ARMY ACTIONS TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH
FORT Andres Bonifacio, Metro Manila - A recently published news report
brought to light the lack of psychiatrists and psychologists in the
military and the lack of facility for battle-weary soldiers.
Indeed, the scarcity of psychiatrists and psychologists in the
Philippine Army is a reality but there are ongoing efforts to ensure
that soldiers get the proper attention after going through a highly
stressful experience. As a matter of fact, the Combat & Operational
Stress Control (COSC) Project under the Philippine Defense Reform
Program is presently underway. This project aims to come up with
appropriate programs and strategies for the effective and timely
delivery of mental health care systems responsive to the needs of
soldiers in the forward areas. There is also the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) Mental Health Program under the Office of the Surgeon
General. As part of the program, the AFP came up with a pocket-size
handbook on mental health which was distributed to units across the
islands to inform and educate soldiers on the importance of mental
health and equip Commanders with the necessary knowledge and skills in
identifying behavioral problems among troops.
Since 2002, mental health and behavioral issues at hand have been
addressed on a regular basis aside from immediate response of the
Composite Mental Health Mobile Team right after a critical event. The
conduct of Psychological Evaluation, Counseling, and Critical Incident
Stress Debriefing (CISD) has been well-appreciated and attended when it
was before resisted by soldiers who sought to preserve the "macho"
image. The Mental Health Program has been strengthened in the Philippine
Army through the creation of the Behavioral Health Section at the Office
of the Army Chief Surgeon (OACS) on 30 January 2008. The most recent
activity held last 23-24 February 2010 conducted by the Office of
Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, G1 in collaboration with OACS
and the Department of Health (DOH) was the Critical Incident Stress
Management Seminar-Workshop for Mental Health Practitioners participated
by the different field units.
Aside from the conduct of CISD, a module on Stress Management has
already been incorporated into the Command and General Staff College (CGSC),
a special course for field grade officers prior to their deployment as
battalion commanders. Said module will soon be included in all career
courses for both officers and enlisted personnel.
The Philippine Army is also strengthening the leadership in the ranks to
enhance counseling skills of small unit leadership. Recognizing that
small unit leaders, and soldiers and their buddies are in the best
position to observe and monitor unusual behavior, peer counseling can
prevent or relieve stress in the forward units where formal psychiatric
care is difficult. In a recent program to improve unit retraining under
the Philippine Army Battalions of Excellence Project, members of the
unit underwent a Psycho-Social Processing to determine combat and
non-combat stressors of individual soldiers. These sessions enable the
training committees, tactical officers, and Non-Commissioned Officers to
determine the state of mental health and morale of soldiers before the
conduct of training.
With these Mental Health Programs, the Philippine Army aims to enhance
soldiers' physical and mental well-being, as we put premium on
professional proficiency among our personnel to effectively and
efficiently perform assigned tasks and missions. #
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