Secondary Traumatic Stress, Culture and Stigma: Barriers to Self-Initiated Care in the Military Mental Health and Spiritual Care Provider Populations

Abstract

A military mental health provider explains to colleagues that he is retiring early at the height of his training and experience, because he has reached an emotional limit trying to help warfighters in Iraq deal with comrades who disappeared forever in a fiery red cloud of blood and smoke. Similarly, a military chaplain, trying heroically to maintain professional bearing and privileged communication, struggles to explain to peers he is eschewing the years of specialized training and valuable experience to return to civilian life because he can no longer manage his downward emotional spiral from too many funerals, broken marriages, and counseling sessions without any way to stop the nightmares, the suffering of his family, and his intense, emotional pain.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2012
Accession Number
AD1022958

Entities

People

  • Jonathan H. Wade

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Depression
  • Employment
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Health
  • Military Medicine
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychological Adaptation
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Second World War
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Oncology
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.
  • Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Care for Military Service Members and Veterans with Limb Loss or Disability.