Barriers to and facilitators of military spouses' recovery from perinatal mental health disorders: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Perinatal mental health disorders (PMHDs) are a common complication of child-bearing, affecting approximately 1 in 7 U.S. mothers. An expanding literature has examined how PMHDs affect military families; however, little is known about military spouses' experiences in accessing and engaging in treatment for PMHDs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of the barriers to and facilitators of accessing, engaging, and progressing in treatment and recovery among a sample of U.S. military spouses with PMHDs.

Methods: Military spouses (N = 12) were recruited from a maternal mental health clinic at an academic medical centre in San Diego, California, United States. Five semi-structured focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by research team members until consensus on themes was reached.

Results: Eight themes emerged: five main barriers (stigma, impacts on service member's career, lack of support, accessibility, practical and logistical concerns) and three main facilitators (solid support structure, encouragement to seek help, practical and logistical facilitators).

Discussion: Findings enhance and complement extant research examining barriers to mental health care treatment and recovery among military spouses and suggest barriers to and facilitators of PMHDs. Fear of harming the serving spouse's career can be mitigated through supportive military leadership advocating for serving spouses to support their partners' recovery. Education for military leaders in foundational knowledge of PMHDs, including screening, treatment, stigmas, and impact on families, is needed to create supportive and encouraging environments leading to open dialogue and non-punitive solutions that facilitate military spouses' recovery from PMHDs.