‘He messaged me the other night and said you are my saviour’: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of intimate partners’ roles in supporting Veterans with mental health difficulties

LAY SUMMARY Previous research has shown that partners of Veterans with mental health difficulties can often struggle with their own mental health difficulties when supporting the Veteran. Despite this, many couples choose to remain in a relationship. The authors wanted to know whether there are any positive aspects to being in a relationship with a Veteran and whether the partners of Veterans have a role to play in supporting Veterans with mental health difficulties. Using semi-structured interviews, the interviewer asked six female partners of male Veterans to describe their experiences of being in a relationship with a Veteran with mental health difficulties. The partners described three main themes, suggesting that not only do partners have a role to play in supporting Veterans, and the specific ways they do this, but that this role has challenges as well.