Introduction to the special section: Research on psychological issues and interventions for military personnel, veterans, and their families.

In December 2014, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice published a special issue with some of the most recent research addressing the unique psychological issues, challenges, and variety of interventions for assessment and treatment of military personnel, veterans, and their families and friends. In this issue, we follow with four additional articles addressing treatment interventions with military personnel and veterans, including one that addresses competent care with lesbian, gay, and bisexual military personnel. The first article by McDevitt-Murphy, Murphy, Williams, Monahan, and Bracken-Minor (2015) addresses the public health issue of hazardous drinking among U.S. military combat veterans. Given that recent combat veterans are difficult to engage in specialty mental health and substance abuse care, the authors advocate for opportunistic interventions administered in primary care settings that are more frequently utilized by recent combat veterans. This paper describes a brief (single-session) intervention to reduce hazardous drinking and to enhance coping for veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn (OEF/OIF/ OND). The intervention consists of a counseling session delivered in a Motivational Interviewing style using a packet of personalized feedback about alcohol misuse, symptoms of PTSD and depression, as well as coping skills. The next two articles address innovations in the treatment of veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Hamblen et al.’s (2015) article examined the adoption of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense. Using data from qualitative interviews with a nationally representative sample of 38 directors of specialized posttraumatic stress disorder outpatient programs in VA medical centers, this study addressed the implementation of two EBTs. Results showed that EBTs, specifically Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy, were provided in many programs. They concluded that holding preparatory groups help to make these treatments more effective by improving readiness for trauma-focused EBTs, through helping veterans to make informed decisions about their treatment plans, by improving coping skills and symptom management, and by decreasing the likelihood of no-shows for scheduled EBTs. The next article by Ohye and colleagues (2015) describes the Three Generation family systems health care model developed at the Home Base Program, a partnership between the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital designed to improve treatment engagement of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related conditions, and to provide care to the entire military-connected family. They describe a model that addresses three interdependent facets of the PTSD-affected family system: (a) the multiple attachment relationships that are often strained; (b) the veteran’s family roles, which may be impaired; and (c) the multiple pathways for treatment engagement and amelioration of the veteran’s PTSD-related distress and behaviors within the family system. The article uses three cases to illustrate the Three Generation Model’s clinical application, how it can address unmet needs, and its ability to overcome barriers to health care for military families.