Kentlands Psychotherapy

Kentlands Psychotherapy
Confidential Services for Busy Professionals

About My Clients

Are you worried that seeking treatment for your problem could impact your career or future orders? You're not alone.

Career Concerns
I began working with military personnel and their families in 1997 at Great Lakes Naval Hospital. I later served as an active duty psychologist in Jacksonville, Florida; in Portsmouth, Virginia; and in Naples, Italy. During my tenure I found that very often officers were reluctant to seek help from military mental health departments and/or substance abuse departments. Often it was because, rightly or wrongly, they were afraid it might impact their career or future orders.

What I know is that sometimes this is true and often it's not true. Usually what motivates an officer to seek help is emotional upset over a situation (an infidelity, a relationship conflict, a personal loss, a crisis at work, etc). "Normal" reactions to these difficult circumstances are not an indication of a psychiatric illness. On the other hand, if you have a mild form of clinical depression. It's not the diagnosis of depression or the taking medication for depression that impacts most* service members professionally (*EXCEPTIONS CAN INCLUDE DIVERS AND PILOTS). What matters is whether the depression itself, treated or not, is impairing your ability to function at work or might get worse under the stress of a deployment or overseas stationing (risking an expensive and disruptive early return of a service member and his or her family). Similarly although it is very common to fear seeking treatment for an alcohol problem, however it is often the fallout from the addiction itself that ultimately hurts or ends a service member's career.

Special Military Issues

Scheduling Needs
For others the need for an alternative to on base support services is a practical matter. Getting away from work during the day, when a base’s mental health clinic or family service center is open, can be tough. You may not want to take the time away from your job to address a personal matter. You may be concerned that going for several appointments during your work hours will raise too many questions with your boss or colleagues and that, in and of itself, would be another stressor you just don’t need right now.

What I know is that officers and professional spouses are understandably unwilling to take time away from their work to deal with a personal matter. You've spent years getting to this point in your career and your work is very important to you. You don't want/wish, or can't afford, to take time away from it. It's important to you to maintain a professional persona at your office, which likely includes being together, competent, and able to handle stress, so it's understandable that you are concerned about what others might think about your decision to talk with someone. The majority of my office hours are on weekends and evenings so you can take time for yourself without taking it away from your job.

Greater Confidentiality for Medical Professionals
When you work in a medical setting, you may want greater confidentially than is possible when receiving care at your place of work. For some, although they may feel that their problem is not really “psychiatric” in nature, a family service center does not seem to fit for them either.

What I know is that when we are dealing with a difficult situation we usually want to speak with someone we know and trust, someone who will keep our confidence, someone who will take the time to get to know us before we are presented with a lengthy and impersonal questionnaire, and someone who does not need to formally record the details of our personal pain in our primary medical record. Medical providers and other medical personnel know better than most that military medical records are moving toward greater electronic and global recording of patient care notes. This understandably causes significant concern when we consider the impact on confidentiality for our most private matters and most personal feelings.

An Alternative
If concerns like these have stopped you from getting the help and support you need, you have another option. I am able to offer confidential care, at a location off base, during the off hours that work for you. I offer psychotherapy services with a personal understanding of the many unique challenges that military careers and military life present. As a military spouse and mother, I also appreciate the special issues that military wives and professional civilian spouses face. I encourage you to call today to get the support you need.