Working with the Military Mode

Military personnel are generally recruited between 17–25 years of age, which is a key developmental period where we explore the world to better understand ourselves (who we are), others (our relationships), and the world (where we belong).

During recruit / initial training, the Defence Force socialises individuals into the military culture, providing a military identity and community for the individual to belong to and like minded people to relate to. It also provides concrete answers to existential questions. This serves the organisation, creates group cohesion and allows personnel to do their job without conscious thought, and prepares them for combat.

In schema terms, this can be conceptualised as a ‘Military Mode’, which is a learned coping mode that is adaptive for service in the Defence Force - particularly operational and/or combat service, as it surrenders to serve the organisation, avoids emotions and does whatever is required to get the task done (over-compensation).
Megan Fry, ex-Army, Clinical Psychologist and Advanced Individual Schema Therapist (supervisor and trainer), has developed a unique schema therapy approach for use when working with military personnel, which accounts for the psychological effects of military service and addresses the Military Mode. This approach allows us to look beyond PTSD in veterans and instead identify and understand the effects that military service has on one’s identity, beliefs and behaviours, and consequently their ability to adjust into the community after military service.
This one-day, skills-focused workshop introduces clinicians to the Military Mode Model, a framework for understanding highly structured, survival-based patterns that develop in the military, and which can also be present in other first responder and high-threat working environments. The workshop combines theory with practical clinical strategies to support effective assessment and intervention of this complex population. Participants will learn and understand how to work with the Military Mode in therapy and apply targeted effective evidenced-based treatment techniques informed by Schema Therapy to enhance therapeutic outcomes.

This workshop will:

• Deliver a clear and detailed overview of the Military Mode and its origins
• Strengthen clinician capacity to assess and identify the Military Mode
• Provide practical techniques for working effectively with this mode in therapy
• Support trauma-informed, ethical, and responsive practice with military populations

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the core features and functions of the Military Mode
• Identify Military Mode presentations during assessment and treatment
• Apply targeted strategies to engage and work constructively with this mode
• Understand how to integrate Schema Therapy, EMDR, ACT, and DBT techniques to support flexibility and emotional processing in this population
• Navigate common therapeutic challenges when working with military and high-risk populations

Registered and provisional psychologists and mental health clinicians working with military personnel, veterans, first responders, or clients presenting with trauma-based survival modes.

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Host or Publisher M Fry Psychologist