Summer Fish
February 22, 2019
Milestone 1
Ultimately, the problem involving veterans suffering from PTSD is significant to the
contemporary population. Noting the existence of challenges associated with serving the country
at war, the government provides medical services to veterans, among which include treatment for
mental health issues. PTSD qualifies under the mental health issues, but it would be important to
note that one ought to have met the prerequisite qualifications for him or her to receive care
under the veteran affairs medical cover (APHA, 2014). Notably, while this guarantees that only
those that have served the country receive the necessary care and ensures that the resources are
appropriately used to meet the needs of the deserving populations, some of the conditions leave
some veterans without the care necessary, primarily due to their inability to meet the minimum
qualifications. Although some health services and counseling is available, many veterans face
stigma from other servicemen, friends, family or even themselves. PTSD is a serious disorder
that can attribute to mental illness, anxiety, domestic violence, alcohol or drug abuse, self-harm,
inability to work, and suicide.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the most important sources of information
related to cases of challenges experienced by veterans. In particular, statistics collected by the
department indicated that at least 11-20 in every 100 veterans suffered from Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the two most recent milady operations (DVA, n.d.). Notably,
different soldiers experienced significant stress in their war environments, which was further
exacerbated by the combat situation in the frontline. Coming back to the country to find that they
would not receive help to facilitate ease of transition into the home environment provided further
challenges to the soldiers, in effect making the situations worse. According to the American
Public Health Association (2014), 56% to 87% of service members who are showing signs of
distress do not seek or receive treatment.
References
American Public Health Association (2014, November 18). Removing barriers to mental health
services for veterans. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/policies-andadvocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2015/01/28/14/51/removingbarriers-to-mental-health-services-for-veterans
U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (n.d). How Common is PTSD in Veterans. Retrieved from
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_veterans.asp
Running head: PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ACTION PLAN
Psychological Theories and Perspectives for Action Plan
Name
Institution
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PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ACTION PLAN
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Psychological Theories and Perspectives for Action Plan
1
A psychological perspective that is related to the struggles of veterans with PTSD is the
socio-cultural perspective (Vogt, Fox, & Di Leone, 2014). It is one that can help over the stigma
of mental illness in the home and workplace by the patients to build strong connections with their
colleagues and loved ones.
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Social Exclusion theory is a theoretical framework that consists of principles that can be
used to understand the impacts of stigmatization on military veterans diagnosed with PTSD
(Vogt et al., 2014). The theory examines the potential behavioral tendencies of these veterans
after deployment, which could result in the isolated feelings that exacerbate their PTSD
symptoms and reoccurrence of some of the traumatic experiences that occurred during combat.
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The concept of belongingness is a psychological one that is related to the stigma-related
issues those military veterans with PTSD faces and one that has limited their ability to seek help
for the mental condition (Kuleza, Pedersen, & Marshall, 2015). Also, this concept is useful for
determining the factors that serve as barriers to treatment since the combat military personnel are
trained to maintain a strong bond with members of their units and use the relationship to ensure
the successful completion of the mission.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ACTION PLAN
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The relevant APA Ethics Code that requires the most significant consideration when
dealing with veterans who are struggling with PTSD and its associated stigma is informed
consent for research. It is the standard that is required to ensure that the findings from the
therapeutic relationship are valid and reliable. Also, it is critical to consider the ethics code of
confidentiality when addressing the issues of PTSD among this patient population since it is
essential for protecting the identity of the veterans, increasing their potential to seek help, and
educating the public on the adverse effects of stigmatizing mental health patients.
Plan Support
Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory is a relevant framework for addressing some of the
stigma-related factors that contribute to the issues faced by veterans diagnosed with PTSD. The
social interaction principle of the theory includes the focus on the involvement of patients in
their communities and with family members can provide the insights that are required for
eliminating the barriers that are created through stigmatization. Also, the social exclusion theory
can be used to understand the situational variables that could influence their behaviors of the
veterans who are struggling with the stigma of PTSD, especially those that occur at the
interpersonal levels and could lead to the aggressive practice that contributes to the feeling of
isolation (Vogts et al., 2014). Finally, this theoretical perspective is relevant for identifying some
of the cognitive biases including the fundamental attribution error and the actor-observer bias
that make the post-deployment integration of veterans difficult. Therefore, these psychological
theories can be used to develop the therapeutic approaches that are based on the socio-cultural
factors that result in the problems.
The principles of the socio-cultural theory can be applied to the efforts of dealing with
the stigmatization problems that veteran with PTSD experiences through the education of the
PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ACTION PLAN
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families and colleagues of the patients on the symptoms of the mental disorder. According to
Kuleza et al. (2015), some of the problems that these patients are facing are cultural, which
results in perceptions that isolate or exclude them from the groups that they are trained to
support. When this assertion is placed in the context of the problem, then the incorporation of a
spouse into the therapeutic sessions after the education on the misconceptions on PTSD is an
appropriate intervention for removing the stigmas that are experienced by the patients during
their social interactions. Also, the findings from the study on perception and its role in the
development of stigma among military veterans showed that use of the concepts and ideas from
the social exclusion theory can be help in the development of schemes that would recreate the
support and togetherness that these veterans enjoyed during their missions and are trained to
promote throughout their lives.
Meanwhile, the behavioral perspective is another area of psychology that can be used to
approach some of the issues that veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD. As a field of
psychology that considers the consequences of the observable and over behaviors that are
learned from the individual's environment, it can provide measures that can be used for the
modification of the perceptions that result in the stigma and unwillingness of veterans to seek
help for their conditions. Also, the perspective of cognitive psychologists on the role of the
internal mental states of patients in the development of their behavior and actions can be used to
deal with the negative effects of stigma against military veterans with PTSD (Vogts et al., 2014).
Therefore, the focus on the scientific approaches for improving the cognition of people can help
in the education of the patients' families and their colleagues in the military and reduce the
perceptions that lead to the prejudices and discriminatory practices against the veterans who are
suffering from mental disorders.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ACTION PLAN
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Finally, one of the ethical implications that should be considered is the need to modify
the code of conduct that is used by the military to deal with the bias and prejudice against
veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD. Also, the need to maintain the confidentiality and
privacy of the participants is a consideration for all researchers that conduct studies that include
human subjects since failure to do so could result in the violation of the APA Ethics Code. A
final aspect of consideration is the understanding of the patients, their families, and friends on
the importance of the informed consent form and how their rights to discontinue the intervention
at any period of the study. Therefore, the families would need to be informed on their obligations
to protect the information given to them during their participation in the therapeutic sessions,
which is necessary for meeting the ethical standards that are related to the different aspects of the
action plan.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ACTION PLAN
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References
Kulesza, M., Pedersen, E. R., Corrigan, P. W., & Marshall, G. N. (2015). Help-seeking stigma
and mental health treatment seeking among young adult veterans. Military behavioral
health, 3(4), 230-239.
Vogt, D., Fox, A. B., & Di Leone, B. A. (2014). Mental health beliefs and their relationship with
treatment seeking among US OEF/OIF veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27(3), 307313.
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