Episode 3, Season 6: Look Beyond the Obvious! Exploring the Complexity of Military Culture, Identity and Mental Health
In this episode we have the honor of sitting down with Australian researcher, Ms. Carolyn Heward, lead author of “A Scoping Review of Military Culture, Military Identity, and Mental Health Outcomes in Military Personnel”. Listen in as we discuss the complexity of military culture's impact on military identity and its effect on mental health.
We’ll dig into the Military Identity Model (MIM) and types of identities such as loyal, warrior, hidden and disrupted. But most importantly we’ll consider the clinical benefits of including military identity into case formulation, treatment planning and EBP work. As Heward says “identity work is clinical work” and we couldn’t agree more.
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Show Notes:
Carolyn Heward is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, where she teaches in the Master of Psychology (Clinical) program while conducting research on military identity construction and its implications for psychological wellbeing. As a Clinical Psychologist with extensive experience working with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), she brings valuable insights to the intersection of military culture and mental health, particularly through her perspective that identity work is fundamental to clinical practice. Her recent scoping review on military culture, identity, and mental health has contributed to understanding the unique challenges faced by service members, while her current doctoral research explores the construction of military identity within the ADF and its clinical implications. Drawing from her clinical experience, Carolyn’s work focuses on developing integrated approaches to clinical psychology that move beyond cultural formulations to address individual identity construction. She has also contributed to public discourse on military mental health through The Conversation, publishing articles on military identity and providing analysis of the Australian Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- Carolyn Heward, Wendy Li, Ylona Chun Tie, Pippa Waterworth, A Scoping Review of Military Culture, Military Identity, and Mental Health Outcomes in Military Personnel, Military Medicine, Volume 189, Issue 11-12, November/December 2024, Pages e2382–e2393, https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usae276
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This podcast is produced by the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The views expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Uniformed Services University, the Department of Defense, or the US Government. In addition, reference to any specific company, products, processes, or services does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement by the Uniformed Services University, the Department of Defense, or the US Government.