“This is embarrassing, but truly is an honor,” Jeanne Sherman, MEd, CAGS, LMHC, said of her selection for the Community Service Award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

A Warwick resident, Sherman does most of her work “under the radar” and was surprised to be honored at the VFW ceremony May 28 at the Radisson Hotel.

Sherman served in the Army as a sergeant and currently works as a therapist for military and veteran families out of Family Service of Rhode Island’s Children’s Treatment and Recovery Center. She said many therapists don’t accept military insurance, and she is happy to do her part in serving her military community.

Although her services focus on children, Sherman said that it really ends up being therapy for the whole family.

“As a therapist, you have to keep a little distance,” Sherman said, “but some of the problems these people face is so intense you become invested.”

In her line of work Sherman said she mostly deals with families that have a parent coming back from deployment with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

Children can start to mirror the actions of the parents until “everyone is walking on eggshells.”

“PTSD echoes or overflows into the rest of the family,” Sherman said.

Senior Vice President of Family Service of Rhode Island Susan Erstling, Ph.D., said in a press release, “Jeanne has raised the bar in developing partnerships to serve our military and veteran families.”

Sherman leads a workshop, titled “Understanding the Impact of Deployment” for the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program and has attended conferences as a speaker to discuss “trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy” and how to adapt it for military children. She has been nationally certified in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and is one of only four in Rhode Island to be so.

Besides the work she does with Family Service of Rhode Island, Sherman also sponsors community drives to collect items for veterans in need.

“I came from a military family and then served myself, and the military really becomes part of your soul. It’s like my dream has come full circle,” Sherman said.

Sherman was one of nearly 30 people recognized at the VFW ceremony. Other winners included law enforcement integral in saving lives; a Girl Scout who created a series of walking trails and won the Gold Award from the Girl Scouts; a principal who has kept a Veterans Day ceremony alive at her school; teachers who have inspired civil activities and patriotism in their classrooms; and the staff from the Radisson for continually helping the VFW host events.

The award ceremony is an annual event and VFW State Commander John Cesana said it is to honor those within and outside of the organization for continued patriotism and dedication to one’s country and military.

“It feels nice to give special thanks to those invested in our organization,” Cesana said. “We feel this is a two-way street and we want to support and protect out community and recognize when they do the same.”