Tag Archives: suicide

Military to Provide Secular Counseling Option

Update: A broader official view of the Military Family Life Consultant (MFLC) can be seen at the official website.

In addition to providing chaplains and psychologists, the US military is also making contract civilian clinical counselors available to those who want confidential counseling.  From the Army National Guard site on the subject, the DoD provides Military Family Life Consultants (MFLCs) who

are licensed clinicians with a Masters Degree and at least five years of experience in social work, counseling, or a related clinical discipline.

While psychologists or visits to base Mental Health might generate attention, the MFLC program is specifically designed to be Read more

Family Life Chaplains Train to Save Lives

A Fort Hood press release notes the training program for Army chaplains in marriage and family counseling.  In a trait few seem to realize, the chaplains who attend the program are not only specially trained in counseling, they also get a degree in the process:

“Our primary mission is to train Army chaplains in marriage and family counseling,” said Chap. [LtCol] Mark Knox, director of the FLCTC… “[Chaplains] go to school and get an additional degree over at Texas A&M in Counseling Psychology. And then we provide Read more

US Military Looks to Fish Oil to Combat Suicide

You can’t say they’re not trying:

A three-year, $10 million study, to be funded by the Department of Defense and conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina, will test whether omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils can relieve the anxieties and quiet the suicidal thoughts plaguing many combat veterans…

Participants get to chug fish oils smoothies.

For all the criticism the US military has received over it handling of the epidemic of suicides in its rank, it at least appears to be trying, and to be fair, it’s not the only thing they’re trying.

Army Chaplains Emphasize Strong Bonds Against Suicide

US Army Chief of Chaplains MajGen Donald Rutherford recently noted that “relationship problems are a leading cause of suicides,” something previously noted here.  As a result:

As part of a push to prevent suicides, Army chaplains want 50,000 Soldiers and additional family members to attend their “Strong Bonds” retreats over the next three months.

Strong Bonds has traditionally been understood to be a marriage enrichment retreat, but it has been altered to include another demographic:  Read more

Panetta Talks Suicide Prevention, Mental Fitness

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addressed the DOD and Department of Veterans Affairs Annual Suicide Prevention Conference (in June, though recently re-posted here), describing to the audience his four-point vision for the DoD to become a “game-changing innovator in the field of suicide prevention.”

Panetta’s vision includes vigilance on the part of leaders, improving behavioral healthcare, elevation of “mental fitness,” and increased research on suicide.

What was potentially most notable was what the Secretary didn’t say:  He never mentioned Chaplains, religion, faith, or “spiritual fitness,” despite Read more

Poor Spiritual Foundation May be Key to Military Suicides

An article at the Christian Post notes broken relationships are a strong trend in the list of contributing factors in those who commit suicide in the US military.  In addition, as has been noted here before, the concepts of moral injury and moral responsibility are significant in the US military — and young people today may not be equipped with the necessary moral foundation to deal with these issues.

A retired US Army chaplain said one of the contributing factors to suicide in today’s Army may be that men and women are entering the military with a substantially weaker spiritual foundation than prior generations — meaning they are often ill-equipped to handle the moral and life challenges they rapidly see in combat in today’s military:  Read more

Suicide, Religion, and the Military: Perception and Reality

An article at FoxNews notes the military’s continued effort to fight the “stigma” associated with mental health issues, to encourage troops to seek help when they need it:

“Leadership is letting folks know that it is not a sign of weakness if you ask for help,” says Navy Lt. Commander Andrew Martin, the psychologist in charge of the program…

All branches of the military are working hard to remove the stigma associated with reporting psychological issues. The old way of thinking was to “suck it up” if a soldier or Marine was having problems coping. Now, the Marines are deploying psychologists to forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan so troops have a ready ear without facing the stigma of being sent back to headquarters for counseling.

The interesting thing about the military’s fight against the “stigma” is the stigma is a perception.  The military has worked so hard to remove any actual Read more

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