Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
8-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Social Work
Degree Name
Master of Science
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Malcolm Scott
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Alan Lipps
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Bernadette Bibiloni
Abstract
Due to varying service experiences, active-duty service members endure military related stressors in addition to everyday life stressors. As a result, their risk of mental illness onset increases. Considering that many of the stressors and events are unique to military personnel, it is important to identify best-practice interventions for working with this population opposed to employing civilian best practices. The purpose of this study was to determine what treatment interventions are best-practice when working with active-duty military members diagnosed with the three most common mental disorders (e.g., adjustment disorder, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders) across the Department of Defense (DoD). This study employed a narrative systematic review methodology. Selected studies were assessed by the Quality of Study Rating Form (QSRF). Based on the QSRF and the findings of the selected research, this study draws conclusions pertaining to what are or may be considered best-practice interventions for the treatment of the diagnoses under study. Ultimately, after searching through multiple databases with varying search term combinations and with the assistance of an experienced published researcher Dr. Alan Lipps, zero eligible studies were identified. This finding implies that no researchers have conducted a treatment focused study with active-duty military members diagnosed with any of the DoD’s three most prevalent mental illnesses in the last eleven years. This finding is highly troubling and potentially problematic for the military mental health system. Mental health professionals should turn their attention to the active-duty population and conduct treatment focused literature on these prevalent disorders to better serve the mental health needs of active-duty service members.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Lawson, Leah, "Treating Active-Duty Military Members: Best Practices for Common Mental Health Diagnoses Across the DoD" (2022). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 499.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/499