In addition, the provider can use Military OneSource,2 a round-the-clock crisis intervention program that supports active-duty, National Guard, and Reserve service members and their families, both in the United States and abroad. Professionally trained consultants assess a caller’s needs and can refer him or her to health care professionals for follow-up, face-to-face counseling, or online counseling. Counseling sessions are kept confidential within certain guidelines.
More specifically, Warner said, providers can use the Provider Resiliency Training program established in 2007. Initial groundwork for the program was done at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where behavioral health providers were working with evacuees from Iraq and Afghanistan. That program is now available at each of the Army installations.3
The Provider Resiliency Training program involves a 3-step process that all medical personnel must complete:
• The provider is required to take the professional quality-oflife assessment at http://www.behavioralhealth.army.mil.3 The assessment is an online scientific instrument that looks at burnout and compassion fatigue as well as job satisfaction.
• Once the assessment is complete, the provider receives an educational session on the most advanced research, concepts, and theories as they relate to self-care. The focus is on identifying the internal and external stressors that contribute to burnout and compassion fatigue.
• The trainer meets individually with medical personnel to review their professional quality-of-life assessment results and to help develop a personalized resiliency plan.
Warner concluded, “It is important we recognize that just as stigma sometimes keeps our soldiers from seeking help, it can also be an issue for behavioral health professionals working with them. We need to talk with colleagues and look out for each other.”
