Publication year
2008
Citation Title
Key factors involved in engaging significant others in the treatment of Vietnam veterans with PTSD
Journal Name
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice
Journal Volume
39
Issue Number
4
Page Numbers
443-450
DOI
10.1037/0735-7028.39.4.443
Summary
An in-depth exploration of ten Vietnam Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their live-in female partner’s perceptions about family participation in mental health treatment was conducted. Interviews of couple dyads explored various aspects of family participation including potential benefits and barriers. Findings revealed nine key themes, such as social relationships, fears and apprehensions, and communication that help to explain many of the important issues in family engagement.
Key Findings
Both Veterans and partners considered a decisional balance between the perceived benefits of participation and the potential barriers.
Partners described the hope that participating in the Veterans’ treatment would increase their understanding of PTSD and help them learn how to be supportive.
Partners’ identified barriers were around concerns about participation and logistics, for example, hopelessness about the partners’ possible improvement, and access to the program.
Implications for Program Leaders
Continue providing training opportunities for professionals working with Service members and their families to learn more about ways to develop supportive structures that facilitate families’ well-being
Engage Service members’ families and friends in workshops on how to support loved ones with PTSD
Disseminate information to Service members and their families on how to identify mental health symptoms
Implications for Policy Makers
Promote the development of structured workshops for Service members and their partners to provide support for PTSD and related symptoms
Encourage awareness among professionals working with Service members families and communities about the effects of trauma experiences on the well-being of Service members and their families
Support for programs that work to destigmatize depression and PSTD among Service members, their friends, partners, and communities
Methods
Veterans were recruited through direct solicitation following PTSD therapy groups at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Veterans and their partners were interviewed separately and were asked questions about their feelings on the appropriateness of family involvement in mental health treatment as well as the benefits and challenges family involvement may have for them and their families.
Analysis included the research team independently reading each transcript, creating preliminary codes, discussing divergent coding, and establishing consensus on common themes.
Participants
The sample consisted of 10 dyads of male married Veterans and their female partners. Veterans had a diagnosis of PTSD from combat during the Vietnam era.
Five Veterans identified as White, three as Black, one as Native American, and one as Asian American; whereas, five female partners identified as White, two as Black, two as Native American, and one as Asian American.
Seven of the Veterans served in the Army, one in the Navy, one in the Marine Corps, and one in the Air Force.
Limitations
The study only included Vietnam Veterans, as such the generalizability to other Veterans needs to be given careful consideration.
The sample was only ten couples from one program; therefore, findings need to be interpreted within these contexts.
Interviews of Vietnam Veterans and their spouses were conducted more than twenty-five years after the war ended; therefore, family engagement may look different for these couples than those who had a loved one recently return from combat.
Avenues for Future Research
Evaluate what supports Service members and their families need most in the reintegration stage of deployment
Explore Service members’ families well-being as they support their partners’ psychological well-being
Probe into mechanisms by which Service members’ partners become distressed by or develop resiliency as they support the Service members’ psychological well-being
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
"In an effort to be responsive to the often complicated, multilayered family issues of people living with posttraumatic stress disorder, many well-intentioned therapists create a variety of family-based services— only to be discouraged when participation is very low. In the current project, 10 Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder who were active in a stress recovery program and their live-in female partners completed separate semistructured interviews. Interviews explored each couple’s perceptions about family participation in mental health treatment, including potential benefits and barriers. Findings revealed 9 key themes that elucidate many of the important issues in family engagement. The authors make 7 recommendations about how clinicians can overcome some of the possible obstacles to involving families in care."
Abstract Document
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