Counseling for the military
Lorenzo Antichi, Marco Giannini, Yura Loscalzo
This narrative review aims to illustrate the types of counseling present in scientific literature applicable to soldiers and to their families, with particular reference to clinical counseling, career counseling and family counseling. The fact that clinical counseling can be an essential tool for preventing psychological disorders in the military and their families is highlighted. Career counseling, instead, aims to facilitate the soldier’s reintegration into the work force once retirement from the army has taken place and to modify any dysfunctional thoughts. Family counseling is a tool used to support the family in reintegrating the soldier into the family unit. Finally, we present sandplay therapy as a treatment for soldiers with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sandplay therapy, as an effective intervention in trauma processing, represents indeed a treatment possibility for soldiers who need to process traumatic aspects. However, few studies in literature have evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions for military personnel. Hence, more research is needed to demonstrate its effectiveness in the military population. Additionally, it is critical to implement interventions to reduce the stigma associated with seeking help from mental health specialists.
Keywords
Career counseling, Clinical counseling, Family counseling, Military counseling, Military health, Military psychology, Sandplay therapy, Stigma.
