Psychologists question Army resilience program

If I said I told you so, it would do no good for all the men and women suffering since 2008 because of this. No one wanted to listen!

This is the comment I left on Army Times for this.

Wounded Times · Editor, Publisher and Videographer at Wounded Times Blog I have been against this "program" since 2008 but it did little good to be right when our troops came home and suffered for taking this training. This "training" was geared toward rape victims and not combat troops. I am tired of them feeling they are responsible for ending up with PTSD "because they didn't train right" or because the DOD told them they were mentally weak and needed to train their brains! What took so long for the rest of the mental health community to respond to this?

Psychologists question Army resilience program
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Army Times
Posted : Monday Jul 2, 201

Army Comprehensive Soldier Fitness is a $125 million program that seeks to make troops as psychologically fit as possible.

But a group of psychologists says there’s no proof that the program — or similar resilience-building efforts in the other services — works.

Worse, say members of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, these programs could undermine coping mechanisms developed by troops who already successfully handle stress.

TELL US

Have you gone through a resilience training program? Military Times would like to hear your views of that training — positive or negative. Email staff writer Patricia Kime at pkime@militarytimes.com.

Created in 2008 to address alarming trends in soldier behavior, such as rising suicides, alcohol and drug abuse, and behavioral health problems, CSF is based on the teachings of Martin Seligman, a University of Pennsylvania professor and proponent of positive psychology. He says an optimistic outlook can affect all aspects of life and ward off anxiety and depression.

The training, and the program’s annual measurement test, the Global Assessment Tool, is mandatory for all soldiers. Since 2009, 8,000 officers and enlisted personnel have attended master resilience courses. They in turn teach CSF at the unit level.
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