Focusing on the mental health of treatment-seeking veterans

Abstract: Each year around 20 000 members of the UK Armed Forces leave and become veterans, and it has been estimated that there are approximately 4.5 million veterans living in the UK. Data from an ongoing survey of the health of the UK Armed Forces, conducted by King’s College London, suggest that the prevalence rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are relatively low, that common mental health difficulties (CMD) and alcohol misuse are more prevalent, and that these rates have remained approximately consistent between the first two waves of data collection between 2006 and 2010. It should be noted that participants in this study were restricted to those who served within the UK military between 2003 and 2006, and has focused mainly on deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. As such, this may not represent the entire veteran population as the majority of veterans living in the UK left service before 2003. The finding that rates of PTSD have not increased over time is reassuring and in contrast to patterns on escalating prevalence rates of PTSD noted in US veterans with increasing passages of time since their deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. The third wave of this study is due to report this year, and it will inform whether prevalence rates of PTSD have remained consistent given that significant periods of time have now passed since the active operations to Iraq and Afghanistan came to an end. Most individuals have successful careers in the UK Armed Forces and do not experience mental health difficulties. However a small, but significant, number of veterans do appear to be at increased risk of health problems and social exclusion once they leave service. This group of veterans present frequently to mental health services and are an under-researched group. Given this context, the focus of this editorial is on the needs of help-seeking veterans. By better understanding the needs of help-seeking veterans, this should allow for better support packages to be developed.