JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Across the nation, suicide has been prevalent in the general population over the past decade, due to a myriad of events increasing the need for behavioral health (or mental health) services throughout the community and world.
Despite these events, military suicide rates are showing an encouraging decrease. The Department of Defense 2021 annual suicide report shows a decrease from 584 to 518, 66 fewer than the previous year. Additionally, the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2021 report of 6,260 military veteran suicide deaths, decreased by 399 from the year prior.
“Even with these numbers moving in the right direction, we understand the epidemic need for behavioral health care is even more imperative today,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Matthew Garrido, behavioral health operations team leader for the San Antonio Market, and BAMC Department of Behavioral Health chief. “Though small, the downward shift remains a hopeful sign that service members and their families are increasingly receiving the care and support they need to navigate these life stressors.”
All across the military forces at Joint Base San Antonio, command teams and leaders are working hard to reduce the stigma of behavioral health and to normalize the ability for service members and families to take care of their behavioral health needs early on.
The Department of Behavioral Health has a team of professionals who provide care to all active duty service members, activated Guardsmen and Reservists, and active duty family members in need of behavioral health services.
“The Department of Behavioral Health offers an array of various levels of behavioral health care from inpatient to outpatient,” Garrido said.
Specifically, the department provides: inpatient acute stabilization services; outpatient services (individual and group therapy); medication management for behavioral health conditions; intensive outpatient programs for general behavioral health and trauma treatment; residential treatment for addictions medicine; intensive outpatient for addictions medicine; child and family behavioral health; neuropsychological testing; and clinical health services for behavioral health conditions.
“There are often many reasons to seek behavioral health services,” Garrido said. “In fact, mental illnesses are common in the United States.”
According to the National Institute of Health, nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (52.9 million in 2020). Thus, it is quite common for someone to seek behavioral health services for life stressors from post-deployment, family changes, or distress related to adjusting to life events. In addition, other reasons may be related to a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety.
“We know the stressors from military life can have a direct influence on the psychological well-being of our services members and their families,” Garrido said. “Behavioral health professionals can assist by helping to navigate behavioral health stressors by teaching coping skills, stress management, anxiety and depression reduction skills, improve mood, increase self-esteem, improve relationships, engage in better sleeping habits, while allowing individuals to be more productive, maintaining a more positive outlook and enabling them to manage everyday stressors better.”
“When it comes to mental health, it can be hard to ask for help,” he added. “One of the best actions you can take to support an individual who is in trouble, such as those who are contemplating suicide, is to listen with compassion and empathy and without dismissing or judging. It may sound simple, but there is power in being a present, empathic listener. Stick with your battle buddy, wingman, friend or family member and offer to go with them to reach out for support.”
To streamline the process to contact the multiple clinics in the department, BAMC Behavioral health has implemented a single phone number 210-KEY-CARE (539-2273) for both active duty and their family members to call between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
While there is one number to access Behavioral Health clinics, it is important to note that Behavioral Health clinics are located in eight different locations throughout BAMC and Joint Base San Antonio. Please see the list of clinics below for their location.
Active Duty Service Members (Permanent Party): Behavioral Health care for permanent party active duty service members is available in several locations:
- Capt. Jennifer M. Moreno Clinic: Multi-D Outpatient Behavioral Health Acute Triage Clinic located in the Capt. Jennifer M. Moreno Clinic, first floor, at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays for active duty service members. To make an appointment, call 210-KEY-CARE (539-2273).
- Liberty Barracks: Multi-D Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic located in the Liberty Barracks, fifth floor, at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays for active duty service members. To make an appointment, call 210-KEY-CARE (539-2273).
- BAMC 7W: Multi-D Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic located at BAMC 7W, 7th Floor, is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays for active duty service members, residents, interns, and students in San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, or SAUSHEC. To make an appointment, call 210-KEY-CARE (539-2273).
- North Central Federal Clinic: 17440 Henderson Pass, San Antonio, Texas 78232. To make an appointment, call 210-483-5915, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Active Duty AIT (Students/Trainees): Campus Behavioral Health Services are available for Medical Education and Training Campus students at two locations:
- Walk-in and triage services are offered at McWethy Troop Medical Clinic weekdays from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., call 210-KEY-CARE (539-2273). Routine and follow-up care is available on the 2nd floor of the Capt. Jennifer M. Moreno Clinic weekdays from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., call 210-KEY-CARE (539-2273).
Active Duty Family Members:
- Child Adolescent and Family Behavioral Health Services is located in BAMC COTO side first floor by the Pediatric Clinic. The clinic is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To make an appointment, call 210-KEY-CARE (539-2273).
In addition, there is also support available to service members and their families including support from their command, chaplains, primary care managers and many other supportive organizations and hotlines. Below are just a few.
Military and Family Life Counselors offer non-medical, off-the-record counseling for relationships, parenting, conflict resolution, and military lifestyle issues. To contact a MFLC, call 210-627-3183.
Chaplain Family Life Center can provide marriage, family and personal counseling, holistic care, referral and religious support, call 210-221-5007 (duty hours) and 210-365-6420 (after duty hours).
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Vogel Resiliency Center, located at 2490 Stanley Road, building 367, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, provides health and wellness programs for the Joint Base San Antonio community. It is led by a team of experts from multiple agencies working together to empower individuals, families and organizations by exploring mind, body and spirit lifestyle changes. They serve active duty and dependents, retirees, Department of Defense civilian employees, Guard and Reserve members. All services are non-fee. For more information, call 210-539-1281.
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston R2 Performance Center provides customized performance training to Soldiers to enhance their personal readiness, resilience, optimize human performance and built unit cohesion. Training is available to active duty, Guard and Reserve members, as well as family members and Department of Defense civilians. The performance center is located at 2802 Harney Path, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. For more information, call 210-808-6089.
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Army Wellness Center provides programs and services that improve and sustain health, performance, and readiness of the Total Army, delivered by highly trained health professionals. The AWCs are an actionable platform delivering evidence based program that improve individual and unit readiness, utilizing mobile advanced testing technology, providing immediate feedback to improve Soldier readiness delivered by highly trained health & human performance professionals. The AWC is located at 2490 Stanley Road, building 367, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. For more information, call 210-539-1254.
BAMC Peer Support Program provides peer support during times of clinical stress related to sentinel events, unexpected death, unexpected/unanticipated outcomes, and clinical conflict. Point of contact is Ms. Jennifer Higgins, MSW, LCSW Special Assistant for Healthcare Resolutions at 210-916-7383.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides civilian employees assistance with issues such as stress management, marriage and family counseling, substance abuse, depression, dealing with loss and interpersonal problem. For more information, call 866-580-9078 or visit https://www.afpc.af.mil/eap.
In addition, there are mental health resources available at the national level. Please see information listed below.
988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health related distress such as thoughts of suicide or emotional distress. People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support. For Veterans Crisis Line, Dial 988, then press 1 or text 838255
Military OneSource is a free service provided by the Department of Defense to service members and their families to help with a broad range of concerns, including possible mental health problems. Call and talk anytime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 1-800-342-9647.
Give An Hour offers barrier free access to mental health care for Active duty, National Guard, Reserve and veterans. You can access their programs by visiting https://giveanhour.org/military/.
The inTransition program is a free, confidential program that offers specialized coaching and assistance for active-duty service members, National Guard members, reservist, veterans and retirees who need access to mental health care. Call 800-424-7877 (CONUS) or 800-748-81111 (OCONUS).
National Alliance on Mental Illness provides advocacy, education, support groups and public awareness for all individuals and families affected by mental illness. To learn more about NAMI support groups, visit https://nami.org/Support-Education/Support-Groups.