185 8 SUMMARY was found in this thesis. The results might differ for different layers and branches of the military organization, and younger, lower-ranking military personnel may face different barriers to treatment-seeking and disclosure, compared to those with higher ranks. Implications for practice Based on the results of the current thesis, several recommendations could be made for practice and future interventions which can facilitate the decision to seek treatment for MHI and to disclose MHI to a supervisor in a safe environment. Interventions targeting stigma This thesis highlighted the barrier that mental health stigma forms for treatmentseeking and disclosure, and ultimately for sustainable employment and well-being at work. Therefore, if the Dutch military wants to improve the sustainable employment and well-being at work of their employees, it is important to implement interventions targeting this stigma. First, to address public stigma, it is important to evaluate existing destigmatizing interventions for their effectiveness within the Dutch military. Previous research on destigmatizing interventions showed that interventions targeting public stigma that include both education about MHI and that promote contact between people with and without MHI (in the right context, e.g. no power differences, in the context of collaboration and legitimized by the supervisors) have positive effects on reducing stigma. Second, previous research shows that support with the disclosure decision can help people in dealing with different types of stigma, including self-stigma. Therefore, it would be important to assess and implement disclosure decision aids within the Dutch military context. Third, for treatment-seeking, previous research has shown that an online help-seeking stigma-reduction intervention effectively targets self-stigma. Interventions targeting the supervisor A key finding of this thesis was the importance of the supervisor. The findings showed that supervisors’ support, knowledge about MHI, and positive attitudes/non- stigmatizing attitudes towards MHI can facilitate both disclosure and treatment-seeking. Additionally, 96.8% of military personnel indicated a need for supervisors who show understanding for MHI. Therefore, supervisors must be educated about MHI, positive attitudes should be enhanced, and they should receive training in how to better support workers with MHI. Interventions targeting the preference for self-management The findings of this thesis showed the high preference of military personnel to solve their own problems, and to ‘self-manage’. This preference was negatively associated with both treatment-seeking and disclosure. Therefore, future interventions must take this preference for self-management into account. For example, Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) is a peer-support-led intervention that focuses on self-management
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