Adaptation of immigrant psychiatrists from the former Soviet Union in the Department of Mental Health of the Israel Defense Forces.

Psychiatrists from the former Soviet Union serve in the Department of Mental Health of the Israel Defense Forces. The new immigrant psychiatrists confront a wide range of difficulties during the process of integration to the military system and adaptation to the specifically military aspects of psychiatry. These include unfamiliarity with the military system, cultural clashes with the different groups of soldiers representing the various subgroups of the absorbing society, the psychopathology of soldiers, which is different from that seen in civil psychiatry, and the change in focus in the military mental health service, which emphasizes the importance of evaluating ego strength. Arbitrarily, one can describe four stages of adaptation that the immigrant psychiatrist has to pass through before recruitment and during service until adaptation and integration in the new role take place. Individual and group supervision are the main means by which the assimilation process is eased. The military service smooth the acculturation process and has an important role in helping the immigrant's adaptation to Israeli society and in building his or her professional identity.