Right now there are a number of discussions going on various websites about whether or not the military provides adequate mental health care for troops who have been in combat. These discussions have been sparked by yesterday’s shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.
It seems by different polls at CNN, Fox News, etc., that most people do not believe that the military provides adequate mental health care. But the factor which is missing is that you can not make a person get mental health care, and even if they are ordered to mental health treatment that does not guarantee that they will embrace that treatment.
I have worked with court ordered clients and their motivation for therapy varies, but too often they feel it has nothing to do with them. Understand that the military trains young minds to be independent, and army of one. Soldiers learn to stand on their own two feet, and the Department of Defense along with the Department of Veterans Affairs has had a long standing campaign to try and get combat veterans, and active military that have been in combat, to seek mental health treatment. Slogans like “Warriors seek help and treatment when they need it,” and seeking help is the manly thing to do,” have been a part of this campaign.
Given that in the larger American society men go to prison for the same basic reasons that women go to therapy. There are overwhelmingly more females in outpatient therapy here in America then there are males, and there are overwhelmingly more males in prison than there are females.
The conclusion is that men do not readily seek mental health treatment as much as women. This is in the larger American society and the military mirrors a microcosm of that larger society. So I believe that the military does offer good mental health care, but given this incident at Fort Hood soldiers may be even more reluctant to seek treatment when a psychiatrist who had never experienced combat went on a shooting rampage; what does that say, if anything, about mental health professionals in the military? This incident will definitely set back the campaign to try and get combat military to trust a psychiatrist.
I think the larger question is about men and mental health treatment. What do you think?
Men don't seek mental health treatment for the same reasons they don't want to stop and ask for directions. It has to do with the sense of mastery and independence that is culturally inculcated in males, but not in females.
Males are more likely to view therapy as a confirmation that they are 'crazy', while women view it as another tool for helping them get through life.
Having a mental health professional, military or not, go on a shooting spree will definitely set back the acceptance of treatment by military personnel and civilians alike. It will go far to re-enforcing the stereotype that all therapists are themselves in need of therapy.
The fact is that the military population is self-selected for its willingness to be aggressive and belligerent while at the same time being docile and willing to obey a chain of command, putting their faith and trust in the one above them on the ladder hierarchy. This curious combination of aggressive independence and willingness to be unquestioningly obedient to authority and dependent on one another (think 'Band of Brothers') results in a personality that has little or no outlet for its aggression in peacetime, and then no real preparation for the true horrors it will encounter in battle or a war environment. These conflicting personality traits, and the military environment in which the person finds himself, produce the classic scenario of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' conditions guaranteed to make a person crazy.
So the question becomes not why do so many military personnel succumb to mental health issues, but rather why don't MORE of them do so?
Further, you say in the larger American society men go to prison for the same basic reasons that women go to therapy. I don't understand this statement. Men go to prison for acting out their highly aggressive impulses, for wanting instant gratification without being willing to work within the boundaries of society's rules and mores, and for allowing their testosterone to run their minds.
Women go to therapy because they are unhappy and feel their life is not worth living or out of control.
A huge percentage of women in prison for murder are there for killing an abusive spouse, partner, S.O. or parental figure who has been abusing them for years, than for any other type of murder.
But all of this is a side issue to your main question and point about military men seeking treatment for mental/emotional issues.
I think that the reason there are more men imprisoned than women is biological. Likelihood of crimes being committed increases with the level of male hormone.
MartilnMexico, nice synopsis, and I agree that men go to prison for acting out their highly aggressive impulses, but if they went to therapy to try and manage those impulses, like many women do, there might be fewer males in prison.
Women also have testosterone but in lower levels than men. All human being possess both male and female characteristics. Men do have a feminine side but most are too homophobic, or culturally indoctrinated, to explore or develop it. Woman also have a masculine aggressive side; just wait until Christmas shopping time and you will see that aggressiveness, or when a mother’s child is in imminent danger you see that aggressiveness.
