The Together Webinar Programme For Military Partners

Military partners are at risk of mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety and secondary traumatization. However, many partners face a range of barriers in accessing psychological support. As such, there remains a need to investigate how to make support for military partners more accessible.

The present study was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating the effectiveness of The Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar) in reducing psychological distress and secondary trauma symptoms and improving quality of life among partners of veterans with PTSD and other mental health difficulties. The pilot RCT compared the TTP-Webinar intervention to a waitlist condition. The primary aim was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of offering web-based support to military partners and to investigate the efficacy of the remote-access support.

It was hypothesized that, compared to the waitlist condition, the TTP-Webinar would result in significant reductions in psychological distress and secondary symptoms, and improvements in overall quality of life.

Evidence has found that living alongside a veteran suffering from mental health difficulties can have an adverse outcome on relationships and the health of family members. Military partners, in particular, have been highlighted as a high-risk group for developing mental health difficulties due to their close relationship with the veteran, exposure to adverse details of the veteran's military experiences and, in some cases, need to take on a caregiving role. Investigation of the impact on military partners suggests that they are an increased risk of depression, anxiety, alcohol use difficulties, as well as symptoms of secondary traumatization.

Despite an interest and need for mental health support among military partners, many face a range of barriers that prevent accessing and engaging in support. Such barriers include stigma around help seeking behaviors, difficulties in travelling to support venues, and work or childcare responsibilities that may limit their availability to engage with support. As such, there remains a need to make mental health support for military partners more accessible.

The Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar) is a six-week online intervention developed to increase the accessibility of mental health support for military partners. TTP-Webinar was adapted from a five-week community-based TTP programme that was piloted across nine UK locations. Despite the community-based TTP programme demonstrating promising effects on mental health difficulties among military partners, the pilot revealed that many partners were unable to engage with support because of issues traveling to and from community centres around balancing other commitments.

The present study was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at investigating the utility of TTP-Webinar as an online intervention to increase the accessibility of support. 60 partners of veterans with PTSD and other mental health difficulties were randomised to either the TTP-Webinar intervention (n = 30) or waitlist condition (n = 30). Measures of general psychological distress, secondary trauma symptoms and quality of life were administered at baseline, end of treatment, and one-month follow-up.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Be over the age of 18
* Live in the UK
* Currently be in relationship with a veteran
* Provide written consent

Exclusion Criteria:

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