The mental health and treatment needs of UK ex-military personnel: Full report

Summary: While most military personnel cope well with the challenges of serving in the Armed Forces and successfully adapt to civilian life after they leave, for some, certain experiences which may be specifically related to service can have a negative impact on their mental health. Ensuring that veterans are no worse off than non-veterans, and that there are effective services available to them, is not only a UK government priority [1] but also a social and legal obligation enshrined in the Armed Forces Covenant [2]. The purpose of this research project has been to understand the mental health needs of UK veterans who served during recent military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the suitability of existing services for common mental health problems, to determine whether or not veterans could be at a disadvantage because of their military service. Two studies were conducted; an assessment of how prevalent and severe common mental health and alcohol problems are in a specific subset of veterans and how they compare to non-veterans of the same age and gender and an examination of the mental health of veterans seeking treatment for mental health problems via the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) initiative, and whether they respond to such treatment differently from non-veterans.