Mental health technicians help troops stay fit to fight Published Sept. 22, 2014 By Senior Airman Omari Bernard JBER Public Affairs JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Hope is a four-letter word that can motivate, inspire and redeem. It costs nothing, but can be priceless to those who need it. The 673d Medical Group's mental health clinic gives hope to anyone who feels hopeless and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, mental health service specialists are there to ensure every service member is mentally fit to fight. "I chose this career field because helping people is a great mission to have," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Joshua Scott, a 673d Medical Operations Squadron mental health technician. "What I do is create a safe haven for some people to talk about issues that maybe they don't feel they can take to a chaplain or a military family life consultant." Mental health service specialists play a key role as part of a team of psychiatrists and psychologists to evaluate and provide mental healthcare to patients. "We're the gate keepers to the mental health unit," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Jordan Stephens, also a 673d Medical Operations Squadron mental health technician. "What the technicians do is coordinate appointments and schedule help with providers. "We also do triages over the phone, intakes if manning allows, and take vitals of patients who come in." Part of both the Army's Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness and the Air Force's Comprehensive Fitness programs is mental health. "Being mentally fit is just as important as being physically fit," Stephens said. "Check in on yourself." "[Maybe] you would go to the doctor if your toe hurts, before it got worse," Stephens continued. "We encourage people to come to us when your feeling bummed out or if something significant is happening in your life and you want to talk about it." Stephens, a native of Alaska, stressed the best form of medical care is preventive. "Do a mental checklist," he continued. "Am I still social? Am I drinking too much or participating in high-risk activities? If you can check those, then you should be good to go." Getting help before it's too late can make all the difference. "A lot of times people wait until [ a mental health concern] has become a crisis and they can't really manage it on their own," Stephens said. "So we usually see people while they are at their worst." Mental health technicians provide a plethora of services to bring hope to units if and when needed. "A function that we provide is disaster mental health," Stephens said. "If there is an event that goes on inside the base, such as an Airman gone missing or a death in one the units, we come out with the chaplain, a mental health doctor, and other technicians to talk to [people] about how to deal with the event, and brief people what to be expecting and the feelings that they have regarding the event in the unit." Often, due to the sensitive nature of patients' psychological well-being, the dedicated personnel of the mental health technicians take their work personally. "I have gotten the chance to track a patient from the beginning to the end of their treatment," Scott said. "I enjoy seeing people who are broken transition to fix themselves." To get familiar with units on the installation, technicians like Scott do "walkabouts." "A walkabout is when a mental health technician goes around the installation visiting units to get to know people of units and squadrons on a personal level," Scott explained. "The toughest part of our job is dealing with our stigma. "A lot of people think they speak to mental health that they will be labeled a certain way." "My favorite thing about walkabouts is that it lets me see what other people do," he continued. "I can sit behind a desk in an office all day and talk to people, but actually seeing a maintainer fix a plane, or seeing others in their units doing their jobs, puts a face to mental health, so we can better alleviate that stigma. The bottom line to what we do in mental health is take care of those who are in need." Mental health service specialists like Scott and Stephens, along with all the staff of the mental clinic are there to make sure that every service member on JBER who feels unmotivated, uninspired, or lost can have hope - so they are fit to fight. For more information on programs or to schedule an appointment, call 580-2181.