This article states the importance of acknowledgement when treating veterans dealing with
issues associated with military service or participation in missions abroad. The authors are
working within a care program of the Top Referent Trauma Center of the GGZ Noord-Drenthe
(The Netherlands), which has a civic partnership with the Dutch national care system
for veterans. The authors want to show that specific aspects in the treatment of this target
group tend to be overlooked in the complex comorbidity of their problems. They think it
is important to take the background of military training and education into account when
approaching and treating these people. Furthermore, the authors are of the opinion that it is
important in this context to have information about the military missions including mandate
and political climate, in order to better understand the thematic focus of the problems. For a
better understanding and recognition of the problems with readjustment that veterans may
struggle with, it is essential for those who treat them to be informed about the differences
between a civil and a military environment. The key to a constructive cooperative relationship
in which military service or mission related issues can be discussed therefore lies in the
acknowledgement of all the various problems veterans may be dealing with.
veterans, military mission related issues, treatment, military education
The tPeP (Journal Person-centered experiential Psychotherapy) is the scientific journal for Dutch and Flemish psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, that work from, or are interested in a client-centered perspective.
