Mental health is part of your physical health. Being tired and run down can be from stress and worry, just as much as it is a physical ailment. In times of stress, getting in touch with mental health services is needed. In times of less stress, preventative maintenance through setting up your network or knowing where to go is useful. These are resources provided through verified resources to aide and support. Save this. Use them. Share them.
Through Tricare
Tricare has partnered with Telemynd for online counseling and mental health services – check out your local clinic or Tricare site for local links. No referral or authorization is needed for TRICARE Prime members and there are no copays or cost-shares for telemedicine care at time of this writing. You don’t have to have “a big issue” to work through to talk to them. The service is there to help address stressors, emotional distress, work or family issues, depression, anxiety and grief-related counseling. Telemynd has both counselors to provide therapy and psychiatrist to manage mental health disorders. Each state is different on the regulations for providers to be within state, so request a form through the Humana Military section of the Telemynd website to find providers you can connect to.
Base Resources
Military Family and Life Counselors (MFLC) are at most bases and are able to talk to family members, including children if they are licensed as such, and active-duty members. Most schools on base have MFLC, as well as Child Development Centers. If you are connected to a school that has one, reach out to the base school liaison to see if they are aware of where the MFLCs are on base. This is a no-cost tool.
Phone Numbers
If you are not near a base, unable to leave your home, or simply want to talk – there are many phone numbers to call. There are specific numbers for veterans, one for women veterans and one for military-affiliated caregivers. All are ready to talk and trained to support each unique circumstance.
Veterans Crisis line: 1-800-273-8255, press 1
Veterans Crisis Text Line- send a text to: 838255
Veteran Call Center: 1-877-927-8387
Women Veteran’s Call Center: 1-855-829-6636
Caregiver Support phone line: 1-855-260-3274
Wounded Warrior Resource Center: 1-800-342-9647
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans: 1-877-424-3838
Military One Source
Military One Source is available in many ways. There is a website where you can research their counseling options, and they have two phone numbers.
CONUS phone number: 800-342-9647
OCONUS phone number: 800-342-9647 or 703-253-7599
Military One Source only has counselors at the time of this writing, so while they are trained and ready to support with any concern, they cannot provide any prescriptions for medications as needed.
Resources
Looking for resources to check out, people to reach out to and programming? There are many organizations available.
The Veterans Affairs has an entire website resource dedicated to mental health wellbeing – www.mentalhealth.va.gov
Hope for the Warriors is a nonprofit that specifically focuses on service members and their families involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom – www.hopeforthewarriors.org
The Semper Fi And America’s Fund has programming for supporting service member and families, helping with transition and integrative wellness – www.thefund.org (Semper Fi Fund)
The FOCUS program is there to help with stress, it’s actually in the name – FOCUS stands for Families OverComing Under Stress. The programs work with military children, families and couples with programming and individual counseling. Look for one near you here- www.focusproject.org The organization works on emotional regulation, communication, problem-solving, goal-setting and managing trauma and stress reminders, so is for preventative maintenance as well as intervention in times of crisis.
Find local validated resources that support recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration for service members, veterans and their family members by looking here: www.nrd.gov
When you are feeling low, it is hard to know where to turn. These resources are here for anyone to reference or turn to. Military members, their family members and their children deal with strong and varied emotions, and you are not alone.
My husband is retired Air Force (enlisted) and from post military jobs. We have been married four plus decades. We had marriage counseling before he retired. But now that we are over 65 and in Medicare and Tricare for Life, I’ve been told that our insurance does not cover marriage, family, or other kinds of counseling. I guess they think that by the time we reach 65 we have life all figured out. WRONG!! It was difficult raising three children by myself. My husband was gone a lot when they were small. They still have problems and resentment towards their father. But now that he’s retired, he’s even more difficult to live with. It seems that when enlisted men retire they no longer have anyone to tell them what to do, so they do very little. Spouses are not allowed to ask/tell or suggest they do anything. We are not above them in the “chain of command.” But our health insurance will not cover counseling? How does that help our mental health?