Description

Upon completion of this conference, participants will be able to:

1. Participants will increase their knowledge regarding ambiguous loss and the mental health implications for military parents of a child with an exceptional medical need.
2. Participants will gain knowledge regarding theoretical frameworks, including the Military Parental Ambiguous Loss (M-PAL), that conceptualize the complexity of the loss while providing approaches that can be utilized to treat patients.
3. Participants will learn about the cultural factors and military-focused resources that assume a critical role in promoting the military parents’ resilience.
   Participants will be introduced to the ambiguous loss toolkit, specifically its interventions and functionality in supporting military parents of a child with an exceptional need.

Presenter Bio

Sheontee C. Frank is a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. She graduated with a bachelor and master degrees in social work from East Carolina University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the military who utilizes her behavioral health expertise to support beneficiaries within the primary care clinics. In addition to clinical practice, she holds an assistant professor appointment with the Uniformed Services University and serves as an administrator for the family medicine residency clinic. Sheontee has spent her career assessing and treating military members, their families, and veterans who suffer from various mental health conditions, including loss and the related grief symptoms.

Sheontee’s research is focused on raising awareness regarding ambiguous loss and related grief symptoms experienced by military parents who have a child with an exceptional need. Through her work, she distinguished the influence of cultural and military lifestyle factors on predicting mental health outcomes for this population. Her research underscores the importance of practitioners utilizing culturally-sensitive assessment tools and treatment interventions when supporting military parents of a child with an exceptional medical need.

Her accolades include participating in a working group whose efforts led to an inaugural incentive pay and increased retention bonuses for over 700 military social workers. She was recognized as one of East Carolina University’s School of Social Work distinguished alumni and a 40 under 40 recipient. Lastly, she published “The Relationship Difficulties Experienced by Unmarried Black Mothers” opinion editorial in the Social Work Today Magazine.

Delivery Method: Live Interactive Training via Zoom Video Conferencing

Credit Hours: 1.0 (ACE)

Target Audience: This conference is intended for social workers and students.

Accreditation: University of Kentucky College of Social Work, Provider # 1377, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 9/29/25-9/29/28. Social workers participating in this conference will receive up to 15 general continuing education credits.

Claiming CE Credit: Instructions for claiming CE credit will be disseminated at the beginning of each session.

Questions: If you have any questions regarding CE credit or to report a grievance, please contact Christina Krantz at Christina.Krantz@uky.edu. For technical assistance, please contact lmshelp@uky.edu.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these presentations are those of the individual presenters and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the University of Kentucky or the College of Social Work. The inclusion of any topics, perspectives, or discussions is intended for academic engagement and does not constitute endorsement by the institution.