How leadership training could transform military mental health

The numbers are sobering—mental health disorders were the leading cause of military hospitalizations in 2023, and suicide rates among service members remain stubbornly high. For the Department of Defense, addressing the mental health crisis affecting service members and their families is a top priority.

Researchers led by Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences Professor Leslie Hammer, Ph.D., and Portland State University Professor Cynthia Mohr, Ph.D. believe they’ve found a promising solution: training military leaders to recognize and support the mental health and well-being of service members under their command. In addition to Drs. Hammer and Mohr, the research teams include Drs. Krista Brockwood, Deborah Cohen, Maya O’Neal with OHSU, Dr. Todd Bodner with PSU, and Dr. Amy Adler of the Water Reed Army Institute of Research.

The problem: A mental health crisis in the ranks

Military service comes with unique stressors that can take a serious toll on psychological well-being. Service members face deployment separations, high-stress environments, and the constant demands of military life. These challenges don’t just affect individual service members—they ripple through families and entire units, creating a complex web of mental health risks. These challenges are not unique to active-duty service members; they also apply to members of the National Guard, who juggle civilian careers alongside their military duties.

A leadership-focused solution

With support from the Department of Defense, the research team, under the leaderships of Drs. Hammer and Mohr will develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of the readiness Supportive Leadership Training-National Guard, or RESULT-NG program—an innovative approach that tackles mental health challenges from the top down. Rather than focusing solely on individual service members, the RESULT-NG program recognizes the role that effective leadership can play in mitigating and preventing mental health challenges. preventing mental health problems.

Previous studies conducted by Dr. Hammer and her team examined leadership training in active-duty military settings and demonstrated that, given training, military leaders could significantly reduce anger and loneliness while boosting overall well-being. That training was adapted for civilian workplaces, where it has shown that good leadership practices can promote protective factors like social support and stronger connections among team members.

“In the current project we are partnering closely with the Oregon National Guard in developing the training and protocols for the study to enable successful implementation in the future across the National Guard more broadly. This is further facilitated by our work with Dr. Deborah Cohen at OHSU who is an implementation scientist, as well as by our engagement with our Community Advisory Board made up of practitioners, professionals, and people with lived experience, all who provide us critical and practical input throughout the study.”

The research

The RESULT-NG study takes a comprehensive, community-based approach to developing and testing leadership training specifically tailored to National Guard members. Working with community consultants and stakeholders, the research team plans to create a program that addresses the unique challenges faced by both full-time and part-time military personnel.

The training is designed to be practical and accessible. It consists of three main components: a one-hour interactive, self-paced digital learning module; an easy-to- implement behavior tracking exercise; and follow-up facilitated sessions. The program teaches leaders how to better support their service members’ family lives and mental health—skills that are often overlooked in traditional leadership training.

The research team is implementing a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the training. Team members under Dr. Hammer compare outcomes between units whose leaders receive the training and those who don’t, measuring impacts not just on the leaders but also on their subordinates and spouses and partners.

Beyond the National Guard

The implications of Dr. Hammer’s and Dr. Mohr’s research extend beyond the Oregon National Guard units where the new training is being developed, tested, and evaluated. The program aligns with the Department of Defense’s broader Integrated Primary Prevention program, which aims to reduce harmful behaviors including sexual assault, harassment, suicide and domestic abuse across all military branches.

If successful, this leadership-focused approach could revolutionize how the military addresses mental health challenges. The training could provide a proactive way to build resilience and prevent mental health issues from developing in the first place. The research team envisions applications beyond the military, in high stress civilian occupations like first responders.

With the support of the Department of Defense, the research team is on the path to developing and evaluating a scalable, sustainable approach to protecting the psychological health of all those who serve.