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Stigma and Barriers to Care for Mental Health Treatment for Military and Veteran Populations

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Veteran and Military Mental Health

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Abstract

Mental illness has been poorly understood, and can be mystifying for family, friends, and the larger social group. Those who live with a psychiatric condition may find themselves engaging in actions that differentiate them from others, which can make them vulnerable to ostracization from the larger group. When a person’s illness is seen as having little utility for the good of the collective, or worse, as posing a threat, the bearer of the illness may be alienated from the group. This alienation is a threat to the livelihood and survival of the person with illness, and by association, those in their family or social group. Nowhere is the stigma of mental illness more impactful than in the military, where group cohesion is essential for mission accomplishment and survival in combat. The cohesion and camaraderie within military units strengthen their effectiveness in combat and ensure the greatest chance of survival. Threats to the effectiveness, reputation, or survival of the group must be eliminated at all costs. This chapter, offers insights about stigma in both the societal as well as military context, examines stigma from the perspective of the individual as well as the larger group, and explores social determinants of stigma within the military. Finally, this chapter outlines some interventions that may reduce the effects of stigmatization, if not address stigma itself.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Joseph F. Meyer, Maggi A. Budd, Amy Agrawal, Sigmund Hough, Abigail Z. Schein, Mark F. Poster & John C. Bradley

  2. VA Boston Health Care System, Boston, MA, USA

    Joseph F. Meyer, Melissa S. Wattenberg, Katherina A. Kosman, Maggi A. Budd, Martha J. Duffy, Amy Agrawal, Janet S. Richmond, Sigmund Hough, Bruce Meltzer, Abigail Z. Schein, Mark F. Poster & John C. Bradley

  3. Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Melissa S. Wattenberg, Martha J. Duffy, Sigmund Hough & John C. Bradley

  4. Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Janet S. Richmond

  5. McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA

    Janet S. Richmond

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    Christopher H. Warner

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Meyer, J.F. et al. (2023). Stigma and Barriers to Care for Mental Health Treatment for Military and Veteran Populations. In: Warner, C.H., Castro, C.A. (eds) Veteran and Military Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18009-5_4

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