Let’s be clear: These operations are not some kind of therapeutic counseling; they are a form of psychological attack. It’s important to remember that, in a military context, the target’s personal agency or consent is not a concern. The target is the enemy. The choice for the military is often either to send in a drone to incinerate the enemy or to mess with the enemy’s unit to such an extent that they begin to fight among themselves or get sloppy and make exploitable mistakes. If you are a military commander or an intelligence officer, psychological manipulation is the “light touch” approach.
