Social Work with Veterans

According to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistic (2013), there are approximately 22 million Americans who have served in the US Armed Forces (with nearly 750,000 veterans in the state of Illinois alone, according to a 2014 census). Due to the varied experiences and biopsychosocial histories of these veterans, it is almost certain that social workers will be involved in the direct care of a veteran or family member of a veteran at some point in their practice. The recent long-term and large scale military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (as well as past conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and Operation Desert Storm) have underscored the need for comprehensive medical and psychiatric care for veterans of these conflicts. As such, it benefits social workers to gain a working knowledge of the veteran population, as well as some of the more common psychosocial needs of this population in order to provide competent and compassionate care for these individuals and their families.