Military Culture for Non-military Therapists

Dr. Kate McGrawPsychological Health Clinical Standards of Care Deputy Director

Angela HalvorsonHealthcare Solutions Division of Advocates for Human Potential

Senior Program Associate

July 17, 2012

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“Anything may happen when womanhood has ceased to be a protected occupation.”

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

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Overview

Context: Women in military history

Military culture

Impact of culture on military female

Scenarios

Discussion/Questions

Overview

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History:

1948: Women’s Armed Services Integration Act 1951: Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the

Services 1967: Two percent cap females in service, one line

Colonel per Service limits removed by Public Law 90-130 1972: Reserve Officer Training Corps admits females 1973: Flight training open to females in the Navy and

Army, and in 1976, the Air Force 1974: Defense Department (DoD) rescinded separation

of pregnant females 1976: Military academies admitted females

Women in Military History

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1977: First Air Force Titan missile female crew members 1978: Army Women’s Air Corps abolished, Public Law

95-485 1978: First Navy females reported for sea duty 1980: First DoD sexual harassment policy issued 1985: First female ICBM Minuteman/Peacekeeper

missile crews assigned 1988: First male/female ICBM missile crews authorized 1989: Females served in Operation Just Cause 1990: 90,000 females participate in Operation Desert

Storm/ Desert Shield; two POWs and five died in action 1992: Combat aircraft and ships open to females

Women in Military History

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2008: First DoD four star General: Dunwoody 2011: Females permitted to serve on submarines 2012: Since 2001, about 280,000 women have deployed to

Iraq and Afghanistan; 144 have been killed, and 865 have been wounded

2012: First Air Force female four star general nominated: Janet Wolfenbarger

2012: DoD lifts restrictions on over 14,000 front line positions to females

Women in Military History

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Mental Health Task Force (2007)

The needs of women service members and veterans should remain a focus of high-level planning groups in DoD (with all military services represented) and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The DoD Psychological Health Strategic Plan should include specific attention to the psychological health needs of women. The annual report on the “Status of Female Members of the Armed Forces” should include information about the adequacy of support for psychological health of women.

DoD should develop treatment programs specifically geared toward the psychological health needs of female service members.

Collaborative Strategies

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2010 VA/DoD Integrated Mental Health Strategies

Strategic Action #28: Gender; Military Sexual Trauma

Use information from research and the evaluation of clinical and administrative data to explore gender differences in the delivery and effectiveness of mental health services. Use findings to improve the accessibility and quality of care, develop strategies for overcoming health care disparities and barriers to care, and to identify the need for further research.

To support mental health services and research for female service members and veterans, and for those who have experienced military sexual trauma (both men and women) to ensure ongoing surveillance, program evaluation and research, and to identify disparities, specific needs and opportunities for improving both treatment and preventive services.

Collaborative Strategies

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Reality of military family lifeRule bound culture: Uniformed Code Military Justice (UCMJ)Family impacts careerLiving on installationFrequent movesFrequent, prolonged deployments/TDY

Military Culture

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Unusual work hours/schedules Fish bowl effect Strong social support Travel and exposure to diversity Steady employment Honor and patriotism Role and responsibility of commander

Military Culture

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Hochschild (1983) Emotions system theory:

Emotion management/work, suppression, and evocation Feeling rules and affective culture: often at odds with individual

experience

Schein (1987) Organizational culture:

Basic assumptions: unseen, commonly held beliefs Values: conscious or espoused beliefs commonly held Artifacts/creations: Visible manifestations of belief system (ie

uniforms, etc.)

Impact of Culture on Military Female

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Duty, honor, country: combat and the masculine warrior image

Comprised mostly of men, shaped by men Celebration of masculine at the expense of feminine Affective neutrality: gender perception differs

Impact of Culture on Military Female

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Bean-Mayberry et al. (2010) Military females are more likely to experience mental health issues

compared to their military male counterparts

Military females are more likely to experience sexual assault or sexual trauma than military males

True prevalence unknown due to research and survey construct differences

Estimated between 3 and 50% of all military females have reported being victims, however, this number varies based on defined construct

Number of male victims underestimated because of stigma, reported events range from 1.5 to 38%

Impact of Culture on Military Female

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Pryor (1993) Perception of a commanding officer’s (CO) attitude toward sexual

harassment was related to the prevalence of reported sexual harassment among military females

Prevalence higher in the group of females who reported a CO who encouraged sexual harassment than in the group of females who reported a CO who was neutral/indifferent to sexual harassment

Prevalence of sexual harassment higher in the group of females with CO who was neutral/indifferent to sexual harassment, than the group with CO who discouraged sexual harassment

Impact of Culture on Military Female

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Rosen & Martin (1998) Relationship between negative attitudes toward females and

tolerance of sexual harassment

Ilies (2003) Meta-analysis of empirical literature on sexual harassment and

workplace Government, private sector, academic and military Meta-analysis Military environment: high power differential across organizational

levels Environment with a putatively higher power differential (military

environment): highest rates of sexual harassment No connection higher power differential and hyper-masculinity

Impact of Culture on Military Females

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One of you is the Secretary of Defense. The rest of you are the subject matter experts advising the Secretary on this matter:

What would you change about the military culture to improve it for females?

What would you keep the same? How would you implement these changes? What do you see as your biggest obstacle to success

in implementing these changes?

Scenario One

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You are the CEO or president of the current organization that you work for. You’d like to make a change in your culture to empower all minorities, including women, to be successful in your culture.

What are the biggest cultural barriers in you organization?

What changes do you need to make? How would you being the transformation?

Scenario Two

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"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."

Janis Joplin

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OverviewContext: Women in military historyMilitary cultureImpact of culture on military femaleScenariosDiscussion/Questions

Summary

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Discussion and Questions

Military Culture for Non-military Therapists

Dr. Kate McGrawPsychological Health Clinical Standards of Care Deputy Director

Angela HalvorsonHealthcare Solutions Division of Advocates for Human Potential

Senior Program Associate

July 17, 2012