TY - JOUR
T1 - The journey to professional mental health support
T2 - a qualitative exploration of the barriers and facilitators impacting military veterans’ engagement with mental health treatment
AU - Rafferty, Laura A.
AU - Wessely, Simon
AU - Stevelink, Sharon A.M.
AU - Greenberg, Neil
PY - 2020/1/6
Y1 - 2020/1/6
N2 - Background: It is often claimed that military veterans are reticent to seek help for mental disorders, even though delayed treatment may impair recovery and impact the wellbeing of those close to the veteran. Objective: This paper aims to explore the barriers and facilitators to accessing professional mental health support for three groups of veterans who met criteria for a probable mental health disorder and: (1) do not recognize a probable mental disorder; (2) recognize they are affected by a mental disorder but are not seeking professional support; or (3) are currently seeking professional mental health support. Method: Qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with 62 UK military veterans. Thematic analysis identified core themes along an illustrative journey towards professional mental health support. Results: Distinct barriers and facilitators to care were discussed by each group of veterans depicting changes as veterans moved towards accessing professional mental health support. In contrast to much of the literature, stigma was not a commonly reported barrier to care; instead care-seeking decisions centred on a perceived need for treatment, waiting until a crisis event occurred. Whilst the recognition of treatment need represented a pivotal moment, our data identified numerous key steps which had to be surmounted prior to care-seeking. Conclusion: As care-seeking decisions within this sample appeared to centre on a perceived need for treatment future efforts designed to encourage help-seeking in UK military veterans may be best spent targeting the early identification and management of mental health disorders to encourage veterans to seek support before reaching a crisis event.
AB - Background: It is often claimed that military veterans are reticent to seek help for mental disorders, even though delayed treatment may impair recovery and impact the wellbeing of those close to the veteran. Objective: This paper aims to explore the barriers and facilitators to accessing professional mental health support for three groups of veterans who met criteria for a probable mental health disorder and: (1) do not recognize a probable mental disorder; (2) recognize they are affected by a mental disorder but are not seeking professional support; or (3) are currently seeking professional mental health support. Method: Qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with 62 UK military veterans. Thematic analysis identified core themes along an illustrative journey towards professional mental health support. Results: Distinct barriers and facilitators to care were discussed by each group of veterans depicting changes as veterans moved towards accessing professional mental health support. In contrast to much of the literature, stigma was not a commonly reported barrier to care; instead care-seeking decisions centred on a perceived need for treatment, waiting until a crisis event occurred. Whilst the recognition of treatment need represented a pivotal moment, our data identified numerous key steps which had to be surmounted prior to care-seeking. Conclusion: As care-seeking decisions within this sample appeared to centre on a perceived need for treatment future efforts designed to encourage help-seeking in UK military veterans may be best spent targeting the early identification and management of mental health disorders to encourage veterans to seek support before reaching a crisis event.
KW - anxiety disorders
KW - depressive disorders
KW - military psychiatry
KW - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
KW - Qualitative research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077592805&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/20008198.2019.1700613
DO - 10.1080/20008198.2019.1700613
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85077592805
SN - 2000-8198
VL - 10
JO - European journal of psychotraumatology
JF - European journal of psychotraumatology
IS - 1
M1 - 1700613
ER -