MrTSauce, I do not think that men being in prison are purely biological. But I do think that it is due to under-developed biology which is frequently restrained by cultural norms. Peer group pressure not only happens with youth; too many adults are still trying to keep up with the Jones, and that includes manly perceptions.
It's possibly not purely biological,EZ2 , but men who are sexually active have lower male hormone (not only testosterone) levels and are less likely to commit crimes.
Sex hormones are produced in the brain; depression effects the production of sex hormones, as do many other conditions. Generally I agree with what you have said MrTSauce, sex as gentle and sensitive as it may be can also be very aggressive. The courting ritual and flirting are also usually very aggressive.
The other thing that enters my mind is how females biologically mature faster than males, and I might go as far as to say that traditionally females have been allowed a freer emotional expression than males. This contributes to how the sexes have evolved and matured with a process that directly affects the differences in mental health. For a very long time it was considered un-manly for and adult male to cry.
I remember when I was in the US Army (1964 to 1974); I was told that while I was in uniform I was not allowed to push a baby carriage. This was and image that the military wanted, for whatever reasons, to avoid. A soldier in uniform pushing a baby carriage.
"When the scans were completed, neuroscientists consistently found differences between the men's stressed-out brains and the women's. Men responded with increased blood flow to the right prefrontal cortex, responsible for "fight or flight." Women had increased blood flow to the limbic system, which is also associated with a more nurturing and friendly response."
ez2, thank you for pointing out that the shrink had zero,zip,nada combat experience. from my own experience from 1969 to 1971 shrinks were to avoided at all costs. the line of reasoning went something along the lines of "he can't make a living in civilian life so he is here." whether that line of thinking is right or wrong is immaterial as what is perceived as fact is in some strange way a fact. the prohabition on pushing a baby stroller while in uniform was really quite simple as to do so was considered a grave insult to the uniform and this line of thinking never changed until maternity uniforms for women officers starting being issued in the 1980's. again right ot wrong is immaterial. or as we used to say "the navy 200 years of tradition unimpeded by progress."
BarbinBend, thanks for the link; yes males and females are wired differently, and I contribute it to centuries of evolution, or maybe a failure to evolve.
Prisonchef, I understand what you are saying about insulting the uniform but that does say something about the attitudes back then of how the American military uniform can be insulted by a baby carriage.
The baby carriage was associated with weakness; women’s work and all the things that a military person should not be doing. I mean how can a baby carriage be and insult? I’m just playing devils advocate here because I understand the long held values of the military, and I think it is some of these same values which make up military culture that may interfere with troops seeking mental health care.
The thing about it is that people who have been in a traumatic situation, and think that they are strong and don’t need mental health care, usually end up only getting worst. Many Vietnam veterans committed suicide because there was no mental health care available for them. The American counseling community denied the existence of PTSD until about 1980, and there was no treatment for it. Vietnam veterans had to fight to get PTSD recognized as a mental disorder.
Today there are overwhelming numbers of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD, but in a move to save money in the budget, a lot of these troops are not given a PTSD diagnosis; rather they are given a mental health diagnosis that does not require the government to give them comprehensive benefits. To this end I think the military mental health system is failing. Budget cuts are dictating treatment, but once in the VA system most, if not many, veterans do receive superior health care. The biggest problem is at the entry point.
We keep sending people to war only to not take care of them when they come back and the cost of neglect spills over into the larger society in more ways then just monetary.
Years back, I read an excellent book "I don't want to talk about it", on men and mental health. Males tend to internalize far more than women. Probably a cultural thing.
When I was just off the plane from Vietnam ('66), we were screened before being released. Those of us with the "Thousand Yard Stare" were given a quick visit with a Pshrink. Guess they were afraid we would not be able to adjust to the change in surroundings.
I was only 48 hours out of Indian Country when they put me on the plane home, but was more than ready for Home...
