Do military uniform and rank impact on the therapeutic relationship between military mental health clients and clinicians?
OBJECTIVE
to measure the perceptions of military staff of the impact of wearing military uniform on the therapeutic relationship with mental health clients.


METHODS
a brief questionnaire was distributed to all military clinicians in Departments of Community Mental Health to measure their attitudes.


RESULTS
there was a 67.9% (n=70) response rate regarding the impact of uniform on the therapeutic relationship. 20% of responses were positive, 31% negative, 37% mixed and 12% gave no answer.


CONCLUSIONS
there was no clear pre-existing literature on this issue. Overall, the wearing of uniform appeared to be perceived positively positive. There is a need to assess clients' points of view in future studies.
Wilson
M M
MM
Headquarters Northern Ireland.
McAllister
P D
PD
Hacker Hughes
J G H
JG
Fear
N T
NT
D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D008890:Military Psychiatry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010465:Perception; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom