DSW Showcase Student Presentation

Destiny Breitkreutz

ASW, LSCW

A Leader’s Role in Military Mental Health

Concentration - Military Behavioral Health

Abstract

Military mental health challenges, including stigma, limited help-seeking, and high rates of suicide, remain a critical issue despite ongoing interventions. These challenges demand innovative approaches to improve warfighter readiness. The session is grounded in a systematic review of military leadership and demonstrates leaders’ critical role in shaping mental health outcomes, highlighting an opportunity for expanding transitional interventions. This presentation introduces the Response Development and Intervention for Valor (R-DIV), an evidence-informed model designed to empower leaders to address barriers, foster resilience, and mitigate poor mental health outcomes. Participants will explore how leadership behaviors influence service members; mental health, including reducing stigma, encouraging help-seeking, and mitigating suicide ideation. They will analyze systemic and interpersonal barriers, such as culture, power dynamics, and operational demands that hinder a leader’s ability to support mental health. Then, using the R-DIV framework, participants will develop adaptable leadership strategies that enhance psychological safety, promote resilience, and align with mission readiness goals. The session positions leadership as a key factor in advancing military mental health interventions, offering strategies to guide future leadership practice to support total warfighter readiness.

Biography

Destiny Breitkreutz earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from National University in 2020 and a Master of Social Work degree from Louisiana State University in 2022. She worked as an individual therapist for three and a half years in Norfolk, Virginia, specializing in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder with Navy sailors. She is a certified Parent-Child Interaction Therapist (PCIT), empowering parents to build strong relationships with their children to foster emotional and behavioral well-being. In 2023, she was commissioned in the United States Navy. She began the Navy Social Work Fellowship Program, gaining experience through rotations in substance abuse treatment, mental health stabilization in emergency and inpatient settings, fitness for duty evaluations, and operational mental health. Destiny is stationed at Naval Medical Center San Diego, and she is set to relocate to Bangor, Washington, in the summer of 2025.

Destiny’s work in PCIT and with adults inspired their research into the role of leadership in service member mental health. They aim to develop interventions that coach leaders in a manner similar to PCIT, focusing on improving resilience and mitigating mental health challenges, including suicidal ideation. Currently, Destiny is pursuing a doctorate in social work, specializing in military behavioral health at the University of Kentucky, and is on track to graduate in May 2025.

This unique combination of clinical expertise, military experience, and academic focus positions Destiny to drive meaningful advancements in mental health care for the military population.