Helpful Resources Military Social Workers

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is a major employer of social workers and plays a central role in serving veterans with complex medical, mental health, and reintegration needs. Many veterans experience service-connected trauma that can contribute to physical, emotional, and behavioral health challenges, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

VA reporting shows that PTSD is common among veterans receiving VA care. Of the 5.8 million Veterans served in fiscal year 2024, about 14% of men and 24% of women were diagnosed with PTSD.

Military sexual trauma (MST), which includes sexual harassment or sexual assault during military service, can also have significant mental health impacts. VA’s screening program indicates that about 1 in 3 women and 1 in 50 men report experiencing MST when screened by a VA provider.

Active-duty service members and veterans may face experiences that contribute to physical, emotional, and behavioral health challenges. Military sexual trauma and sexual assault can be especially impactful, and the Department of Defense (DoD) publishes annual reporting data on sexual assault involving Service members.

In the DoD Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military (provided to Congress May 1, 2025), the Department reported 8,195 sexual assault reports received in FY2024, a decrease from 8,515 reports in FY2023. Of the FY2024 total, 5,169 were Unrestricted Reports and 3,026 remained Restricted at the end of the fiscal year.

Veterans can face elevated risks for housing instability, and homelessness remains a serious issue in veteran communities even as national counts have improved. HUD’s 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (based on the January 2024 Point-in-Time count) found that 32,882 veterans experienced homelessness on a single night, and that veteran homelessness declined between 2023 and 2024.

Military life can also bring major stressors, such as long separations from family, frequent relocations, demanding training environments, and deployment-related uncertainty, that may affect mental health and day-to-day functioning. Social workers support active-duty service members and veterans by helping them navigate systems of care and connect to practical resources both on base and in civilian life.

Across the military and veteran support system, social workers may provide services such as:

• Advocacy and resource navigation
• Mental health counseling and therapy
• Benefits assistance and care coordination
• Rehabilitation and recovery support
• Crisis intervention and suicide prevention support
• Substance use assessment and treatment support

Military social workers and students who are interested in working with this population can keep up to date with military social work resources, organizations and military social work books and articles so they’re aware of the latest research in military social work and can better serve their clients.

Social workers who want to learn more in school or advance their military social work careers can stay connected and current on the latest issues and trends through military social work organizations and resources.

Role of Social Worker on the Military

Social workers are an integral part of the military. VA notes that social workers are present across VA medical centers and provide services such as suicide prevention, crisis intervention, advocacy, case management, benefits assistance, substance use treatment support, and help with housing instability and homelessness.

Some areas social workers in the military contribute include:

• Veterans and family services: Social workers help veterans and their families navigate resources, find community living centers and access treatment.
• Military-to-civilian life transition: Social workers help veterans returning to civilian life by creating a safe and supportive environment through services like discharge planning and family education.
• Community adjustment: Social workers help veterans in the community with severe mental illness and provide services to prevent homelessness, including community nursing homes, transitional housing sites and residential care homes.
• Therapy: Social workers provide evidence-based therapy to veterans who have conditions like PTSD, depression and substance abuse issues.
• Veterans programs: Social workers advocate for, help plan and manage veterans programs for issues like suicide prevention, polytrauma rehabilitation and spinal cord injuries.

Social workers may also work as active duty military and serve in the armed forces. Regardless of what area of social work a professional is in, most social workers who interact with adults will serve the military population in some capacity.

Military Social Work Organizations

• Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service: The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps is one of the nation’s uniformed services, made up of public health professionals who serve in federal agencies and public health programs across the U.S. and abroad. USPHS posts information about commissioned officer career paths, including Clinical Social Worker roles, and explains how to apply for Corps opportunities.
• Home Base Veteran and Family Care: Home Base Veteran and Family Care is a nonprofit organization and private-sector clinic providing mental health treatment for those associated with military service. The organization provides resource guides and clinical tools for professionals like military social workers.
• OneOp: OneOp (formerly the Military Families Learning Network) is a virtual professional development platform for providers who serve military families, offering learning opportunities, resources, and networking.
• National Association of Social Workers: NASW is the largest global membership organization of social worker professionals and provides resources and networking opportunities for military social workers.
• National Center for PTSD: The National Center for PTSD has resources for families and providers of those who have PTSD. The Center’s vision is to be the world’s leading educational and research center of excellence on PTSD.
• National Coalition for Homeless Veterans: The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans presents resources and policy news regarding homeless veterans’ issues. The organization also holds an annual conference.
• USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families: This center provides social work training education for those working with military service members. The Center also provides research, technology developments and publications related to military social work.
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: The VA provides veterans with resources related to health care and transition benefits. It employs social workers throughout the organization.
• Military OneSource (DoD): A primary, DoD-supported gateway for service members and families to access confidential counseling, referrals, and practical resources.
• VA Vet Centers (Readjustment Counseling Service): Community-based counseling and outreach for eligible veterans and family members—one of the most common referral destinations for readjustment and trauma-related concerns.
• TRICARE Mental Health (Military Health System): The clearest official source for navigating covered mental health services and how to access care within the military health system.

