Consultants provide consequence-free help

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jarrod Grammel
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The military provides many programs and services to improve the lives of Airmen. One of these is the military and family life consultant program.

The MFLC program provides master's or doctorate level licensed clinical counselors to Service members and their families at no charge.

According to literature provided by the MFLC, the MFLC program addresses issues that occur across the military lifestyle and helps Service members and their families cope with normal reactions to the stress resulting from deployments, war and reintegration.

"The MFLC is someone you can talk to without fear of reprisal," said Eric Pedersen, 23rd Force Support Squadron chief of Airman and Family Readiness Center. "They don't keep any records, and don't tell anyone you talked to them. They will talk to Service members, families and caretakers, and will talk with you in any public place."

Nikki Bennett, 23rd FSS youth programs section chief, works with MFLCs on a regular basis, and knows how effective they can be.

"They are licensed psychologists and they keep no records," she said. "They will even meet you at McDonalds. It's an extremely valuable resource for Service members, families and the youth center.

"They deal a lot with resiliency," she added. "They are kind of like a guidance counselor that you find at schools, and they are very effective. They help children and families with anger management, dealing with stress, conflict resolution and other issues."

MFLCs are available to all services except the Navy and provide consultants for adults and children.

"One thing that we see people come to us a lot for is relationship and marriage help," said Pedersen. "We also meet with families who may be worried about someone who is deployed and wants to talk about it."

The MFLC program was first used by the Army for combat veterans and has evolved since then, proving its effectiveness in helping Service members.

"We have a 98 to 99 percent satisfaction rate in the Air Force," said Pedersen. "It's a great thing and it helps a lot of people."

The MFLC can be contacted at 229-834-6888.