The Department of Defense offers free confidential, short-term, non-medical counseling to eligible service members and their families. The counseling is offered for help with marital problems, parenting, stress management, grief and loss, and other issues. It's available in several formats, including face-to-face with trained counselors who hold master's or doctorate's degrees in a mental health field, and are independently licensed.
Face-to-face non-medical counseling
You can schedule face-to-face, non-medical counseling by calling a consultant at 800-342-9647. If the consultant determines the service is right for you, up to 12 counseling sessions will be authorized and the consultant will put you in touch with a counselor that best suits your needs. The consultant may offer to schedule the first session.
Once you get authorization for a face-to-face session, you have 30 days to schedule it. If you're not able to start your sessions within those 30 days, you can call Military OneSource to start over.
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Confidential help for children and youth
Military OneSource offers confidential help for children and youth through face-to-face, non-medical counseling. The service includes help with issues such as family relationships, school issues, adjustment to deployment or separation, and grief and loss.
- Youths from ages 13 through 17 are eligible for individual, face-to-face counseling through Military OneSource, but a parent must attend the first session.
- Military children from ages 6 through 12 can see a family counselor with at least one parent attending each session.
- Very young children — newborn through 5-year-olds — aren't eligible for the counseling under the Military OneSource program.
Issues addressed
Confidential, non-medical counseling addresses issues such as:
- Improving relationships at home and work
- Stress management
- Adjustment difficulties (like returning from a deployment)
- Marital problems
- Parenting
- Grief or loss
Face-to-face counseling is available through Military OneSource and the Military and Family Life Counseling program. Each person seeking counseling may receive up to 12 sessions per issue for free.
If you need counseling for a different issue, you must speak with a Military OneSource counselor to receive authorization for that issue. He or she can also help you find other resources, including community services, installation services or TRICARE, if appropriate.
Issues not addressed
Confidential, non-medical counseling does not address the following:
- Active suicidal or homicidal thoughts
- Sexual assault
- Child abuse
- Domestic violence
- Alcohol and substance abuse
- Mental health conditions that require recurring in-patient hospitalizations
It's also not suitable for:
- Those prescribed psychoactive medication
- Those currently receiving mental health therapy with another practitioner
- Family Advocacy Program cases
- Fitness-for-duty evaluations
- Court-ordered counseling
Confidentiality
Don't be afraid that seeking counseling will negatively affect your career or your spouse's career. We all need help sometimes, and the military wants to support you. Military OneSource counselors can be trusted to keep your information private. However, counselors are required to report situations where you may be a danger to yourself or others. Other situations that must be reported are those that involve domestic or other violence against another person, child abuse or neglect and any illegal activity.
Eligible family members or a legal guardian of a service member's dependents can use non-medical counseling sessions without the service member's knowledge. You or other eligible family members would still be able to use your own 12 sessions.
Eligibility
Military OneSource's face-to-face, non-medical counseling program provides free, confidential, short-term counseling to:
- Active duty member
- Active duty immediate military family members (includes spouses, children and anyone who has legal responsibility for the service member's children during separation for the child's benefit.)
- National Guard and reserve service members (regardless of their activation status) and their immediate families (includes spouses, children and anyone who has legal responsibility for the service member's children during separation for the child's benefit.)
- Department of Defense civilian personnel designated as civilian expeditionary workforce members and their families (includes spouses, children and anyone who has legal responsibility for the service member's children during separation for the child's benefit.)
- Survivors (unremarried surviving spouse and children) of active duty, National Guard and reserve service members (regardless of activation status or cause of service member's death.)
- Medically discharged service members (and their immediate family members) if they are being serviced under one of the services' wounded warrior or seriously ill and injured programs
- Retired service members (and their immediate family) until 180 days past End of Tour of Service, retirement date or discharge date including service members on Temporary Disability Retirement List
- Discharged service members (and their immediate family members) if discharged honorably) until 180 days past End of Tour of Service, retirement date or discharge date
Help is as close as a phone call to Military OneSource. Initiate a face-to-face, confidential, non-medical counseling session by calling Military OneSource at 800-342-9647.