Couples

Shifting roles (i.e., husband/wife, caretaker) within a couple can be difficult to adapt to, especially for married couples experiencing lengthy military deployments.

Despite the numerous challenges facing U.S. veterans and their relationships, there have been no examinations of the effectiveness of couple therapy for relationship distress provided to veterans.

Data from 177 couples who attended therapy at two Veteran medical centers were used to examine the effectiveness of couple’s therapy on relationship satisfaction. The influence of demographic, relational, and psychological characteristics was also explored.

We examined associations between overall posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, symptom clusters of PTSD (reexperiencing, avoidance, dysphoria, and arousal), and relationship adjustment cross sectionally and longitudinally using self-report measures from a dyadic sample of U.S.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and severity may impact the relationship adjustment of Service members and their partners.

Since the onset of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan attention has increased on the importance of mental health with military service members. An integral component, although far less studied, are the ties between mental health and military spouses.

Spouses of Service members may experience several stressors during the deployment cycle, and it is important to understand how spouses utilize mental health services during this time.