Military cultural competence in the context of cognitive behavioural therapy

Current work in multicultural competency has emphasized factors such as race and ethnicity, age, disability status, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and gender. For those clinicians who work with military and veteran populations, grounding in military cultural competence is also critical as a prerequisite for providing quality care. We believe that engaging these populations from a specifically cognitive behavioural orientation allows bridging of cultural gaps and that there is a natural alignment between cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and many aspects of warrior culture. This paper outlines several factors related to the values of military culture and strategies of the CBT therapist to better understand and use these values effectively in clinical practice, including lessons learned from an intensive outpatient program providing speciality care to veterans and military service members.

Military Cultural Competency: Understanding How to Serve Those Who Serve

<p>Institutions of higher education who serve military populations need clear understanding of federal regulations and of military organization best practices in education. They also need a baseline understanding of the broader military population, as well as the unique challenges and opportunities for military subgroups, based on branch, type, and extent of service. The intent of this article is to provide a baseline understanding of military populations, including the unique needs, challenges, and opportunities for service to population subgroups (i.e., active duty service members, prior service members, including disabled veterans and retirees, and military family members). Overall, we propose that “military cultural competence” is a unique cultural competence which is necessary to develop both at the institutional level and for individual staff and faculty, in order to ensure appropriate service for military students in higher education.</p>

Military Culture Implications for Mental Health and Nursing Care

With over 13 years of war and military combat operations, the number of veterans, military families, and service members with mental health needs continues to increase across civilian and federal healthcare services. Knowledge about severe battle wounds, traumatic brain injury, and traumatic stress has influenced the delivery of healthcare. The invisible wounds of war associated with brain injury and traumatic stress will increase clinical care challenges into the foreseeable future. The purpose of this article is to describe two interrelated concepts, military cultural competence and stress injuries. The authors also differentiate stress reactions versus stress injury. Nurses with military cultural competence and knowledge about stress injuries will be better able to deliver patient-centered care to patients with military culture experiences.