Photo By Capt. Katie Tamesis | Laura Iandoli, 820th Base Defense Group True North licensed clinical social worker,...... read more read more
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Georgia -- The 820th Base Defense Group (BDG) recently received three “True North” providers for the first time in the history of the 93d Air Ground Operations Wing (AGOW), expanding support and resources available to taking care of 93 AGOW Airmen and their families.
True North is a resilience program that provides Service Members and their families direct access to helping resources by embedding carefully selected Psychologists, Social Workers, Mental Health Technicians, Chaplains & Religious Affairs Airmen directly into a unit, as either patch-wearing or GS teammates with the same daily mission and working for the same unit commander. The program promotes trust and access to professionals who are trained to help effectively deal with the challenges we all face.
“True North's mission is to 1) engage forces and families early, before smaller problems turn into bigger ones; 2) change the culture ... promoting help-seeking behavior as an essential part of readiness and performance optimization; 3) provide easier access and greater familiarity with professionals whose mission is to help us when we need it,” said Ashley Shapiro, 824th Base Defense Squadron True North provider.
Shapiro is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with past experiences to include work as a field instructor at Valdosta State University for their Child Advocacy Center where she supervised masters level social work interns. Shapiro has been a substance abuse and mental health counselor for both Greenleaf Counseling Center and Turning Point Hospital. She has also worked as a therapist for Behavioral Health Services and the Behavioral Health Crisis Center. Shapiro was chosen and played an integral part in the development of the Specialized Mental Health Treatment Unit at Valdosta State Prison.
She first joined Team Moody in 2019 as the Family Advocacy Treatment Manager in the Mental Health Clinic In 2022 she was hired as an inaugural member into the True North Program. She now works as an embedded Licensed Clinical Social Worker for the 824 Base Defense Group.
Shapiro has experience working with a variety of mental health issues to include depression, anxiety, bipolar, substance abuse, anger management, PTSD, self-harm, and trauma. She is trained in bilateral stimulation therapy and structured child interviewing. Ashley is also a Certified Change Step Provider, VISTA Provider and PREP 8.0 for couples.
“True North recognizes service and family members face challenges, adversity and difficult choices every day, " Shapiro said. “When facing these issues without the coping skills necessary to deal with unique difficulties, personal welfare can be jeopardized. We can enhance a Service Member's ability to more effectively face challenges at work and home by helping them to identify their stressors and teaching them the coping skills needed in order to modify negative thoughts, emotions and behaviors.”
The program also aims to help de-stigmatize seeking help whenever, and wherever, needed.
“I love that True North allows service members fast and simple access to me when they want to talk,” said Laura Iandoli, 823rd Base Defense Squadron True North provider. “At the end of the day, therapists want to do therapy, and this program allows that. I can see people the same day, they can call me directly on my cell phone or stop me in the hall.”
Iandoli is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who began her career at Eastern State Hospital, a major 367 bed, multi building psychiatric facility in Washington, for patients with serious and persistent mental illness as well as those not guilty by reason of insanity. From there, she went on to work as a Designated Crisis Responder, providing 24/7 services to a 500 mile region in Eastern Washington. In this role, she often worked with the police and other first responders to provide emergency mental health services and court evaluations for both children and adults.
After arriving to Moody AFB, Iandoli became the Clinical Manager at the Legacy Behavioral Health Crisis Center in Valdosta; the only emergency receiving facility in a 13-county region. She also served as Clinical Supervisor for the Assertive Community Treatment Team, High Utilizer Management, and Project for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness. After wanting to shift focus to working with the military and their families, she began a holistic role within the MedGroup as the IBHC (integrated Behavioral Health Consultant, formerly known as BHOP) in primary care at Moody. Once True North came to Moody, she transitioned to an embedded position within the 820th Base Defense Group.
“When True North came to Moody, I wanted to work within security forces, either BDG or 23rd SFS because my husband is retired security forces,” Iandoli said. “I was very fortunate to have been chosen, as there were many applicants.”
Iandoli’s vast experience as a therapist has enabled her to become highly trained to work with problems such as depression, anxiety, relationship stressors and more, and she is now passionate about using her background to help Airmen reach a positive future.
“At True North, I do enjoy being able to continue to give back for everything the Air Force has done for me and seeing positive changes in the people I work with,” Iandoli said.
Both Shapiro and Iandoli are available to all Airmen within the 820th Base Defense Group, providing another outlet for Airmen and leaders to take care of their people and their families.
“True North is another tool available to unit commanders to help increase the resiliency of service members,” said Lt Col Neysa Etienne, 93 AGOW Command psychologist and acting True North Program Manager for Moody, AFB. “Behavioral Health providers are embedded at the squadron level, where they are best poised to proactively address and decrease negative outcomes such as: suicide, sexual assault, domestic violence, workplace violence and child abuse.”
Etienne emphasized the importance of proactive measures and the priorities for the program moving forward.
“Program goals include early engagement with both the Force and Family, provision of easily accessible, decentralized care options, the normalization of help seeking behavior as a strength, optimization of human performance and overall enhanced well-being across our formation,” Etienne said.
The 93 AGOW plans to continue adding providers across the wing, across all the 93 AGOW mission sets.
“We look forward to welcoming our third True North Provider, Dr. Jovanna Gaines, in June 2023,” Etienne said. “Dr. Gaines will embed with the 822 Base Defense Squadron and joins us one year post- retirement, after 20 years of service in the U.S. Air Force. Dr. Gaines completed her Masters of Social Work at Fordham University and went on to complete a Doctorate of Social Work at Walden University in 2022. She brings with her tremendous breadth and depth of academic and clinical service experiences. The 93d AGOW is fortunate to expand capabilities and support with these three, outstanding professionals and hopes to create greater continuity of care across our geographically separate units by embedding a True North, GS LCSW within each of our TACP Air Support Operations Squadrons (ASOS) in the coming years.”
If you are interested in speaking with a True North provider, contact your unit’s 1st Sergeant or command section for more details.
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2023 08:40 |
| Story ID: | 442719 |
| Location: | MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 487 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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