Military Cultural Competency for Veteran Mental Health Counseling in Civilian Settings

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in Psychology and is available as an open-access article. As a vulnerable cultural group, military veterans present unique challenges to mental healthcare providers as a result of their experiences. Since 9/11, there has been an increase in post 9/11 veterans seeking treatment across civilian mental health organizations, along with a growing demand for culturally competent care. This qualitative review and thematic analysis of the literature explores specific mental health needs of post 9/11 veterans and investigates military cultural competence best practices in mental health care for veterans in civilian and/or non-governmental outpatient mental health settings. Using purposive sampling, 33 studies were identified and analyzed in relation to approaches central to an underlying multicultural theoretical framework for emerging themes. Key findings emphasize incorporating military cultural competency in treatment implementation to address the unique mental health dynamics of the veteran community as a whole and diverse community. Recurring themes related to best practices for treating this population highlighted an interorganizational collaborative approach that encourages the importance of community collaboration among civilian and government mental health providers to work together in treating the veteran population. Findings informed the development of the action research monograph deliverable for key stakeholders. Moreover, findings present new questions related to veteran mental healthcare pertaining to clinical program staff members and how to increase their level of cultural sensitivity and professional development. These questions can lead to further research substantiating the positive changes that can occur among the administration of veteran mental health services by practitioners that are culturally component and qualified to work with this population. This course on veteran mental health services is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of veteran mental health services. The course material includes a literature review of research. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Gonzalez Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding veteran mental health services. Specifically, a professional will: Identify limitations and barriers to treatment in the context of mental health counseling for veterans. Recognize mental health disparities faced by veterans compared to the civilian population. Describe strategies for improving veteran mental health services delivery. Citation: Gonzalez, J. (2023). Military Cultural Competency for Veteran Mental Health Counseling in Civilian Settings. Psychology, 14, 371-424. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2023.143022