Dissertation

Acceptance and commitment therapy as a tool for fostering soldier resiliency: An overview of the program Act now for soldier resiliency

Potter, Ashley Rae

2014

Overview

The high incidence of returning service members with combat stress related injuries, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has made soldier resiliency a priority for the U.S. Military. The development of soldier resilience is essential to addressing the issue of experienced combat stress and trauma. If soldiers can be trained to become more resilient to the hostile environment and combat stress experienced during high-risk deployments, it is possible for rates of PTSD to decrease. Providing trainings and psychoeducation to help military service men manage stress before deployment may help them function more effectively while deployed and perhaps ameliorate the long-term health effects of the deployment itself. This dissertation is a group therapy intervention model designed to increase resiliency in U.S. soldiers who are faced with deployment. The main tenant of the program is mental preparation and acceptance that tragedy in life is inevitable and to provide the soldier with the skills to transform tragedy into growth by increasing psychological flexibility and decreasing experiential avoidance. The group intervention combines didactic elements, mindfulness exercises, experiential exercises, group discussion/ process, and homework. The first half of the group intervention covers the six processes of psychological flexibility and the second half focuses on mobilizing psychological flexibility through the service of values-driven committed action.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Counseling Psychology / Psychology
• ISBN: 132162834X, 9781321628340