Exploring UK Armed Forces Combat Veteran and Healthcare Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Current and Emerging Treatments for PTSD

PTSD remains a significant yet under‑recognised issue among UK Armed Forces veterans, many of whom delay seeking support due to the cultural norms of military identity, expectations of strength, and fears of stigma or career consequences. These barriers persist into civilian life, where veterans often face identity loss, isolation, and limited awareness of available services. Conventional treatments—such as CBT, EMDR and pharmacotherapy—are widely offered, yet many veterans report limited effectiveness, poor continuity of care, and a lack of cultural understanding within services. As a result, help‑seeking frequently occurs only at crisis point. This study seeks to address these gaps by exploring combat veterans’ lived experiences of seeking support , identifying barriers to engagement, and understanding attitudes towards both established and emerging treatment options.

This study aims to explore how UK Armed Forces veterans understand and experience PTSD, focusing on the cultural, psychological and systemic factors that shape help‑seeking and engagement with treatment. It seeks to identify barriers within both military and civilian healthcare pathways, including stigma, identity, continuity of care and service accessibility. The research also aims to examine veterans’ perceptions of treatment effectiveness across conventional therapies and to understand their attitudes toward emerging approaches such as psychedelic‑assisted psychotherapy. Ultimately, the study aims to generate insights that can inform more effective, culturally competent, and veteran‑centred mental health support.

This qualitative study used semi‑structured interviews to explore UK Armed Forces veterans’ experiences of PTSD, help‑seeking and treatment. Purposive and snowball sampling recruited veterans with a PTSD diagnosis and recent engagement with support services. Interviews were conducted in person or via Microsoft Teams, lasting up to one hour, and were audio‑recorded, transcribed verbatim and anonymised. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six‑phase thematic analysis framework, combining inductive coding with deductive mapping against the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability.

Primary Research Question 1. How do UK Armed Forces veterans experience, understand, and navigate PTSD and its treatment across military and civilian settings? Secondary Research Questions 2. What cultural and identity‑based factors influence veterans’ willingness to acknowledge PTSD and seek help? 3. What systemic, organisational, and practical barriers affect veterans’ engagement with conventional PTSD treatments such as CBT, EMDR, and medication? 4. What facilitators support positive engagement with mental health care, including peer support, cultural competence, and continuity of care? 5. How do veterans perceive the acceptability, relevance, and potential value of emerging treatments such as psychedelic‑assisted psychotherapy? 6. What improvements do veterans believe are needed to create more effective, accessible, and veteran‑centred PTSD support pathways?

The study involved 14 combat veterans who have served in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. Participants were individuals with a confirmed PTSD diagnosis who had engaged with at least one PTSD‑related treatment within the previous 12 months.