Stepping In, Stepping Up
Professor assisting troops with transition
Re-entering society after enduring the hardships of war has always presented a unique set of challenges. Dr. Jon Kayne, a Professor of Clinical Counseling and Psychology at Bellevue University, has been stepping in to assist soldiers with that transition during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kayne works with troops as they return to help them adjust before stress and trauma grows into something more serious. Often, he flies out to meet with troops the day after they return stateside. He does so because in 2006, the National Guard called the Nebraska Department of Human Services and asked if there was anybody who might be able to assist with the transition, Kayne explained.
"There are services through the (Veterans Administration) if you are really seriously impacted. The issue was, what about people who had less than clinical problems?" Kayne said. "What about people whose problems didn't show up until they came home?" In an effort to help, Kayne worked with the military to set up a peer counseling program. "The research is pretty clear that peer kinds of counseling can be very effective in catching things early on," Kayne explained. "They found that if I go out and offer some instruction or services on site as soon as they get in — it's the kind of thing that has been very successful."
Kayne brings a unique set of experiences to the process, having served in the military and law enforcement. In addition, he's worked in psychotherapy, social work and, of course, as a college professor. Kayne earned his Ph.D. in applied statistics, tests and measurements from the University of Northern Colorado in 1978. His master's degree is in clinical social work and social planning from the University of Denver and he holds bachelor's degrees in philosophy, chemistry and mathematics from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Kayne is able to bring all of that experience into the classroom with him.
"I can talk specifically about how I've seen posttraumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder or adjustment disorder or all these other pathologies," Kayne said. "How I've seen them manifest. What are some of the subtleties? What are some of the best treatment approaches? What's the prognosis for it? A lot of time you think there's a diagnosis. In fact, human beings are kind of integrated organisms so no one really has just PTSD or just depression, but there's all this overlap. I'm able to talk about how these things relate. I bring that directly into the classroom."
Kayne came to Bellevue University in 1987 having worked with former President John Muller previously. He has held a variety of positions at the school, including Vice President of Academic Affairs, before returning to teaching full-time in 2002.
"I saw the school as a growing entity, or else I wouldn't have come," he said. "I never would have predicted how far the school would have come in such a short period of time. The school is completely transformed."
