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FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Although it has not been heavily publicized, the 3rd Infantry Division has been working hand in hand with researchers from Clemson University for a number of years now in order to facilitate a study funded by a grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
The grant’s purpose: to improve the health of the force by reducing the stigma associated with seeking behavioral health treatment.
Thomas W. Britt, a psychology professor with Clemson University, and the principal investigator for the study, explained how his department took on this endeavor in 2010, and has been conducting research and formulating a plan to achieve these goals ever since.
“Basically, the grant was a multi-year project to do a number of studies which culminated in this training [we developed and are evaluating now],” Britt explained.
Even though many have probably seen campaigns by senior Army leadership trying to change these stigmas, Clemson’s initial research pointed towards some other method being necessary to affect a change within the ranks.
“The focus groups showed us that the stigma is still alive and well at the smallest unit level,” said Britt.
After years of research with the help of Soldiers from the 3rd ID, the team at Clemson put together a two to three hour training block based on discussion and video presentations.
Three months ago the researchers came to Fort Stewart and worked closely with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team “Raiders.” They first identified more than 60 squads from across two of the battalions within the Raider Brigade. Then they randomly assigned half the squads to receive the training and half not to as a control.
Both groups started first by taking an in-depth survey in order to assess each individuals knowledge base on the subject of seeking behavioral health treatment. The survey was also designed to assess the Soldiers attitudes toward seeking help and toward those that sought help.
After that the 30 Squads earmarked for further participation were administered the training.
“The training was designed to improve the unit climate supporting Soldiers who need mental health treatment,” Britt explained.
Training was developed to teach the squad members how to better support a buddy who needs to get behavioral health treatment. There was also separate training for the squad leaders that focused on their role in setting the climate within the unit and maintaining a positive attitude towards those that seek treatment and supporting them in these endeavors.
Britt went on to explain how the main goal of the training was a simple one. It was to get first-line supervisors and Soldiers to ask themselves: ‘How can I be a facilitator and not be an obstacle?’
After the training an abbreviated form of the survey the Soldiers had taken previously was administered in order to see if the training had the desired affects.
“One positive thing we’ve already ascertained is that their immediate post-training surveys showed that their mental health knowledge improved pretty significantly,” said Britt. “We also found that negative attitudes towards getting treatment decreased, especially stigma associated with harm to your career.”
Now that three to four months has passed since originally administering the training, the team from Clemson is back at Fort Stewart administering similar surveys again to the same Soldiers in order to see what, if any, are the long term effects of the study.
The hope is that the study’s findings provide empirical support that the training does change attitudes and reduces stigma surrounding behavioral health treatment and in turn this training can be implemented more broadly the U.S. Army, explained Britt.
While the findings of the study and training model so far are very promising, all the results are not yet in, and it is still too early to predict if or when the Clemson-designed training will be implemented.
| Date Taken: | 02.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.17.2015 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 154652 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 746 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Reducing stigma associated with behavioral health treatment, by SSG Richard Wrigley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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