SUFFOLK, Va. – Every May, the Navy participates in Mental Health Awareness Month to increase awareness of, and reduce the barriers associated with, psychological health concerns and conditions, and to promote increased access to care and treatment. This month and beyond, Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) efforts emphasize the importance of mental health and wellness and resilience strategies, while highlighting the resources available to information warfare (IW) Sailors, civilians, and families.
“Our information warriors face many challenges and demands as we engage in a dynamic environment – and mental health is critical to our readiness. My highest priority is keeping every member of the IW family as mentally and physically healthy as possible so they can thrive,” said Vice Admiral Kelly Aeschbach, commander, Naval Information Forces. “Asking for help is a sign of strength. My charge is to ensure that every person that needs assistance is provided help, resources, and healing.”
“While this month’s focus on mental health awareness is critical, our team is continually working to build the resources necessary to provide assistance organically to the IW community and our family members,” continued Aeschbach. “We’re excited to hold our first domain-wide Mental Health Summit in late July to keep the momentum strong, and to ensure every IW leader and Sailor has the tools to build resilience, seek assistance, and help others.”
Mental Health Awareness month provides NAVIFOR an opportunity to focus on the mental health of the IW community with discussions and efforts that promote access to help, wellness, and resilience resources, as well as what to do when another community member needs support. These efforts are part of an ongoing focus to create a climate that is supportive of psychological health, where Sailors and civilians can thrive mentally and physically. Without appropriate treatment, mental health symptoms or disorders can have wide-ranging impacts on quality of life and the social, emotional, and cognitive functioning of those affected.
“The numbers continue to increase at a rapid rate, and the demand for mental health has grown,” said Lt Cmdr. Robert Torrison, NAVIFOR Force Mental Health provider. “From FY18 to FY21 there has been a 1000% increase in mental health referrals for the Hampton Roads area alone.”
Previously the NAVIFOR enterprise didn’t have organic mental health providers. That meant IW Sailors would have to wait sometimes extended periods to be seen by licensed providers. NAVIFOR’s first initiative of creating organic Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) directly for the IW community is in full effect.
“NAVIFOR leadership wants to prioritize Sailors’ mental health and wellness by providing local embedded mental health support within commands,” said Torrison. “The MFLCs are part of a larger embedded mental health laydown that will include active duty therapists and medication providers to the IW community.”
The MFLCs provide support for individuals, couples, families, and groups for a range of issues including, but not limited to, deployment stress, reintegration, relocation adjustment, separation, anger management, conflict resolution, parenting, parent-child communication, relationship and family issues, coping skills, homesickness, and grief and loss.
“If an IW Sailor is having mental health concerns they should first look into their command resources,” said Torrison. “If they have an MFLC they can go directly to that person for support, and if they have embedded mental health providers they can also go directly to the provider for support. If they are in a command that does not have those resources they can contact their chain of command for support, or go through their primary care manager. Everyone can go through Military OneSource or call the Tricare tele-health program for care.”
If a member is in crisis — whether from anxiety, depression, anger, or any number of situations – they should seek assistance by contacting the Military Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255, press 1, or by texting 838255. The Military Crisis Line connects a person in need to a trained counselor with a single phone call, click of a mouse, or text message. This confidential, immediate help is available 24/7 at no cost to active-duty, Guard, reserve members, and their families.
Additionally, Military OneSource is a free service provided by the Department of Defense to service members and their families to help with a broad range of health topics, including possible mental health concerns. Service members and families can visit https://www.militaryonesource.mil/confidential-help/ or call 1-800-342-9647, 24 hours a day for assistance.
Civilians can obtain help and resources through the Department of the Navy Civilian Employee Assistance Program, professionally staffed call center, available 24/7, that provides answers to questions, researches information, links employees to a wide variety of qualified local services, and provides licensed confidential support to help with difficult issues. This resource is available at https://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Employees/Pages/Default.aspx?#donceap and 1-844-DONCEAP (1-844-366-2327).
NAVIFOR’s mission is to generate, directly and through our leadership of the IW Enterprise, agile and technically superior manned, trained, equipped, and certified combat-ready IW forces to ensure our Navy will decisively DETER, COMPETE, and WIN.
For more information on NAVIFOR, visit the command Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NavalInformationForces/ or the public web page at https://www.navifor.usff.navy.mil.
-USN-
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2022 13:12 |
| Story ID: | 421296 |
| Location: | SUFFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 172 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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