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Military, families can get online mental health screening

All Hands, June, 2006 by Gerry J. Gilmore

Military members and families coping with the stress of overseas deployments and other potential health-threatening issues can log on to the Internet to get help, a U.S. military psychologist said recently.

Service members from all components and their families can obtain a mental health self-assessment or screening through a Web site co-sponsored by DOD and Screening for Mental Health Inc., a nonprofit organization, said Air Force CoL Joyce Adkins, a psychologist with the Force Health Protection and Readiness directorate at the DOD Health Affairs office.

"The [online] screening actually gets you to where you need to be in terms of counseling," Adkins said. "Once you do one of the screening checklists, it will give you the benefits that are available to you."

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The Web site, brought online in January, augments other DOD mental health assistance resources, Adkins said. People logged onto the site are asked to answer a series of questions. The program "grades" the completed survey, Adkins said, and gives people an evaluation of their present mental health and provides assistance resources, if deemed necessary.

Other DOD-endorsed health sites tell customers how to access mental health counseling services but do not provide an online mental health screening program, Adkins said.

National Guard and Reserve members returning from overseas deployments also are authorized to use the Web site, Adkins said. Returning Reserve component members have two years of health benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"And it's totally free to them," the colonel pointed out. Such services are especially important today, Adkins said, because of the potential stressful effects deployments can have on both military and family members.

"It's a concern that people don't understand what their thoughts and feelings mean as they come back from deployment," Adkins said. "As they re-integrate with their families, there may be conflict in the family that's not easily resolved."

The mental health screening Web site and other related programs available to service members and their families provide "a level of benefits and a level of service to help them understand what services are available to them for mental health issues," Adkins said.

To access the Mental Health Self-Assessment Program, visit https://www.militarymentalhealth.org/welcome.asp.> Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service, Alexandria, Va.