Psychological Health Program

The National Guard Bureau recognizes the unique pressures that service members and their families experience, especially given the need for service members to function at their highest level physically and emotionally. For this reason, the National Guard strives to be relevant, ready and accessible to the National Guard community by:

• Providing help to address a full range of personal, emotional and behavioral problems as a result of deployment and any other stressors.
• Supporting individuals for personal readiness and assisting with those who experience traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Ensuring confidentiality, privacy compliance with state and federal laws and guidelines.
• Maintaining and improving National Guard member productivity.
• Ensuring the Psychological Health Program is part of a comprehensive transition assistance network.

The directors of Psychological Health in each state are available to help you with any problem that may be affecting your emotional or behavioral life. They are also able to respond to training requests and critical incidents, as well as provide unit briefings, training and consultation.

National Guard members and their families can work with their state or territory director of Psychological Health who will assist in the coordination and management of any psychological health need. In most cases, they will assess and refer you to a local, qualified counselor or other mental health resource within a reasonable distance from your home. The goal of the Psychological Health Program is to address your concerns in the quickest, least restrictive, most convenient, and least costly manner while strictly respecting your confidentiality.

Program services are easily accessible. Your state/territory director of Psychological Health is available to provide telephone consultation as well as face-to-face consultation. If you believe you or one of your family members might need assistance, please do not hesitate to call the Military Crisis Line.

The services of the DPH are confidential and provided free of charge. At your initial appointment, you will be asked to provide basic demographic information, military history and details regarding the concern for which you are seeking assistance. Once your DPH has completed your interview, a referral may be made to your local provider, and your DPH will be available to guide you through the whole process. We will do our best to help you with whatever challenges you’re experiencing. Let us know if you’re concerned at any point with the service.