At our last couple duty stations I have been introduced to the local Military Family Life Counselor (MFLC) but never really looked into what they do or took advantage of anything they had to offer. This past year, however, the combination of COVID and deployments has been rough on the little ones.
We decided to contact the MFLC assigned to our local elementary school and found out that they have a weekly military kids club, as well as availability to meet one on one! The flexibility and tailoring of the support they offer is unmatched to any other resource I have seen.
If you live in a heavily military area, you may have a MFLC assigned to your school or daycare. If the military population is not as dense, it might just be one for the region. They can help both adults and children adapt to challenges of military life such as deployment.
The sub-group of Child and Youth Behavioral MFLCs offer non-medical counseling that can help children adapt to the challenges of military life and other stressors they might be facing. All MFLCs are licensed professionals (LCSW, LPC, LMFT etc.) and meetings with them are free and confidential with no record keeping.
If you or your little ones are experiencing some stress, consider reaching out! Ask for help early before it becomes too much. Click here for even more mental health resources.