Mental Health and Resilience: Soldiers' Perceptions about Psychotherapy, Medications, and Barriers to Care in the United States Military.

摘要

Research has reported perceived barriers to care in military populations, but there have not been any studies to date that demonstrate the degree to which subjective barriers translate into lack of utilization. Moreover, studies of mental health service utilization have not examined patient beliefs and perceptions, instead focusing on characteristics such as race, gender, and socio-demographic variables. To our knowledge there have not been any systematic investigations into what soldiers believe about mental health treatment. Results from this study will provide the mental health community with valuable information about 1) Barriers to receiving mental health care in symptomatic individuals; 2) The effects those barriers have on health care utilization; 3) Beliefs about mental health and treatment preferences that can inform education and treatment planning efforts; 4) Factors associated with psychological resilience and how those factors affect healthcare utilization. We collected survey data from 550 participants at Fort Drum. Barriers to care, specifically negative beliefs about psychotherapy, were found to contribute to decreased healthcare utilization, especially in Service Members with severe PTSD sypmtoms. This has potential relevance to promote educational materials that directly address these beliefs. It also suggests that treatment may be modified to include interventions specifically addressing negative beliefs and ruptures in therapuetic alliance, which could account for early termination.