BTM38-LCSW - VA Caregiver Support Program
Show Summary
On this episode of Behind The Mission, we share a conversation with Licensed Clinical Social Worker Leah Christensen, Clinical Program Coordinator for the Caregiver Support Program with the Veterans Health Administration. We discuss the importance of including and supporting caregivers in medical treatment.
About Today’s Guest
Ms. Christensen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has spent her career supporting families in healthcare settings. Ms. Christensen began her career in pediatric oncology and palliative care, at Oregon Health & Sciences University and then at Stanford Children’s Health. Her career with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) began when the Caregiver Support Program (CSP) was implemented in 2011.
Since that time, she has been dedicated to carrying out the mission of the VA CSP, supporting the health and well-being of caregivers who care for our Nation’s Veterans. Ms. Christensen was responsible for the initial stand up of the program at the VA Portland Health Care System. She developed local operations and supportive programming, including the introduction of whole health coaching for caregivers. In addition, she served as the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) for the VISN 20 Northwest Network for 6 years, providing leadership for the CSP in Alaska, Washington, Oregon & Idaho. She was selected for the role of CSP Leadership Council Chair in 2017. In that role, she oversaw 4 committees as they worked to develop communications, technology, procedures, and education for the program. In 2018, she was assigned to the Caregiver Support Program Office as a Special Projects Coordinator, assisting with projects related to the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers expansion under the VA MISSION Act of 2018.
Ms. Christensen now holds the role of Clinical Program Coordinator for VA Central Office’s Caregiver Support Program where she assists with the development and guidance of field operations for the program. Her current work also includes enhancing the Program of General Caregiver Support Services across VA, which supports caregivers across the care continuum through education, coaching, support, skills training, outreach, and connection to resources. Ms. Christensen is also the VA lead for the Campaign for Inclusive Care initiative, a systematic approach to integrating caregivers as partners in Veteran healthcare teams.
Ms. Christensen earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Seattle University in 1997 and a master’s degree in Social Work in 2002 from the Graduate School of Social Work at Portland State University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Oregon. She is also a George W. Bush Institute Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program Scholar. Leah has spent her career supporting families in health care systems, previously as a clinical social worker in pediatric oncology and palliative care. She is the proud daughter of a Vietnam Veteran and the granddaughter of World War II Navy Veterans. She is passionate about supporting the families of those who have served.
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
The PsychArmor resource for this week is the PsychArmor the webinar series Conversations with Caregivers. The Conversations with Caregivers Series, sponsored by USAA, is an opportunity to virtually engage and learn with military & Veteran caregivers about difficult issues that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this series, PsychArmor brings together subject matter experts from around the country, both professionals and military & Veteran caregivers with lived experience, to share their knowledge and expertise in these difficult conversations. These events are intended for military & Veteran caregivers to learn together, discover new resources, change the narrative of their own experiences, and build resilience. You can get to the webinar series by going to this link: https://psycharmor.org/usaa-webinar/
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
This Episode Sponsored By:
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor, the premier education and learning ecosystem specializing in military culture content. PsychArmor offers an online e-learning laboratory with custom training options for organizations.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families. You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com