Teens of military members the focus of an event during Month of the Military Child

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - April is the Month of the Military Child and the Cohen Veterans Network has launched a number of programs and events aimed at kids of all ages with parents in the armed forces.

This coming Tuesday, April 13, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. the Cohen Veterans Network at Alaska Behavioral Health is hosting a Zoom webinar that will focus specifically on teenage children of military members.

“This is a population that in my clinical opinion is undeserved,” said Cohen Clinic Director Mary Beth Goodman. “You know there’s lots of great things for little ones but our teenagers are harder to deliver quality projects for and we want to make sure we’re targeting that.”

The description of this webinar on the AKBH website points out that in a normal year “Military teens are high-risk for feelings of isolation, depression and anxiety – with frequent moves, school transitions and worry about deployed parents – all on top of the regular teenage stress in a rapidly changing world.”

“It’s going to be a journey on kind of how to understand why teenagers think differently, act differently, behave differently, and how to help those teenagers really understand why they see the world in this unique amazing perspective but gain some skills through mindfulness through and online art therapy project,” says Goodman.

The Month of the Military Child is meant to feel like a celebration, according to MaryBeth Goodman, a recognition of the sacrifices that the kids of our armed forces make.

You can find more events and information on the Month of the Military Child on the Cohen Veterans Network website.

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