Mental Health in the Military
A significant, highly stigmatized, and pressing topic we will not turn our back on...
Many men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces over the past eight years who have seen active combat in either Iraq or Afghanistan tell similar stories. Going out on convoys means a constant alertness, a constant sense of urgency, a constant vigilance to prepare for gunfire, or suffer a hit by an improvised explosive device. After returning home, the full impact of such intense experiences sometimes results in painful self-examination, and often, if not addressed, emotional issues and disabilities.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) - and often an adverse combination of both - if left untreated, leads to trouble sleeping, anxiety, anger issues, suicide ideation and substance abuse. Those working in the Military Mental Health field also emphasize that family members suffer as well. These are issues that don't only affect those fighting the war, they leave their imprint on family members as well.
Military Mental Health Resources
Military families experience high rates of divorce, children struggling in school, teens acting out, and other extreme behaviors - the most extreme in families struggling through several deployments. Especially troubling is when a service member returns home disabled or requiring intensive rehabilitation. Children can experience a "metaphorical death" of the parent they once knew. Sometimes children are shuffled among relatives and friends as the injured parent must relocate to a facility capable of treating the injury, and the spouse must also relocate to help in the recovery process.
These disabling consequences of untreated mental health issues, and adjusting to a disabled or injured family member, has increased the national focus on these issues. Over the past few years, policymakers and the Department of Defense have responded by improving and expanding psychological services for service members and their families. And more centralized mental health services have been established to better coordinate the services on military bases and surrounding communities.
Through several new initiatives, mental health professionals are educating the military leadership about the importance of mental health care, and working to reduce the stigma often associated with seeking psychological services. More services are now available to service members and their families throughout the deployment cycle, especially focusing on intervention for PTSD and TBI.
And the military has increased its effort to hire and train psychologists, therapists and counselors on issues specific to the military culture and deployment. These professionals work on military bases, in veterans hospitals, and through numerous community nonprofits and private organizations. National Guard and Reserve members and families who don't reside on or near military bases particularly experience higher stress and emotional issues, living isolated from other military families and support networks. For this reason, more community and national military services are expanding programs for those who serve the country.
If you have a desire to work with service members and their families, helping them adjust to the many stressful situations and critical life-altering events that take place in their lives, you should consider entering the mental health field. Social workers, therapists and counselors are all in high demand, especially those who take additional training on working with those living in the military culture.
Mental Health in the Military...