The online questionnaire, developed by the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation over six years, aims to identify the estimated half of veterans who struggle to adjust once they leave the military.Lead researcher Madeline Romaniuk, a clinical psychologist who counsels veterans, started working on the tool to pinpoint the key factors that help servicemen and women reintegrate back into society after military service.
She found five key areas were important – having purpose and social connection in civilian life; feeling comfortable to seek help, if needed; having positive beliefs about civilians; not having unresolved regrets or resentments about their military service and being able to let go of rigid military habits.RSL Queensland funded the Service to Civilian Life study as part of a $14 million commitment to veterans’ mental health research.Dr Romaniuk said the Military-Civilian Adjustment and Reintegration Measure, or M-CARM, tested on more than 700 Australian veterans, would target those in need of help and suggest treatment options for adjustment difficulties.She said the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation was in the process of developing an online treatment program based on the study, published in the journal, BMC Psychiatry.“For some, the journey from military service to civilian life can be a daunting prospect,” Dr Romaniuk said. “Civvy Street may seem at odds with the culture and familiar structure of defence and can leave some veterans feeling a very real sense of loss.“More than just a job, they lose their tribe, their purpose and their identity all at once. The psychological toll this takes can be devastating.”Former Australian Special Forces commando Tim Thomas, 47, who served in Afghanistan and East Timor, struggled to reintegrate back into civilian life after leaving the defence forces in 2010.He praised Dr Romaniuk’s research for helping to “articulate things defence force members can’t articulate”.“It gives words to their inner turmoil,” Mr Thomas said. “When words go unarticulated and pain goes unarticulated, then it creates isolation and loneliness.“When we start hearing words spoken that articulate the pain we’re in, all of sudden, I think: ‘I’m not the only one going through this’. Then … I’m reconnected to my community. It breaks the isolation. That’s the most important thing in the recovery process of all veterans.”A decade after his difficult transition out of the military, Mr Thomas runs his own coffee shop business in Brisbane and is a proud father of two. To access the online questionnaire: m-carm.org
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