Protective Factors for Veterans and First Responder Mental Health| Fire Team K9
Military service and first responder careers can shape far more than someone’s working life. They influence routines, friendships, values, responsibilities, and how people understand themselves.
For many, service becomes a central part of personal identity.
That sense of identity can be meaningful and rewarding. However, changes in employment, injury, retirement, or separation from service can disrupt familiar roles and relationships.
Maintaining interests, relationships, and valued roles outside an occupation may provide additional sources of identity and belonging during these transitions.
Research on emergency services personnel identifies events outside work and interpersonal relationships as relevant to mental health outcomes (Wild et al., 2021). However, the specific proposition that having an identity beyond service prevents occupational PTSD has not been established.
Where Dogs Can Participate
Dogs provide opportunities to develop interests and roles that are not defined by occupational responsibilities.
Someone might become involved in canine training, hiking, scent work, recreational sports, or volunteering. These activities create opportunities to learn, participate, and develop relationships based on shared interests.
A service dog partnership may also introduce new routines and experiences beyond the person’s previous occupational identity.
Facility dog programs can offer introductory activities that help participants discover interests they might continue independently.
Importantly, the dog is not responsible for creating someone’s identity. The activities and relationships surrounding the partnership provide opportunities for exploration.
Putting the Protective Factor Into Practice
Consider the roles and activities that matter to you outside your professional responsibilities.
What do you enjoy learning? What activities make you curious? Where do you feel valued without reference to your rank, title, or occupation?
For some, working with a dog may provide an accessible place to begin exploring those questions.
Maintaining a life beyond service does not diminish commitment to service. It creates additional opportunities for meaning and participation throughout life.
References
Wild, J., et al. (2021). Prospective risk and protective factors for psychopathology and wellbeing in civilian emergency services personnel: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33388463/
Leighton, S. C., et al. (2024). Service dogs for veterans and military members with posttraumatic stress disorder: A nonrandomized controlled trial. JAMA Network Open, 7(6), e2414686. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.14686
Evidence note: The application of dog-assisted activities to occupational identity development is a proposed program mechanism, not a demonstrated PTSD prevention intervention.
