A new counseling hotline aimed at offering another outlet for stress relief is now open for Marines and their families.
According to this story, the “DSTRESS” line is a confidential, 24/7 hotline with specialists who are specifically trained in Marine culture or who may be retired or “former” Marines or Fleet Marine Force Corpsman. Counseling can be done over the phone, via Skype or through an online chat client.
It sounds like this hotline can be another great tool to help families and Marines sift through deployment stress. The program, however, is only only available for Marines in the western US and in some parts of Texas. Family in other parts of the country who have a Marine stationed in the permitted states are also allowed to use the service.
The reason for the limited access, said Bryan Driver, a Marine Corps family programs spokesman, is that the program is being operated by TriWest and is still in the testing stage. If the program is successful, he said, they plan to expand it nation-wide next year.
The hotline can be reached at 1-877-476-7734.
We’d love to hear any feedback on this from anyone who gets to use it.
