The Importance Of Social Work Based Practices For The Military Population

Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

Anything that can impact military readiness can be reported to a member’s commanding officer. A sad result this as caused many a service member to become very distrustful of both mental health and family support personnel. Many civilian counselors have resorted to promising service members that requests for treatment will not be reported to their supervisors. Fortunately while the stigma still exists some progress has been made about shifting attitudes up and down the ranks towards getting the necessary help. (Hall, 2008) This attitude often stems from the fact that if a member, especially one in command of other service members, makes a bad judgment call due to having a mental health issue it could very well lead to a significant loss of both life and government property. Many view or used to view seeking the help of a mental health expert as showing the inability of making sound calls in the field. (Schreiber & McEnay,

There is concern about military service members receiving stigma about getting or needing treatment in the area of mental health. Stigma occurs when individuals view others negatively because they have been labeled or identified as having a deviant behavior against societal norms; deviant behaviors such as mental illnesses or diagnoses uncommon or harmful to others. How does that impact the military? Military men and women alike are termed heroes, warriors, and survivors; this is quite the reputation to keep up. Military members go to war or deploy to hostile combat environments, which many come back with severe mental illnesses and diagnosis that need immediate care. At this point they may not feel like a hero. The terms psychological, mentally ill, PTSD, and behavioral health has gained a reputation as having or being a problem. Being labeled a problem is not what service members want. Many studies are trying to pinpoint the problem and resolve the stereotypes associated with getting treatment. Consequently, an individual’s attitude toward mental health treatment is thought to be affected by other people’s views on mental health care (Held & Owens, 2012).

Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 107). Prior research has evaluated the prevalence of MH concerns and opportunities for treatment at various points in the military/veteran career including post deployment, among those being treated at Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, and in the general population) (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 107). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data indicate that a substantial portion of young veterans in the general population have substance use disorder (18%) or Serious Psychological Distress (SPD) (14%) (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 111). All in all, the NSDUH proved to be an extremely valuable resource for this study, and indeed, the results of this analysis for unmet treatment needs have identified important directions for further research into reasons for not getting treatment, especially for SPD (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 113). The Veterans Administration and National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) are taking steps in the right direction to help our veterans with their unmet needs with substance abuse and PTSD. Some examples of improvements are, better mental health evaluations before leaving active duty, more information about military service, and tracking trends among veterans in the general population, who are not necessarily in contact with the

The SMVTA Center works with states to bolster and support the behavioral health systems for active duty military service member, reservists, veterans and their families. They act as a liaison between agencies and the service members, specifically federal, state, territorial, tribe, local community, public, and private agencies. This organization monitors trends in behavioral health issues in relation to prevention, treatment and recovery support, and provides consultation, training and technical assistance to these agencies to provide the latest and best treatment

Both articles identify the issue of providing mental health services for veterans with an extra emphasis on those that served in Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF veterans). It is no surprise that returning veterans suffer from both visible/invisible (physical and mental) wounds. Most veterans have this “high” expectation that they are going to receive quality care from both the DoD and VA. Unfortunately reality steps in where veterans are slapped in the face because they are receiving a lack of poor quality care all while jumping through Beuracractic hoops. The challenges faced to access these services include resistance, stigma, lack of professionalism, and geographic and/or regional disparities in the distribution of services resources and/or benefits, and the system simply refusing to change.

In 2016, there were “around 16.9 million male veterans and 1.6 million female veterans in the U.S.” (Statista, 2017). In other words, the U.S. military is predominately male and 78% are white. On 2014, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reported that women constituted 8% of the veteran population. Within this group, 67% of the females were white while 33% belonged to minority groups (0.9% Native American and Alaskan American; 2.3% Asian; 18.4% Black; 8.2% Hispanic; 2.6% two or more races; 0.2% others). Overall, minority Veterans, account for 22% of the total veteran population. The two largest groups showcased in that figure are Blacks (11%) and Hispanics (7%).

These traditional programs lacked several keys features, e.g. lack of understanding of the military culture, values, unique stressors, etc. As a result, these transitional programs were found not to be effective for service members and lacked a sense of trust and open communication between veterans and social workers. In order to improve the trust and communication between the service member and those involved with providing assistance, traditional transitional programs should be adjusted to appeal to the military population and

Military mental health providers hold dual roles as clinicians and commissioned officers. While they are bound by the ethical code and professional guidelines of their profession, they are also held to the standard of Department of Defense (DoD) statutes and regulations. They are expected to provide competent clinical care but also enforce military boundaries and discipline (McCauley, Hacker Hughes, & Liebling-Kalifani, 2008). Likewise, there may be duality in the provider’s obligation, both to the patient/service member and to their higher command. These conflicting relationships and obligations are referred to as mixed agency (Kennedy & Johnson, 2009; Kennedy & Moore, 2008). Ultimately, the provider’s responsibility to the unit’s mission may not always align with the best interests of the patient (McCauley et al., 2008).

According to a study constructed by JAMA Psychiatry, a medical journal published by the American Medical Association, explained that one out of five soldiers, who have enlisted into the military have suffered from a mental disorder (Hastings). With this statistic, there are doubts regarding the military’s assessments of the enlisted. Matthew Nock, a Harvard University psychologist, led a study on mental disorders in the military, and concluded that

According to Clinton-Sherrod, Barrick and Gibbs (2011) research found that only 4% of those at risk for alcohol abuse were enrolled in treatment (2% referred by the Post-Deployment Health Reassessment) and 30% of military personnel at risk for mental health problems were enrolled (14% referred by PDHRA). These statistics don’t differ much from the treatment of the civilian population. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2009) 8.1% of those who needed substance abuse treatment received it. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1999) fewer than 30% of those adults who were suffering from a diagnosable mental health disorder received treatment. These statistic show that treatment has been successful, although the referral and enrollment process seems to be more effective in helping those with mental health problems rather than substance abuse in both veteran and civilian populations.

A service member’s emotional and psychological issues are not like malfunctions of a piece of equipment and must not be treated as a troubleshooting problem in a technical manual. And yet this seems to be the only way the military, as a whole, knows how to address the issue of a service members mental health. It requires a holistic approach that is not currently embraced by the military. Historically, the military has been ill-equipped to handle the shifting nature of the psychological issues created by introducing a service member to the battlefield.

The population of interest, based on the aforementioned research question is, female combat veterans. For the purpose of this research, this is narrowed down to female service members, more specifically of the Army, who have previously been activated in support of an operation in said combat zone. Participants must have received combat benefits, such as hostile fire pay to fall within the realm of the veteran interest group.

Women have fought alongside men in the United States Military in every major battle since the American Revolution. The roles of women in the military have evolved over time to allow the incorporation of women in expanding military career fields. Women have proven themselves to be an asset to the military despite some of society believing women would weaken America’s military effectiveness. Today more than 200,000 women are active-duty military, this is about 14.5% of all military. Currently, women are involved in all branches of the Armed Forces; there are around 74,000 women in the Army, 62,000 in the Air Force, 53,000 in the Navy, and 14,000 in the Marine Corps (By the numbers: Women in the U.S. Military). Military women continue to