Purpose
Informal social support is often sought by veterans to support reminiscence or cope with traumatic memories. However, it can also encourage unhelpful ways of coping, such as avoidance, or may be absent altogether. This project is borrowed from the growing peer support literature. The purpose of this paper is to explore the suitability of peer support services to enhance the wellbeing for older veterans, when naturally occurring support is absent or unhelpful.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a sequentially staged research programme involving a scoping review of current practice and evidence, and a consultation with veterans. In total, ten veterans (nine male, one female) took part in the consultation (M=66 years).
Findings
Peer support was considered suitable, particularly in addressing loneliness and social isolation. There was an understandable concern regarding its use with more complex issues such as trauma. An added issue was the implicit assumption that this consultation concerned transition; supporting younger veteran as they move from military to civilian life. This mirrored the focus of current UK policy and affected the focus of the consultation. Issues were also raised around the sustainability of services more broadly.
Social implications
Peer support is appropriate in supporting older veterans, but must be implemented in a sustainable way. Raising awareness of the needs of older veterans in older adult services is an important implication for service development and delivery.
Originality/value
There is a considerable lack of research concerning older veterans, particularly concerning their formal and informal social support needs. This paper addresses the current gap in the literature.
This systematic review examines qualitative research into the mental health issues encountered by military veteran personnel deployed to a combat zone. A small number of researchers have examined the often information-rich and complex experiences of returning personnel using a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. However, qualitative studies have not often been appraised or synthesized. Using a qualitative method for conducting systematic review, the objectives of this article are twofold: (a) to review select research literature on veteran military populations, and (b) to describe veteran's experiences using a synthesis of themes across original qualitative research. Findings are discussed with considerations for applying qualitative research methods to future research of military service populations and implications for the provision of care.
Background
Government restrictions enforced globally in response to COVID‐19 necessitated changes to the delivery of mental health services, with many psychology professionals (PPs) forced to transfer their face‐to‐face practice to virtual means (telephone/video therapy) overnight. This review explores what is known about the experiences of PPs providing psychological support to people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) during the pandemic.
Method
Literature was systematically searched and 11 papers were identified, critically appraised and thematically synthesised.
Results
Four themes were synthesised from findings: (1) ‘Impact at Service Level’, (2) ‘The Emotional Impact on PPs’, (3) ‘The Limitations of Virtual Support’, (4) ‘Unexpected Gains’.
Conclusions
This review highlights the challenges and positives in experiences of PPs, whilst acknowledging the inequalities experienced by PWID. It is hoped that the findings can be used to aid education and training, and inform future practice and policy. Future research is recommended.
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