Culturally Informed Interventions for Military, Veteran and Emergency Service Personnel: The Importance of Group Structure, Lived Experience Facilitators, and Recovery-Oriented Content

Abstract

There is little available research on what constitutes a culturally informed program to treat mental health conditions among military, veteran, and emergency services personnel. The current study presents the qualitative participant evaluations of a modified group Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) program. Participants were grouped with either lived-experience facilitators or non-lived-experience clinicians for the program, and 93 textual responses to a series of qualitative questions were analyzed. The findings suggest strong support for the postulated three primary components of a culturally informed program: a group structure; facilitation by peers with lived experience; and functional, skills-based, and recovery-oriented content.

Keywords

• peer support
• PTSD
• military
• veteran
• emergency services
• culturally informed