DVIDS – News – Behavioral Health Heroes Serve the Northeast

Among the ranks of the unsung heroes in the military's response to COVID-19 in the Northeast United States are healthcare professionals focused on giving service members, patients and frontline workers the tools they need to build their mental resilience .

The team in the northeast was five Soldiers, since their mission began in early April. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Adrian Johnson, a licensed clinical social worker with the 44th Medical Brigade based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, led the hospital team set up at the Javits Center in New York, working with other behavioral services teams and professionals to serve the needs of the hospital.

“In New York we served doctors, nurses and staff as well as civilian patients in the hospital,” Johnson said. “Our mission has been to enhance the overall mental and emotional health of the population we serve.”

The team worked at the hospital at the Javits Center for three weeks, helping where they could. Another team member, Spc. Joshua Mabins, a behavioral health specialist, also with the 44th Med Brigade, ran a staff lounge, a task not normally assigned to behavioral health, but which gave him the opportunity to help staff de-stress and to check in.

“It gave them a chance to take a step back from the game,” Mabins said, “even if it was just for a few minutes, and focus on themselves. It was a way to reach out and say, “we're here for you.”

Mabins says that no matter where he operates, the goal is to build resilience before a crisis hits. He says that as people learn about themselves and how to manage their stress, they become better versions of themselves.

“We need to look at mental health like physical fitness. Just like you work to be physically strong, mental health takes work,” says Mabins. “That resilience puts tools in our toolboxes so we can control ourselves or help someone else in need.”

Every team member focuses on mental health every day. Johnson performs his duties daily at Fort Eustis, Va., and said while the core mission remains the same, the day-to-day operations are always different because behavioral health is not one size fits all.

“Everyone is different, and in New York we were working with citizens with COVID-19,” Johnson said. “They were in crisis seeing a lot of death and being separated from their families for treatment, so we engaged in therapy or techniques, whatever was needed to address their concerns.”

Behavioral health isn't about lying on a couch and talking about your feelings, it's about reorienting your body and mind so you can think and act clearly. Johnson says there is a connection between external stimuli, our mind and our body, and we can learn to actively participate in this process.

“You see something, death, pain, disease, and it triggers a nervous system response that changes your body, your heart rate, your breathing, your palms sweat, all of that is involuntary,” Johnson said. “At that point we can act with breathing techniques to calm the body and focus on positive things to bring clarity.”

Although their duties at the Javits center are complete, their mission is not over. The team moved from New York to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and immediately began the process of assisting the redeployment units. Mabins says that stress during a mission doesn't just go away when the mission is over.

“We cannot ignore ourselves, even when we finish our missions,” Mabins said. “What you went through still matters and you need to think about it and process it.”

Some of these redeployment service members require a quarantine period. This may be due to exposure, or they may have a family member at home with a weakened immune system, so they have chosen to self-quarantine. Either way, this team continues to provide them with the full spectrum of behavioral health services. Mabins makes daily phone calls to check in.

“Our main goal is just to check on them and meet their needs,” Mabins said. “Even though this mission is over, we want them to know that someone is here, people still care, they weren't left without someone thinking of them.”

As the team plans its own transition back home, it reflects on the mission and uses the successes to build its own resilience, and Johnson couldn't be prouder of the team.

“I'm proud to have helped restore resiliency to the citizens of New York and New Jersey and our military members,” Johnson said. “This team is the pinnacle of success. They answered the call. They came prepared to strengthen the mental health of the people we served and the entire Nation.”