Mental Health Liaison Aboard Ship.
Abstract
Navy psychologists and psychiatrists assigned to a fleet setting encounter difficulties in attempting to provide meaningful mental health services. Many clinic referrals reflect organizational, occupational, operational, and environmental conditions aboard ship. Without an appreciation of these factors, clinicians are hampered in their efforts to fully understand the Navy members' difficulties, to coordinate effective intervention strategies, and to make valid recommendations. Furthermore, most problems involving shipboard circumstances do not lend themselves to the traditional psychiatric model of evaluation and treatment in the office. In an effort to address these concerns, the staff at Fleet Mental Health Support Unit, Naval Station, San Diego, California, initiated a program of shipboard liaison visits. Meeting with key ship personnel provided an opportunity to enhance communication, coordinate efforts, and develop compatible expectations and goals. A primary objective was to stress the importance of viewing people's problems and their solutions as integral to the shipboard community. A mental health model that emphasized consultative, educational, and preventive services, and attempted to mobilize and augment resources that already existed within the shipboard organization, was promoted. This proved to be an effective and viable approach toward providing meaningful service to the fleet.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA139898
Entities
People
- F. D. Glogower
- M. Callaghan-chaffee
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center