Understanding service and its aftermath
Veterans may seek help after operational trauma, training incidents, injury, loss, bullying or sexual trauma, while others describe the effects of repeated exposure or moral conflict. PTSD may be present alongside difficulties with sleep, anger, pain, alcohol use or relationships, and some people are most concerned about losing direction after service.
A psychologist needs to understand how military culture and history may shape the presentation, without assuming they know the person's experience. Vigilance, decisiveness and emotional control may have been useful during service while becoming harder to adjust in civilian relationships.
Assessment beyond the trauma symptoms
Assessment should consider depression, anxiety, grief, substance use, health, pain and current supports alongside PTSD and risk. It also needs to establish what the veteran wants to change, which may include reconnecting with family, returning to work or rebuilding trust.
Moral injury may be relevant where guilt, shame or betrayal concerns an event that conflicts with deeply held values. It is not a formal diagnosis and can coexist with PTSD, with work potentially involving responsibility and repair as well as responses to threat.
Evidence-based PTSD treatment
Australian and international guidelines recommend trauma-focused cognitive therapies and EMDR as first-line psychological treatments for adult PTSD. Cognitive processing therapy examines meanings concerning safety, trust and relationships, prolonged exposure approaches memories and avoided situations systematically, and EMDR combines memory activation with a dual-attention task.
A 2025 meta-analysis of military and veteran populations found reduced PTSD symptoms with trauma-focused treatments, while outcomes and dropout varied across studies and protocols. Many people improved without reaching remission, so review should consider continuing symptoms and functioning after a course of treatment has been completed.
Relationships and transition
Partners and family members may have adapted around withdrawal, anger, disturbed sleep or repeated moves, making relationship changes part of the treatment discussion. Agreed couple or family involvement may help when clinically appropriate, while keeping responsibility for care with the person and treatment team.
Leaving service may involve grief for the role, team or sense of purpose even when departure was wanted. Work on values and identity can include building routines and relationships that allow military experience to remain part of a broader life.
Accessing care in Perth
Veterans may attend privately or through an eligible funded pathway, including referral arrangements through Open Arms for eligible current or former ADF members and family members. Eligibility, reporting and confidentiality need confirmation before treatment, so the person knows what information will be required under their arrangement.
Face-to-face work can provide separation between therapy and home, while telehealth may reduce travel where the funding and referral conditions permit it. An initial discussion can connect those practical decisions with the proposed treatment and how progress will be reviewed.
Research drawn on
- Phoenix Australia. Australian Guidelines for PTSD and Complex PTSD. View source
- Richardson JD, et al. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2025;86(2):24r15571. Treating posttraumatic stress disorder in military populations: a meta-analysis. View source
- Lang AJ, Hamblen JL, Holtzheimer P, et al. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 2024. A clinician’s guide to the 2023 VA/DoD PTSD clinical practice guideline. View source
- Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling. Treating PTSD in ex-serving ADF members. View source
AI disclosure
Brent Munro researched, wrote and reviewed this insight, with ChatGPT assisting in literature searches, limited research comparisons, editing and image generation. He retains full responsibility for the published content.