Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects
Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (DMFT)
Advisor
Pei-Fen Li
Abstract
The military is a unique system within the United States that poses many challenges to families, such as the absence of a primary caregiver during a deployment. The deployment cycle can be challenging for service members and requires the ability to adapt to many stressors and rapid life changes. These stressors are exacerbated when the service member is considered the primary caregiver in the household. Given the low number of female service members in the military and the need for quality mental health services from trained clinicians, the current study seeks to explore the impact of military combat deployment on female service members and their lives. The theoretical framework of phenomenology and the methodology of interpretative phenomenology analysis (IPA) were used to guide the research. The study included seven total participants who were retired, female veterans. Through the use of IPA, the research study identified five overarching themes and fourteen subthemes about female service members’ experiences in the military and with deployment. The study offered suggestions for areas of improvement in the military system and for mental health clinicians who work with this unique clinical population, which included discussions regarding the systemic nature of military issues and the need for quality services. Keywords: female service member, military deployment, combat deployment, interpretive phenomenological analysis
NSUWorks Citation
Emily Konicki. 2026. My Dear Child: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis on the Lived Experience of Fathers Bereaved by Suicide Loss. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (123)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dft_etd/123.