Abstract
The sharp differences between civilian culture and military culture, referred to as Dichotomous Cultures, turn the transition into the army and the transition out of the army to be extremely difficult. This is true especially for veterans who served in combat units, in which masculinity is the leading motive, who sometimes describe their transition to civilian life as “from hero to zero.” Moreover, veterans are often reluctant to seek help, due to their military conditioning, traditional masculine values, and stigma. The Veteran’s Transition Program (VTP) is a group-based program that has been shown to directly meet the transitional needs of veterans. Rather than being stigmatized as weakness, VTP reframes help seeking as a valid, courageous sign of strength that is a necessary prerequisite for helping others. Hence, by reducing the trauma-related effects of service, VTP helps veteran to effectively move back to a normal functioning life.
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We would like to express our very great appreciation to Colter Long (Counselling Psychology Program, University of British Columbia) in the development and editing of this chapter.
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Westwood, M.J., Israelashvili, M. (2023). Veteran Transition to Civilian Life: Leveraging the Strengths of Military Culture. In: Israelashvili, M. (eds) Prevention of Maladjustment to Life Course Transitions. Advances in Prevention Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26700-0_13
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