Military Social Work Books

• “Advances in Social Work Practice with the Military”: This book edited by Joan Beder is written by military social workers who present case material that demonstrates assessment and intervention approaches. Each chapter examines specific service-member populations and the issues they face.
• “Handbook of Military Social Work”: Edited by Allen Rubin, Eugenia L. Weiss and Jose E. Coll, this book covers topics like military culture and diversity, suicide in the military, PTSD in veterans and homelessness among veterans.
• “Serving Military Families: Theories, Research, and Application” covers the culture of military families and the challenges of military life. It presents personal stories from 70 active duty military members, veterans and their families and presents a review on research, theories and policies regarding this population.
• “Social Work Practice in the Military,” by Carlton Munson and James G. Daley, provides an overview of diverse military practice settings and the history/future of military social work, including topics such as family violence, substance use, and ethical dilemmas.
• “Social Work with Military Populations,” by Diane L. Scott, James D. Whitworth, and Joseph R. Herzog (Pearson), uses case examples to teach assessment and intervention with service members, veterans, families, and communities, including topics such as trauma response, substance use, and suicide assessment.
• “Social Work Practice with Veterans,” edited by Gary L. Dick (NASW Press), is an evidence-based collection that integrates research, practice experience, theory, and case studies to support best practices for service members, veterans, and their families across the deployment cycle.
• “Resilience and Military Families: Case Vignettes, Self-Assessment Tools, and Evidence-Based Interventions” by Julie Canfield presents case vignettes, self-assessment tools, and evidence-based interventions to support resilience in military families.
• “Veteran Incarceration: Lived Experience and Pathways to Rehabilitation”: This book by Flake, Arxer, and LePage explores veteran incarceration through lived experiences and highlights pathways to rehabilitation and support.

Military Social Work Academic Articles

• “Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of Military Service members, Veterans and their Families: Cohen Veterans Network Client Population”: Published in the Clinical Social Work Journal, this article describes the population served through Cohen Veterans Network’s community-based clinics and highlights how these settings (often staffed by social workers and other frontline clinicians) serve service members, veterans, and family members with high levels of mental health need.
  “The Use of Motivational Interviewing with Chronically Unhoused Veterans”: Published in the Clinical Social Work Journal, this case-based article discusses using motivational interviewing and harm-reduction approaches within supportive housing/Housing First contexts to help chronically unhoused veterans with co-occurring conditions work toward greater housing stability.
• “Patterns of Return to Homelessness Among Military Veterans in Permanent Housing: Implications for Prevention”: Published in the Journal of Prevention, this study uses VA administrative data to estimate rates of veterans returning to homelessness after exiting to permanent housing and identifies clinical predictors (including substance use and psychotic disorders) associated with higher odds of return.
• “Trends in Homelessness and Social Sustainability: Veterans vs. Non-Veterans in the US”: Published in Healthcare (MDPI), this article compares sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of homeless veterans and non-veterans using publicly available data, highlighting differences in profiles and mental health/substance use patterns relevant to service planning.
• “Intervention in Trauma and Crisis in Military Social Work: An Approach from the Theoretical and Practical Perspectives”: Published in Güvenlik Stratejileri Dergisi (Apr 2025), this article reviews military social work roles in trauma and crisis intervention across micro, mezzo, and macro levels, including intervention strategies and policy considerations.
• “Evidence Integration Review of Multimodal Interventions for PTSD, Social Reintegration, and Economic Stability in Veterans”: Published in the Journal of Veterans Studies (Aug 2025), this review synthesizes evidence on multimodal approaches (e.g., mindfulness, physical activity, social support) and their impacts on PTSD-related outcomes, reintegration, and well-being.