No One Leaves Unchanged: Insights for Civilian Mental Health Care Professionals Into the Military Experience and Culture

Published In

Social Work in Health Care

Document Type

Citation

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

This article aims to elucidate an understanding of military culture and experience, so as to better frame the services offered by civilian clinicians. Service members indoctrinated into such an influential culture can experience adjustment problems upon reentry into the larger society, and thus professional counselors and social workers must be ready to address the reintegration process with veteran clients. Furthermore, this article highlights a few of the major mental health concerns that are prevalent in combat veterans, especially for those returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and presents a brief overview of treatment modalities implemented both within and outside of the military. Practical therapeutic suggestions for clinicians with little or no knowledge of the military are discussed. The objective is to educate and prepare civilian mental health practitioners to administer culturally sensitive prevention and intervention services to meet the unique needs of this population.

Description

*At the time of publication, Jose Coll was affiliated with Saint Leo University, Saint Leo, Florida.

Copyright © 2011 Informa UK Limited

DOI

10.1080/00981389.2010.528727

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/33713

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