There is a great deal of military speak in this, I will put in parenthesis what the acronym is when it appears the first time.) R and R would be correctly written as R ampersand R but Blogger won't let me use an ampersand.
My areas of concern:
1)
PCP (Primary care provider) not
immediately referring soldier to R and R (Resilience and Restoration Center) or other resources when presenting
with problems that could be both physical and mental health. IE: sleep disorders,
sex drive, panic attacks
2)
TriCare referral
system: PCP requests referral to psychiatrist for soldier; soldier waits
approximately 2 weeks to receive paperwork in the mail; referred Doctor is
booked for months out; Tricare cannot change the doctor; soldier has to return
to PCP and restart the process (Soldier is still not referred to R and R)
3)
When a soldier
that has never had a discipline problem or one that has always been a leader
suddenly exhibits bad behavior that is out of their character the CoC (Chain of Command) needs to
ask themselves “Why?” If the CoC does not personally know the soldier they need
to find out about their character and refer soldier to R and R or give the
soldier a packet of resources.
4)
Inform family
member when possible. Family member may be able to provide insight and should
be given a resource packet to be able to help their soldier.
5)
ASAP (Army Substance Abuse Program):
a) Only for SUD (Substance Abuse Disorder).
Many with SUD have mental health issues that need to be addressed and referred
to the proper treatment place.
b b) More options
available than the 12-Step program. No one thing helps every single person.
c c) ASAP and R and R need some form of combined program to address dual SUD/Mental health issues at
the same time.
d) From an outsider
view it appears that ASAP is failure focused. (Relapses have to be reported to
command and soldier faces separation.) Relapse is a part of recovery.
6) When a soldier
has mental health and /or SUD they should immediately be considered/screened
for WTU (Warrior Transition Unit) and until that time a soldier is accepted or has recovered should have
someone assigned to help the soldier with appointments and making sure they are
kept. Even if it’s a PVT that is acting as a reminder system to help take
strain off from the CoC. Often the soldier feels that if they remind CoC of an
appointment that might be missed because they are placed on a mission they will
get in trouble. It is not logical thinking but mental illness affects the
logical process. It should not be left to a family member to discover and
initiate the WTU process.
7)
The likelihood of
a soldier having discipline problems with untreated conditions is high.
Especially when there are two conditions such as SUD/Mental health. If one is
treated and the other is not, the soldier is still not getting better and will
exhibit poor behavior/relapses.
a) A soldier should
be punished and help accountable as with any person however, every effort to
should be made to make sure all avenues of treatment were offered to the soldier
within a reasonable time.
b) If the behavior
came before a soldier was being fully treated for SUD and/or mental health
condition consideration should be given and punishment suspended until soldier
receives needed care and can prove they are getting better.
c c) DCoE (Defense Center of Excellence) What Leaders
Need to Know: States a soldier should not be removed from a leadership
position. Losing rank is not helping any soldier.
d d) Suspension should
also be considered so the soldier does not have other worries while they are
concentrating on recovery. Financial, sleep deprived from extra duty, etc.
8)
PCP, CoC, ASAP
and R and R need a packet with all available resources in it to give to
soldiers. Something similar to an in/outprocessing or SRP (Soldier Readiness Processing) packet that the
soldier carries so each place knows the soldier has the needed information. I
am only suggesting this for soldiers that show out of character behavior or have
sought help with any agency and enrolled in treatment. I am certain all
soldiers are made aware of programs and take suicide prevention classes but
when a soldier is depressed or has other problems often their memory is not
good enough to recall this information.
9)
If a soldier only
has an option to see a doctor off base because of waiting periods, whatever
diagnosis they receive from licensed doctor should be as good as a diagnosis
from an on base doctor.
10) Some form of mental health triage to assess that goes beyond “Are you suicidal?”
10) Some form of mental health triage to assess that goes beyond “Are you suicidal?”
