A review of United Kingdom Armed Forces' approaches to prevent post-deployment mental health problems

TY - JOUR

T1 - A review of United Kingdom Armed Forces' approaches to prevent post-deployment mental health problems

AU - Fertout, Mohammed

AU - Jones, Norman

AU - Greenberg, Neil

AU - Mulligan, Kathleen

AU - Knight, Terry

AU - Wessely, Simon

PY - 2011/4

Y1 - 2011/4

N2 - There is now an abundance of research which has demonstrated that military personnel who deploy on operations are at increased risk of suffering a variety of mental health difficulties in the immediate and long-term post-deployment period. One consequence of these research findings has been the development of a variety of programmes which attempt to mitigate the increased psychological risk and to assist personnel who are returning from a deployment to make a smooth transition home. Using a three-tiered prevention model, this article reviews some of the key post-deployment issues facing the UK Armed Forces and highlights the recent interventions which have been put in place to promote successful adjustment in the early post-deployment period. The paper is based upon research identified through a thorough literature search for studies which focused on this area and included a recognized measure of mental health as an outcome. The paper focuses on three main areas; psychological decompression, psycho-education and screening. The current philosophical approaches to post-deployment mental health problems of some of the UK's coalition partners are also discussed.

AB - There is now an abundance of research which has demonstrated that military personnel who deploy on operations are at increased risk of suffering a variety of mental health difficulties in the immediate and long-term post-deployment period. One consequence of these research findings has been the development of a variety of programmes which attempt to mitigate the increased psychological risk and to assist personnel who are returning from a deployment to make a smooth transition home. Using a three-tiered prevention model, this article reviews some of the key post-deployment issues facing the UK Armed Forces and highlights the recent interventions which have been put in place to promote successful adjustment in the early post-deployment period. The paper is based upon research identified through a thorough literature search for studies which focused on this area and included a recognized measure of mental health as an outcome. The paper focuses on three main areas; psychological decompression, psycho-education and screening. The current philosophical approaches to post-deployment mental health problems of some of the UK's coalition partners are also discussed.

U2 - 10.3109/09540261.2010.557770

DO - 10.3109/09540261.2010.557770

M3 - Literature review

SN - 1369-1627

VL - 23

SP - 135

EP - 143

JO - International Review of Psychiatry

JF - International Review of Psychiatry

IS - 2

ER -