Going "outside" the system

Many soldiers today have mental health issues. That's no secret to most of us. The thing that worries me is what will happen to them if they seek care initially with their primary care physician on post - open up and tell all, so to speak, and have what they say used against them? As I stated before there are already too many soldiers being discharged with pre-existing personality disorder. What happens if the soldier hasn't heard these stories? They could be in for a long ride. It's fact, it's happening every day.

I want all soldiers to know there is help "outside" the system. Confidential treatment can be sought through Army One Source. They provide six counseling sessions at no cost. The next step after these six sessions, if they feel they need additional counseling is to then, and only then, go to their primary care physician on post and tell them something like "I'm feeling a little stressed", "I'm just having some trouble readjusting and I really want to talk to a counselor". Don't say anything more than that. That's all they have to say, they don't need to go into detail, all they have to do is ask for a referal for counseling. I got this advice from a counselor associated with Army One Source.

My point is that it is in the best interest of the soldier to find a counselor through Army One Source first. Hopefully, they will make a connection with that counselor and then second, if necessary, they can continue to see that same counselor using their Tricare benefits.

My concern is, if they were to seek a referal for counseling with their pcp first, the counselor has to send an assessment back to the primary care physician within ten days of the first Tricare paid session. How can a counselor give a true assessment after only one, maybe two visits. So the advantage would be to use the Army One Source first. Then after six sessions and the intial first session covered by Tricare, the counselor that they have been seeing should be able to give them a fair and accurate assessment that will then go into their medical records. It just makes more sense to me to have an assessment in their records that is fair and true.

If only one person takes advantage of this information, it will make me happy. My prayers are always with our soldiers and I really only want the best for them.