Military psychiatry: A cross-cultural perspective

Abstract

Although previous authors have noted that U.S. military personnel share beliefs, values, and behaviors defining the military as a separate culture, military psychiatry has not previously been presented from a cross-cultural perspective. Viewing the military psychiatrist from this perspective reveals new observations and explanations for the role he or she plays within that culture, for differences in demographic data regarding diagnoses and patient population, and for different treatment issues surrounding military patients and their dependents. It also has implications for the recruitment, training, and retention of military psychiatrists. Learning to navigate within the minority culture of the military and to act as a liaison between that culture and the dominant one serves to broaden the skills of the military psychiatrist.