This article analyzes the utility of the formal and legal nature of treatment in VTCs, and how participants view the treatment procedure; it provides an in-depth discussion of the methodology of the ethnographic study being presented as well as research results.
This article presents an ethnography with insights for clinicians, practitioners, and researchers into the experience of veterans treatment court (VTC) participants. The article evaluates participant perceptions and how they might relate to compliance with the court through increased accountability; it also analyzes the utility of the formal and legal nature of treatment in VTCs; and aims to increase understanding of how participants view VTC treatment procedures. The research presented here features a Southern California VTC (SC-VTC) and examines more than three years of nonparticipant observation at 117 court sessions; 23 in-depth interviews with current court participants, graduates, and a judge; and explores participants’ experiences with and perception of the SC-VTC. The study also examines how the treatment process provides participants with accountability for their treatment while considering that it has potentially coercive elements in its application but that participants do not necessarily view that as an impediment to progress and instead are grateful for the accountability rules provided in their treatment plans as long as they view the treatment as useful to their programmatic and personal progress.