Date of Award
Spring 8-23-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology
Organizational Unit
Morgridge College of Education, Counseling Psychology
First Advisor
Ruth Chao
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Counseling, Lesbian gay bisexual (LGB), LGBTQ+, Military, Therapy
Abstract
Few studies have been able to explore lesbian, gay, and bisexual military personnel’s experiences in military mental healthcare settings. This study examined the experience of LGB servicemembers in military counseling environments, as well as how to support these servicemembers in military mental health and military communities. Six participants volunteered for the study and six semi-structured interviews were completed with LGB servicemembers who had contact with mental health. Three research questions guided the present study and a transcendental phenomenological frame was used to analyze the data and themes emerged. Research question one yielded three themes: 1) “I'm Definitely not Gay”: The Legacy of DADT; 2)“Fear, it’s Fear”: Fear and Consequences; 3) “High Cover”: Advocacy. Research question two yielded one theme of Recommendations, with four sub-themes: Recommendation One: Understand History and Increase Trust; Recommendation Two: Obtain LGBTQ+ Education and Training; Recommendation Three: Recognize the Existence of LGB Community and Provide Culturally Relevant Care; Recommendation Four: Amplify Representation and Minimize Harm. Research question three yielded two themes: 1) "Transphobia is Part of the Code": Continued Discrimination and 2)“Got a Long Way to Go”: Gender Identity Recommendations. Gender Identity Recommendations have three sub-themes of Policy Change and Documentation, Gender-Affirming Care, and Pronouns. These findings indicate that LGB servicemembers’ experiences in military mental health settings are still influenced by DADT, there have been some improvements made by military mental health, and recommendations on how to better support LGB servicemembers were provided. Lastly, participants described transgender and gender expansive military members psychological wellness as the next important frontier in psychological wellbeing for LGBTQ+ military communities.
Copyright Date
8-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Anne Neuweiler
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
110 pgs
File Size
1 MB
Recommended Citation
Neuweiler, Anne, "Better Serving Those Who Serve: Supporting Psychological Wellness of LGB Military Personnel in the Post “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Era" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2641.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2641
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Military and Veterans Studies Commons