Revisiting living in limbo to illustrate a pastoral psychological understanding of transition from military to civilian life
The transition from military to civilian life includes a multitude of challenges for service members and their significant others. This transfer from one context to another can include, but is not limited to, a need for an identity shift, cultivation of an alternate mind-set, social reorientation, a search for employment, grief and sadness due to the loss of camaraderie, and/or experiences of alienation and estrangement from civilian society. Although the social sciences dominate this research field and dub it ‘transition,’ the ambiguity of the process can be further advanced through pastoral psychology. This article rethinks and reinterprets qualitative data to develop a pastoral psychological understanding of veterans through Capps and Carlin’s lens of living in limbo. This pastoral psychological construct embraces the ambiguity of the transition to civilian life and addresses it as a potentially complex and acute limbo situation. This construct can resonate with both veterans and significant others while also assisting pastors in providing care and counseling.
Abstract: Objective: The present study is a retrospective quasi-experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Warrior PATHH (WP) program at improving posttraumatic growth (PTG) outcomes and reducing PTSD symptoms compared to a waitlist control among a sample of Veterans. Method: Participants (n = 164) were U.S. military Veterans with a history of trauma. Participants were either undergoing the Warrior PATHH program or a waitlist. Primary outcome measures were administered at baseline and at 90-day follow-up and consisted of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory – Expanded (PTGI-X) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Secondary outcome measures assessed psychosocial functioning and included measures of depression and anxiety symptoms, sleep, wellbeing, and social support. Results: Significant differences were observed between groups on the PTGI-X (F(1, 205) = 23.667, p < .001, partial η2 = 0.103), and the PCL-5 (F(1, 205) = 262.460, p < .001, partial η2 = 0.561) with the WP group showing significant positive psychological change following a traumatic event as measured by the PTGI-X and decreased PTSD symptoms as measured by the PCL-5 compared to those in the waitlist condition. Those in the treatment arm also demonstrated gains to psychosocial functioning. Conclusions: Consistent with previous research, participants in the Warrior PATHH program exhibited significant increases in PTG outcomes, decreased PTSD symptoms, and broad improvements to psychosocial functioning. These findings suggest it is an effective training program to foster PTG outcomes among Veterans. This study is unique as it is the first to compare the effects of WP programming with a sample of waitlisted Veterans.