Post-traumatic stress (PTSD) is prevalent among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their post-deployment recovery and reintegration into civilian life are generally facilitated by strong family support and impeded by difficulties in close relationships.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is increasingly offering family-involved programs for veterans with PTSD. Unfortunately, however, many of these programs are under-utilized and drop-out rates are high.
To better understand how to engage family members, Fischer et al. (2015) (PDF, 70KB)opens in new window interviewed 47 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with PTSD and 36 family members, the majority of whom were the veterans' spouses or partners.
Separate focus groups were conducted for veterans and family members. Focus groups and individual interviews explored levels of interest and preferences regarding VA programs to help veterans and families during the readjustment and reintegration.
Both veterans and family participants enthusiastically supported including family and friends in VA programs to facilitate post-deployment readjustment and reintegration into civilian life. Both groups wanted a program that provided information on PTSD as well as on VA services, offered ongoing support, allowed each to gain perspective on the other's experience, and emphasized practical relationship, communication, and life-management skills.
Family participants also stressed a need for help with parenting, especially family support during and after deployment.
Both veterans and partners underscored the importance of creating a supportive environment for veterans and families (including children) across the entire deployment cycle, beginning before deployment, continuing through the separation, and being maintained for a substantial time following homecoming.
Participants expressed a strong preference for a readjustment/reintegration program that was offered in-person rather than on-line or via videoconferencing.
The perspectives of these veterans and families offer useful guidance for both VA and community providers in developing reintegration programs.
Such programs should include a family component and target the following domains:
- information on the origin, symptoms and impact of PTSD
- skills for veterans and families in fostering healthy relationships and successfully coping with PTSD
- perspective-taking for each group to improve understanding of and empathy for the other's situation
In working with returning veterans who have children, providers will want to consider supplementing individual and couples therapy with programs that involve the children, and/or work closely with child-focused providers.
Because study participants were drawn from only two states, providers developing reintegration programs may want to verify that the preferences that emerged in this study are shared by their local veteran families.
Citation
- Fischer, E. P., Sherman, M. D., McSweeney, J. C., Pyne, J. M., Owen, R. R., & Dixon, L. B. (2015). Perspectives of family and veterans on family programs to support reintegration of returning veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Services, 12(3), 187–198. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ser0000033
Note: This article is in the Clinical Psychology topic area. View more articles in the Clinical Psychology topic area.