Enhancing Clinical Competency through An Understanding of Military Culture

Course overview

Military cultural competence is essential to effectively engage, understand, and support active duty service members, reservists, and veterans in behavioral health treatment. Unfortunately, a survey examining military cultural competence among behavioral health providers found that many community-based clinicians lack the necessary competence to adequately serve military members and their families (Tanielian et al., 2014). Military personnel cite a lack of understanding of their military-specific experiences and culture as one of the primary barriers to engaging in and remaining connected with treatment (American Psychological Association Practice Organization, 2016). This course will provide you with an introduction to military culture. You will learn about the overall structure of the military, the core values of the primary branches, and the unique experiences of specific sub-populations within the military. This information will help more effectively engage with, understand, respect, and support the military service members who seek your services. The goal of this course is to provide alcohol and drug counselors, professional counselors, psychologists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists in health and human services settings with information about military culture in general, the effects of military culture on sub-populations, and how behavioral health concerns affect military service members and veterans.