Societal factors that negatively affect the mental health support for the British Army's Service personnel involved in major trauma.

Introduction The nature of military employment is such that Service personnel may be exposed to traumatic experiences of such intensity as to make the development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) a strong possibility (1,2). This paper explores the effect that factors such as psychiatric labelling and stigma have upon Service personnel requiring post trauma mental health support. The article begins with a succinct literature review concerning stigma and psychiatric labelling within Western society, and includes a summary of the consequences of post trauma difficulties within a family context. The paper progresses to provide details from a pilot study in which sixteen Ministry of Defence General Practitioners expressed their opinions regarding the reluctance of Service personnel to seek post trauma mental health support. Finally, there are recommendations for reducing psychiatric stigma within the Army.