really something about understanding the pain that the veteran is experiencing, both seen and unseen. Now we talked briefly about family in one respect. Now let's look at it in a different respect. Your military service affects everyone close to you. Did the veteran come from a military family? Did they leave children and spouses behind during deployment? Sometimes the veteran will be deployed while their spouse is at home taking care of their children, sometimes even having children, and they're thousands of miles away and can't help or provide any assistance. Understanding family dynamics during their service can reveal layers of guilt, longing, or even pride. For some, family is going to be a source of resilience, while others, it's going to be a major source of stress. How did their family handle the deployment? What was their tension? Relief? Sadness? Family reactions to deployment can be complex and so are homecomings. A veteran sometimes finds it difficult to find their place within the family when they come home. Was it a joyful or strained homecoming? Was it easy? Or were there unspoken expectations? Were there disappointments or frustrations? The transition back to family life can be a huge adjustment, and for some it's harder than the deployment itself. Transitioning out of the military, it's not like changing a job. It's an identity shift. In the military, there's structure, hierarchy, and purpose. But in civilian life, it's a free for all. There's no one to go to for personal reasons. An idea of what to do for the rest of the day. This shift can leave veterans feeling unmoored or unanchored. Some struggle to adapt to civilian employment. Others battle to find new purpose. And purpose is a huge piece of what we talk about with our veterans. when we talk about suicidal ideation, purpose, very often comes up as one of the reasons that these ideations become more intense. Your intake should get to the heart of how your veteran handled their transition. It's more than just a career change, it is a life change. And what about high risk activities? This might surprise you, but for some veterans, they become adrenaline junkies. It's part of the transition, really. Skydiving, motorcycling, extreme sports are ways to recreate that intensity of military life, to feel that rush, that sense of aliveness. For some it could be a coping mechanism to deal with the stressors of everyday life. For others it can become like an addiction. Recognizing this pattern can help you understand if they're seeking thrills just to cope or to hold on to a piece of their old military life. Now, let's look at discharge type a little bit, right? So we have honorable, dishonorable, other than honorable, and general under honorable conditions. For many veterans, their discharge defines how they're going to see their entire service. An honorable discharge is what we want. It could be a badge of pride. A dishonorable discharge can carry lasting shame and Sometimes it limits access to benefits and this is huge It limits access to benefits within the VA but it also can affect your civilian life and career if you want to get into working in a police department or a firehouse sometimes a bad discharge can affect your ability to move on and find purpose in those roles. So knowing this, all this gives context to the veteran's feelings about their service and how their discharges are affecting their life presently. We also want to look at the veterans relationship with the Veterans Affairs Administration. The Veterans Affairs Administration has a lot of health benefits. They provide health care, and disability benefits. They can get free health care for those service connected injuries or illnesses that came from their military service, and they can also get a stipend, There are numerous other benefits, that relate to housing and health It's just important to understand the relationship with the VA. If they don't have a relationship and it's because of a bad experience, you want to understand that. Knowing their relationship with the VA, can help us see any gaps in support that we can help fill in some way. let's bring this to the present, and look at who's supporting the veteran. Do they have family, friends, veteran networks? Veterans have been involved in teams and, units ever growing unit sizes. Recognizing that makes it easy to understand why community is so important. If they're lacking it, you're going to see why they might feel isolated. let's talk about goals. Personal goals, hobbies, dreams. For veterans, these aren't just interests. They can serve as anchors. They can give them a sense of purpose beyond service. we've already discussed how important purpose is. A veteran's intake, layer by layer. these aren't just questions, they're lifelines to understanding. Each question helps you build a story, connect the dots, and truly see the person beyond the service. When you do an intake like this, you're not just collecting information, you're building trust. And when you're working with veterans, that trust makes all the difference. thank you all for tuning in to Call Sign Wizard. I'm Doc V, and until next time, let's keep deepening our understanding to make a real impact. This has been Call Sign Wizard. Thanks for joining, and remember, there's always more to the story. Doc V, out.