By Adrian Zupp
Today, September 27, Army installations around the globe will be holding a stand down – a suspension of the day’s regular schedule. The reason? A very good one: Suicide prevention. The order for the stand down came from Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III.
Various activities and information sessions are being offered to Army personnel and their families throughout the day, so that suicide, and the preventive resources available, are better understood. Another goal of the day, is to address the problem of feeling stigmatized for seeking behavioral health help.
Army personnel will have access to clinicians, chaplains, family therapists, social workers, financial advisors, psychologists, military life consultants and substance abuse counselors.
Also available for the stand down are the Military Pathways® online mental health screenings, which are free and anonymous. Although not diagnostic, they are very good indicators of whether an individual should seek further help.
Today is a day that the Army takes another significant step forward in the mental health care of its soldiers and their families.
Adrian Zupp is the marketing and communications writer at Screening for Mental Health.
