Trust

Reflect on the different ways you have built trust in yourself and others.

Continuing the Conversation

Continue thinking about topics raised in your local WoVeN group, or join a discussion with other women Veterans through WoVeN’s community Facebook page.

Questions for Reflection

  • Did your beliefs about trust shift between life before service, during, and after? If so, in what ways? Did some of your beliefs about trust (e.g., beliefs about trusting yourself) stay the same while others changed (e.g., trusting others)?
  • Were you satisfied with how you were able to trust others during your time in the military? Why or why not? And, what affect (if any) did this have on your experience?
  • Is there a particular type of trust that is nonnegotiable for you to have in close relationships? If so, what is it and how does that type of trust support your relationships as a whole?
  • If you can think of a time when someone has unexpectedly broken a type of trust you put in them, how did that experience shift your beliefs about that kind of trust? Did it also affect how you think about other kinds of trust?
  • Is there some way that you trust yourself today that took a long time to build? If so, how has that growth supported you in living your best life?
  • Do you tend to think of trust as being “all or nothing,” or are you OK with trusting someone, something, or yourself in some ways but not others?

Toolbox

Dive deeper into this theme with these self help tools.

  • Rebuilding Trust

    Beyond MST is a mobile application designed to help people heal from military sexual trauma (MST). The app features over 30 specialized tools to help users build skills to cope with problems, manage symptoms, and improve their quality of life. The “Rebuilding Trust” tool, housed in the Strengthening Relationship Skills section of the app, helps users take a closer look at their relationships with others and themselves to see if they can find new and supportive ways to develop trust.

  • Building a Trust Action Plan

    Trust in the context of relationships and teams is often an important ingredient for achieving individual and shared goals. This worksheet will help you brainstorm ways you can begin to build greater trust with someone and things you can do to increase that person’s trust in you.

Cool Stuff We Found

Check out these recent articles, podcasts, and book recommendations handpicked by the WoVeN team.

What the Science Says

Learn about important research that relates to the lives of women Veterans.

  • What Do Women Veterans Have to Say About Their Mental Health Care?

    The goal of this study was to examine how to increase representation of OEF/OIF women Veteran voices on topics related to strategies for improving VA and community-based mental health services. This study employed qualitative research methods, which allowed the researchers to synthesize and make meaning of women Veterans’ own words, including their thoughts, opinions, and recommendations

    Study Findings:

    • • 29 OEF/OIF women Veterans participated in focus groups led by two moderators, one of whom was the spouse of an army veteran and the other who was a clinician who worked with military families.
      • The first major theme that emerged from the focus group focused on the importance of developing a strong therapeutic alliance between Veterans and mental health professionals characterized by empathy, respect, and trust.
      • Additionally, women Veterans highlighted that providers should be respectful, empathic, and engaged in their care. They stressed the importance of continuity of care and how vital it is to building trust and facilitating self-disclosure in mental health settings.

     

    We Conclude:

    OEF/OIF women Veterans voiced that building trusting, positive therapeutic alliances with mental health providers helps them to feel appreciated respected in therapeutic context.

    Citation:

    Koblinsky, S. A., Schroeder, A. L., & Leslie, L. A. (2017). “Give us respect, support and understanding”: Women veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan recommend strategies for improving their mental health care. Social Work in Mental Health, 15(2), 121-142.