Do Military Uniform and Rank Impact on the Therapeutic Relationship Between Military Mental Health Clients and Clinicians?

Abstract: To measure the perceptions of military staff of the impact of wearing military uniform on the therapeutic relationship with mental health clients. A brief questionnaire was distributed to all military clinicians in Departments of Community Mental Health to measure their attitudes. There was a 67.9% (n=70) response rate regarding the impact of uniform on the therapeutic relationship. 20% of responses were positive, 31% negative, 37% mixed and 12% gave no answer. There was no clear pre-existing literature on this issue. Overall, the wearing of uniform appeared to be perceived positively positive. There is a need to assess clients’ points of view in future studies.