An infographic that takes a look at aspects of #VeteranMentalHealth that go beyond #PTSD and #TBI. Moral Injury, Meaning and Purpose, Learned Helplessness, and Needs Fulfillment are all discussed.

1. BELOW
THE
SURFACE
OF THE
VETERAN
MENTAL
HEALTH
ICEBERG
To locate a clinical mental health professional with experience in the
unique needs of military service members, veterans, and their
families, go to the Head Space and Timing blog at
www.veteranmentalhealth.com
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO STAY THIS WAY. WORKING WITH A
MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL CAN HELP VETERANS
RESOLVE THESE CONCERNS.
Thanks to greater awareness about Veteran Mental Health, many in
a veteran’s community are aware of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
and Traumatic Brain Injury, the most commonly know mental
health challenges that veterans face
Moral Injury is a description about how a
veteran’s core beliefs about what is right
and wrong with the world has been
changed by their military experiences
However, there are other post-military challenges that veterans
experience that go beyond PTSD and TBI
Many veterans experience a lack of purpose
and meaning in their post-military lives,
compared to the meaningfulness of their
service
Learned Helplessness is the belief that a
veteran cannot change the course of
negative events, that failure is inevitable
and there is no sense in even trying
After leaving the service, veterans have to
learn new ways to meet needs that were
previously satisfied by service,
camaraderie, and self-actualization in the
military
The length and limit of a veteran’s
feelings of helplessness is
predicted by how permanently,
pervasively, and personally they
explain the situation to
themselves (Abramson et al.
1978)
Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnor-
mal Psychology, 87, 49 –74.
Litz, B. T., Stein, N., Delaney, E., Lebowitz, L., Nash, W. P., Silva, C., & Maguen, S. (2009). Moral injury and moral repair in war veterans: A
preliminary model and intervention strategy. Clinical psychology review, 29(8), 695-706.
Southwick, S. M., Gilmartin, R., Mcdonough, P., & Morrissey, P. (2006). Logotherapy as an adjunctive treatment for chronic combat-related
PTSD: A meaning-based intervention. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 60(2), 161.
Moral Injury can be defined as
“Perpetrating, failing to
prevent, bearing witness to, or
learning about acts that
transgress deeply held moral
beliefs and expectations.” (Litz,
et al., 2009)
PTSD
TBI
Many veterans with PTSD live
with profound doubts about the
meaning of a life dominated by
suffering, guilt and death. This
loss of meaning and purpose has
pronounced effects on all areas
of psychosocial functioning.
(Southwick, et al., 2009)
Once a veteran has obtained a
sense of achievement and
mastery in the military, they
then have to pivot to
developing mastery in an
entirely different arena.