Military psychology
Military psychology is a specialized field of psychology that focuses on the mental health and well-being of military personnel and their families. Its primary aim is to assist soldiers in coping with the stresses of warfare and to support their loved ones during deployments. The field encompasses various specialties, including clinical psychology, where practitioners diagnose and treat mental health disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which has been recognized since the Civil War era. Historically, military psychology has evolved from understanding conditions like "soldier's heart" and "shellshock" to a more nuanced recognition of the psychological impacts of combat.
To become a military psychologist, individuals typically undergo extensive training similar to that of civilian psychologists, including obtaining a doctorate in psychology and completing an internship. Active-duty military psychologists may deploy with soldiers, conducting evaluations to align personnel traits with military roles and providing mental health support in various settings, including hospitals and research institutes. Through methods such as talk therapy and exposure therapy, military psychologists help individuals process traumatic experiences and manage anxiety. Overall, military psychology plays a crucial role in optimizing soldier performance and promoting mental health within the military community.
Military psychology
Military psychology is the practice of psychology, or the study of the human mind and the behaviors it causes, in military settings. The overall purpose of military psychology is to assist soldiers in bearing the stresses of warfare while helping their families and loved ones maintain their own mental health while separated from the soldiers.
Military psychology is a broad professional field and encompasses many areas of speciality. Some psychologists operate with active militaries in the field to identify mental traits that are present in the best soldiers. Other psychologists evaluate the mental states of enlisted people to see whether they possess these traits. Still other psychologists work in clinical settings, where they diagnose and treat mental disorders that military members have developed during or after combat. As in the civilian world, psychology in the military is intended to help people overcome debilitating psychological conditions and live to their fullest potential.
Background
Military psychology developed in the relatively modern era of the late nineteenth century. In the United States, physicians started to investigate the psychological conditions that soldiers developed in combat during the Civil War (1861–1865). Doctors initially believed soldiers who exhibited unusual symptoms after fighting in war were suffering from physical injury. The doctors diagnosed such individuals with a condition known as soldier's heart, the symptoms of which included rapid heart rate, breathing problems, and anxiety.
Around the same time in Europe, doctors examined the effects of violent railroad accidents on passengers' mental states. People who survived train wrecks often complained of symptoms such as fear and anxiety afterward. More advanced medicine later identified these mental conditions as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by nervousness, fear, hypervigilance, irritability, flashbacks, and depression in people who have experienced traumatic events.
This condition was known as shellshock in Europe and the United States during and after World War I (1914–1918). The word shellshock described the medical symptoms of panic, fear, and sleep disorders that soldiers exhibited after being near the explosions of artillery shells. Medical professionals abandoned the artillery shell theory after observing soldiers who had not been near the explosions display the symptoms. Lack of knowledge of the psychological effects of war on soldiers made shellshock treatment mostly ineffective. Treatments often involved only a few days of rest before soldiers returned to battle.
The same psychological symptoms were known collectively as battle fatigue or combat stress reactions during World War II (1939–1945). Many American soldiers were discharged from duty during the war due to battle fatigue. Medical professionals encouraged soldiers to cultivate relationships with others in their units to prevent the onset of anxiety and other battle fatigue symptoms.
In 1980 the American Psychological Association (APA) included PTSD in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III (DSM-III). The APA had arrived at the diagnosis from researching Vietnam War soldiers, Holocaust survivors, and others who had undergone traumatic experiences.
Military psychology continued to modernize into the twenty-first century. By this time, militaries and medical communities had become more aware of the psychological effects of war on soldiers and their families.
Overview
Becoming a military psychologist involves most of the same training that civilian psychologists must undergo to practice psychology. In the United States, acquiring a doctorate degree in psychology usually requires between four and six years of study following the completion of a four-year undergraduate degree. Graduate programs educate psychology students in a variety of areas, including the bases of human behavior, the personal differences among individuals, and the ethics of treating patients. At the end of their classroom training, graduate students participate in a year-long internship and then must take several exams to become licensed psychologists in their state.
Military psychologists who wish to work among active-duty soldiers must then join their preferred military branch and undergo basic training. While active-duty military psychologists are not exposed to the same dangers that other soldiers may face, they may deploy to active warzones with their units. Psychologists serving with active soldiers may, among other responsibilities, evaluate individuals in their unit to determine how certain personality traits align with the duties of certain posts in the military.
The information these psychologists collect is shared with other military psychologists, who use it to evaluate the mental strength of individuals who are considering enlisting in the armed services. These evaluations indicate to psychologists whether the enlistees will be able to manage the psychological stresses of serving in the military. Military officers also use the evaluations to determine the most appropriate positions to assign to new recruits.
Military psychologists also work in clinical environments, counseling active or former members of the military who suffer from mental disorders such as PTSD or depression. Psychologists generally treat PTSD through a combination of talk therapy, exposure therapy, and medication. Talk therapy involves having individuals recount the experiences that traumatized them. Psychologists then teach the individuals how to accept and move on from the experience. Exposure therapy requires individuals to experience places or situations that remind them of their trauma. The exposure is intended to help people break their mental associations with the traumatic event. Finally, medications can help people with PTSD and other mental disorders relax and feel less anxious as they recall their traumatic memories. Military psychologists may provide similar services to soldiers' family members, who might have become distressed while their loved ones were deployed on active duty.
Military psychologists may work in a variety of other settings, too. These include hospitals (both civilian and military), medical centers, research centers, schools, military training schools and bases, and military administration offices, such as the Pentagon building in Virginia, which is the headquarters of the US Department of Defense. The Defense Department, and the individual military branches it oversees, employs psychologists and other kinds of researchers to study how human psychology factors into warfare.
For instance, the US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences uses military psychology to identify the needs of soldiers. The army can then respond to these needs appropriately to refine its organization and ultimately optimize soldiers' performance.
Bibliography
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