Military members must know that moment of intense stress like what is found on the battlefield can damage the mind of even the strongest military member. And that seeking assistance of your mental condition will not harm or ruin your career as it may have in the past (Arthur, Kiley, & MacDermid, 2007). Education alone will not completely dispel the deep-rooted stigma surrounding mental illness in the military. Another aspect of the U.S. military’s campaign to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness is through training. In one form of training senior military leaders tell their story of battling mental illness in web-based training, hoping to show fellow military members the benefits of seeking treatment. This effort also serves to dispel the common view that seeking help has a negative effect on your career (Acosta et al., …show more content…
military is hoping to reduce the stigma of mental illness by changing the way that mental health services are provided. In the past mental health practitioners were located only in specialty clinics. Military members who were simply unable or unwilling to overcome the stigma placed on mental illness were unlikely to visit these types of clinics. These days you will find mental health practitioners located within most primary care clinics bringing their services to their patients rather then the patients going to them. Recent research shows substantial increases in outcomes and lower rates of psychological issues among service members treated by mental health practitioners in the primary care setting. Additionally theses embedded mental health practitioners reported rates of up to 90% for referrals to continued physiological treatment (Arthur, Kiley, & MacDermid,