Barriers to Veteran employment as police officers: The PTSD diagnosis bias

Abstract:Combat veterans are highly qualified to fill critical shortages of police officers across the US, but the prevalence of PTSD among this population is a barrier to employment. PTSD is viewed as a condition that, even when treated, automatically excludes otherwise highly qualified candidates from consideration. Both combat veterans and police officers underreport their mental health symptoms due to realistic concerns of career derailment and unemployment. Besides geographical challenges, combat veterans face barriers to mental health treatment due to long waiting lists, lack of qualified medical personnel, and the stigma of mental health treatment. A meta-analysis of the Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) as a surgical adjunct treatment for PTSD among populations of combat veterans is updated. Stage 3 trials of MDMA pharmacological adjuncts to empirically based therapeutic interventions for PTSD among the same population is examined. Recent discoveries regarding neurological anomalies in the brain of those with PTSD are analyzed. A combination of adjunct treatments, recent pharmacological research and therapeutic interventions are showing promise for PTSD as a condition that can be recovered from, rather than a chronic condition that needs management. Recommendations for research include further neurological studies to show efficacy of treatment and remission among the SGB and MDMA adjuncts and the established therapeutic interventions. Implications for practice benefit both combat veterans seeking employment as police officers and normalizing future mental health interventions for police officers and public safety personnel impacted by trauma.