Web Based Counseling Ideal for National Guard, Says Army Vice Chief

The Defense Department launched a web-based counseling service last month. It’s aimed at making mental health specialists more available to service members. Top Army officials told National Guardsmen gathered in Nashville over the weekend the web-chats are ideally suited for them.

Unlike the Army or Marines, National Guard members are decentralized instead of living on or near military installations.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli (ker-EL-ee) says online counseling won’t replace face-to-face meetings, but it will supplement what’s already being done. It also gives family members the chance to get involved in a confidential setting.

“It allows a spouse to go online and ask questions of a certified health care provider. I would love to say within 6 months, we can expand this so we can literally do prescription management and psychological psychotherapy online.”

Chiarelli says web-based counseling may seem like a second class of care, but a shortage of mental health professionals leaves the military with few options.

Gen. Peter Chiarelli also has been tasked with finding a way to curb soldier suicides. So far this year, the military’s reserve units have seen 54 suicides. That doesn’t count the 111 in the active military. Chiarelli says counseling is one piece of the puzzle. However, more than half of the victims last year had seen a counselor. To stem the tide, Chiarelli says service members also need more time at home between deployments.