Military Culture and Psychotherapy: Strange Bedfellows?
Keywords:
culture, military, psychotherapy, treatment barriers, competenceAbstract
The military represents a distinct and overlooked cultural group. Because culture is germane to any effort to understand and treat disordered functioning, psychologists who work with service members or who plan on doing so should acquire the competencies needed to situate psychological treatment in the context of the needs and realities of military personnel. Psychologists must also remain aware of the many circumstances in military settings that pose ethical dilemmas in the provision of appropriate and effective mental health care. In this article, we describe military values and beliefs, military customs and courtesies, barriers to seeking psychological treatment in the military, and pathways for increasing psychologists’ competence in providing culturally informed treatment to military personnel. We offer suggestions to guide future research on this neglected topic.