Shrinking rumors on the shrink Published March 18, 2014 By Senior Airman Stephanie Sauberan Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Some injuries go beyond physical health and the staff of the Mental Health Clinic at Minot Air Force Base has a wide range of providers and classes to assist with anything from work related stress to depression or thoughts of suicide. Capt. Tim Ralston, 5th Medical Group mental health element leader, is one such provider who works to assist Airmen and their families with daily stressors and life events. "We currently have seven mental health providers on staff, along with one psychiatrist," said Ralston. "In addition to normal office hours, there are also providers who are on-call for emergency interventions and high priority patients who need to seek immediate care." Seeking help from the mental health clinic can sometimes be an intimidating idea for many Airmen, especially those in the personnel reliability program who may fear that seeking assistance may result in revocation of their status, said Staff Sgt. Odette Wardrip, 5th MDG noncommissioned officer in charge of the mental health clinic. "I feel that sometimes individuals are hesitant to visit Mental Health for fear of being labeled," said Wardrip. "However, that is not the case, and it is much better to fix a problem or stressor as soon as it appears rather than ignore it and allow it to become more powerful." Many individuals report that they fear seeking help from the mental health clinic because they believe it may adversely affect their career; however, having a mental health history, other than in rare cases, does not normally affect permanent change of station orders, career progression or deployment eligibility, said Ralston. According to a study called "A multisite study of Air Force outpatient behavioral health treatment-seeking patterns and career impact" conducted in 2006 by Col. Anderson Rowan and Col. Ricky Campise, only three percent of self-referred mental health patients had a negative career impact. Although some information is mandatory to report, there are still many issues Airmen can seek help with free from the fear of being reported or having it reflect in a negative way on their records, said Wardrip. Information that is mandatory to report include thoughts of self harm or harming others, violations of the law or uniform code of military justice and the possibility of an unsafe work environment. "All visits to mental health are kept in an individual's medical records," said Wardrip. "However, only the information that is mandatory to report will be relayed to a member's leadership." The mental health clinic offers classes to deal with stress such as stress and anger management, divorce classes, sleep hygiene, the five love languages and parenting techniques. Likewise, the clinic also sees married couples and dating partners for couples counseling sessions. All of the classes offered are led by health care professionals proficient in the topic being covered, said Ralston. Perhaps more importantly, they are absolutely free. "Attending classes offered by the Mental Health Clinic are doubly beneficial in that individuals are able to see that they are not alone in a particular struggle and they are able to learn tools to overcome similar stressors in the future," said Wardrip. In addition to services offered in the clinic, mental health also partners with the Airman and Family Readiness Center, base chaplains, Military and Family Life Councilors, Family Advocacy and physicians in the city of Minot, said Ralston. The MFLC offers counseling sessions with no written records kept other than those that may reflect mandatory reporting information. Similarly the AFRC offers appointments and walk-ins for one-on-one discussions based on stressors. Additionally, the mental health clinic has begun branching out to units and visiting them personally to offer certain services. "The mental health clinic has been working towards completing more walk-throughs in high priority units," said Ralston. "The clinic periodically visits units and offers to speak with members one on one in their own shops as a way to help alleviate the pressure that individuals may feel when reporting to the clinic instead." Visiting the mental health clinic can assist individuals by teaching them a different perspective on daily stressors, ways to cope or work through their stress and teach them new tools and techniques to overcome issues and work through them independently, said Ralston. "It's important for patients to know that a visit to Mental Health isn't all about digging into their past ... it's about finding ways to fix problems that are currently affecting them," said Ralston. "Honestly, I consider it a success when my patient is able to take control of their stressors and become their own therapist ... when this happens I know I have done my job."