Stecker Tracy, Fortney John C, Sherbourne Cathy D
Psychiatric Research Center, Dartmouth Medical School, 85 Mechanic Street, Suite B4-1, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA.
Mil Med. 2011 Jun;176(6):613-9. doi: 10.7205/milmed-d-10-00428.
Previous research has documented a stigma associated with mental health problems that interferes with the decision to seek treatment. This study assesses the feasibility of an intervention designed to increase treatment initiation among veterans reporting mental health problems.
Participants were 27 Operation Iraqi Freedom National Guard soldiers who screened positive for 1 of the following disorders as assessed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview: depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and/or at-risk drinking. An intervention was administered using a cognitive-behavioral model to modify beliefs that may interfere with treatment-seeking behavior. Beliefs and treatment-seeking behavior were assessed post-intervention.
Participants were significantly more likely to report that they intended to seek mental health treatment post-intervention (p < 0.012), suggesting that a cognitive-behavioral model focusing on modifying treatment-interfering beliefs holds promise for increasing mental health treatment-seeking among returning Veterans in need.
Given the high rates of mental health symptoms post-deployment and the low likelihood of treatment-seeking among Veterans, interventions designed to increase treatment-initiation such as those explored in this article are critically needed.
先前的研究记录了与心理健康问题相关的耻辱感，这种耻辱感会干扰寻求治疗的决定。本研究评估了一项旨在增加报告有心理健康问题的退伍军人开始治疗的干预措施的可行性。
参与者为27名伊拉克自由行动国民警卫队士兵，通过迷你国际神经精神病学访谈评估，他们被筛查出患有以下疾病之一呈阳性：抑郁症、创伤后应激障碍、广泛性焦虑症、恐慌症和/或高危饮酒。采用认知行为模型进行干预，以改变可能干扰寻求治疗行为的信念。干预后评估信念和寻求治疗行为。
参与者在干预后更有可能报告他们打算寻求心理健康治疗（p < 0.012），这表明专注于改变干扰治疗信念的认知行为模型有望增加有需要的退伍军人寻求心理健康治疗的比例。
鉴于退伍军人部署后心理健康症状的高发生率以及寻求治疗的低可能性，迫切需要像本文所探讨的那些旨在增加开始治疗的干预措施。
