Army Offers Counseling for Grief
Counselors are being sent to Ft. Hood to offer counseling for hundreds of individuals affected by last Thursday’s violent shooting. Among these individuals are soldiers, hospital workers, civilians, and family members, all who are struggling to overcome the grief of loss.
Last week, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist in the Army Medical Corps, opened fire and killed 13 people and wounded 31 more at Ft. Hood, Texas. The tragedy has left the population at Ft. Hood devastated.
“The entire resources of the United States Army are at the disposal of Ft. Hood and its population to help deal with the impact of this event,” Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said. “Our initial focus in these last three days has really been working on getting them the kind of behavioral assessments and counseling for the traumatic stress incidents they’ve been through”
Cone came through on the promise, as a total of 116 teams were sent to Ft. Hood. These teams included 18 combat stress control teams, 41 behavioral health counselors, and 57 ministry support teams. Additional resources are on their way.
Cone stated that he was not as worried about the soldiers affected by the tragedy, as they are trained for dealing with disaster and continuing with their work. He was worried about something else:
“The real challenge that we have has to do with the other folks that are here at Ft. Hood: The civilians that were working and became a part of this, the families here at Ft. Hood who had always previously considered this to be a safe place, the children that are here – many of whom were locked down in schools. We are right now in the process of executing a comprehensive program to address the needs of all of these populations.”
In addition, soldiers who have struggled with behavioral problems such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are also being treated.
A memorial service is set for today at 1 p.m. CT and will be attended by President Barack Obama, and the family members of the victims who have lost their lives.
Will Lee
Counselor Network Writer
