First Advisor

Wright, Stephen

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

7-1-2016

Department

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Applied Psychology and Counselor Education, APCE Student Work

Abstract

As of 2015, over 300 veterans treatment courts have opened across the nation in the United States, providing an alternative to incarceration to eligible justice-involved veterans. Despite the proliferation of veterans courts around the country, research on veteran experiences in veterans court is minimal at best. This study sought to examine veteran experiences in veterans treatment court through interpretive phenomenological analysis. Eight veterans from five western U.S. veterans treatment courts were interviewed regarding the circumstances of their referral to court, the treatment they received, their interactions with their treatment team, and how veteran identity impacted their receipt of treatment. Four themes emerged from the data analysis: 1) Veterans Treatment Court team as non-adversarial; 2) veteran support through identity and camaraderie; 3) challenges with required travel and scheduling; 4) perception of effort and personal responsibility. The findings of this study have implications that span problem-solving court research as well as mental health treatment of justice-involved veterans.

Keywords

Justice-involved veterans, Qualitative research, Veterans court

Extent

176 pages

Local Identifiers

Watson_unco_0161D_10521

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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