The Impact of Current and Ongoing Military Conflicts on Veterans’ Mental Health

In this presentation we will address how current and ongoing military conflicts are impacting the veteran community, with focus on relevance to mental health treatment. While these conversations can sometimes feel uncomfortable and politically sensitive, it is important to examine these topics in order to build effective clinical relationships and strong therapeutic alliance. This presentation will include clinical observations about how current conflicts are impacting veterans as well as methods for initiating and navigating conversations around these impactful, and often emotionally charged, topics.

Learning Objectives

• Clinicians will understand how current conflicts can interact with existing mental health challenges
• Clinicians will identify several ways of initiating and facilitating conversations about current military actions
• Clinicians will learn methods for supporting veterans in the context of ongoing conflicts
• Clinicians will learn methods for navigating clinical conversations related to politically sensitive topics