Military Psychology: Clinical and Operational Applications

Carrie Kennedy and Eric Zilmer have gathered together a very comprehensive range of psychology topics which provide the reader with a broad view of psychological applications within the military. Of particular interest are the well-reviewed areas within the clinical fields that include neuropsychology, subtance abuse, fitness evaluations and health psychology. I found this text very useful and would recommend it as one of the essential texts for those working in the field of military psychology. Dr Teoh Hsien-Jin

"Military Psychology" is really two books in one. The first half is a broad discussion of the general application of psychology to the mental health of the U.S. military. It covers a variety of topics that will be familiar to currently-serving military members, including efforts to curb suicides and addictive behaviors such as substance abuse and gambling. The second half of the book is likely to be of more interest to the general reader. The various contributors discuss operational psychology and its use in the present-day global war on terrorism. There is a fascinating discussion on combat stress, a phenomenon now better understood and very relevant to the generation currently in uniform. Chapters on the psychology of terrorists and of people who commit war crimes draw some surprising, even counterintuitive conclusions. Material on the psychological effects of weapons of mass destruction and other disaster trauma may be of interest to both to soldiers and to first responders in the U.S. homeland. The second half of the book also includes some interesting material on the conduct of survival training and on the selection of personnel for high risk operations. These chapters will be very relevant for military personnel involved in high risk or special operations; they may also be fascinating for the more general reader seeking to understand the types of people who are best suited for such operations. "Military Psychology", edited by two serving military psychologists, is written in a scholarly manner, with lots of citations and references to methodology. The average reader may have to wade through some purely academic portions to get to the more interesting conclusions drawn by the various contributors. This book is particularly recommended to the serving military who will find the material especially relevant in a time of war. The general reader with the patience to work through the academic approach will arrive at a better understanding of how our friends and neighbors in uniform function at war.