Care Guide

Use this guide to learn about finding the right kind of care, understanding your options and how to manage any bills that may come your way.

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Your benefits

Through your program, you have access to free short-term counseling sessions per year for you and your household members. The number of sessions varies by agency, so check with your agency's benefits coordinator to confirm. You also have access to a variety of wellbeing resources to help you manage all areas of life on the My Benefits page.

View Counseling Options

Your benefits

Your federal staff mental and behavioral health program provides a variety of care options including self-help tools, wellbeing coaching and counseling for behavioral health conditions.

  • Self-help tools and programs
  • Onsite counseling offices at your local military base, station or worksite
  • Concierge services for finding a provider and scheduling an appointment with Appointment Assist
  • You and your household members have up to 6 free counseling sessions per issue, per year.

Counseling can help with behavioral health issues like stress, depression, anxiety and similar conditions. You can get started with counseling by getting matched with a provider with BetterHelp, or by searching for a Provider in our Provider Search tool.

If you or your household members are managing conditions that need higher levels of care like personality disorders, heavy substance use, or psychosis, you will need to find a provider through your primary health insurance instead. This is common for members that need prescriptions or rehab programs.

Finding the right care

Briefly review the levels of care and types of treatment and providers. Access your choice by using the provider search tool to seek out the best care option nearest you.

If this is an emergency situation, do one of the following: Call 911, go directly to an emergency room, or call your doctor or therapist for help.
 

Select the intensity of treatment that you believe you will need.

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  • For less severe conditions or ongoing maintenance, choose outpatient care or counseling services. This level of care is a good starting point for most people, because they will either resolve the issue at this level or evaluate and plan how best to proceed to more advanced levels of care and with which type of treatment or provider.

  • This level of care is best targeted toward moderate conditions which may require more frequent interactions with the specialist.

    To find intensive outpatient care, filter the provider search results for a service that includes the acronym IOP for intensive outpatient program.

  • Severe symptoms are treated with constant supervision and intense treatment. This generally requires admittance to a facility, such as a hospital or specialized treatment center for a minimum of 23 hours.

  • 23-hour observation services happen in a secure, medically staffed psychiatrically supervised facility. This level of care involves the highest level of skilled psychiatric professionals and begins with a face-to-face assessment of the patient, followed by an individual treatment plan. These sessions may be used to stabilize a person in crisis, but may result in a longer stay if more time is needed to stabilize the patient.

  • A partial hospital program (PHP) involves patients

    • Meeting 5-7 days per week for 5-9 hours each day
    • One weekly psychiatric evaluation
    • At least 2 nursing check-ins each week

    This level of treatment is used to resolve many of the same issues that inpatient and residential care address, but is considered less intense.

Match the treatment type to the condition.

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  • The Drug and Alcohol Addiction Counselor (LADC) is state licensed and/or certified to provide direct services. A Drug and Alcohol Addiction Counselor is an addiction-focused professional who helps individuals and families with health and recovery. Drug and Alcohol Addiction Counselors perform many activities including screening, assessment and diagnosis of drug and alcohol issues, management of an individual treatment plan, individual, family, group counseling, education and prevention strategies. LADCs cannot prescribe medicines or admit people to a hospital.

  • Anxiety disorders are the most common behavioral health problem reported in the USA. If you are having difficulty controlling your worries or feeling panicked often, seek out a professional that specializes in anxiety. The provider will assess the underlying cause and help you address the potential physical, biological, environmental, or psychological factors contributing to your fear and anxiety.

  • Behavior modification therapy (BMT) is a type of psychotherapy that seeks to change unwanted actions or reactions that negatively impact the patient.

    BMT is administered for:

    • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
    • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder
    • Phobias
    • Autism
    • Addiction

  • CBT can be delivered in-person or via telehealth. A provider specializing in this type of care may use it to for a variety of conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or mood disorders.

    Our digital CBT programs address:

    • Anxiety
    • Depression
    • Insomnia and other sleep difficulties
    • Chronic Pain
    • Substance Use

  • There are a number of conditions that commonly appear together. It is best that providers consider dual disorders with a comprehensive, integrated approach.

    One of the benefits of a provider specialized in co-occurring or dual disorders is their practiced expectation as to how coexisting symptoms surface instead of seeing exceptions to a standard.

  • Useful for borderline personality disorder, self harm, and chronic suicidal ideation.

  • Primarily used for autism spectrum disorders and developmental conditions.

  • A provider specialized in eating disorders, understands the psychological, environmental, family and social factors that play a part in forming an unhealthy relationship with food.

    • Anorexia Nervosa
    • Binge Eating Disorder
    • Bulimia Nervosa
    • Helping Your Child Build a Healthy Body Image

  • No matter how you lose the ability to interact with a loved one, strong feelings of sadness, yearning, or anger may be best served through grief counseling. Choose a provider with a specialty in bereavement or grief to manage your emotions, thoughts, and learn coping strategies.

  • Marriage and Family Therapists have graduate training (Master's, Doctoral, or Post-doctoral) in marriage and family therapy with additional clinical experience. The letters M.F.T. (Marriage and Family Therapist), L.M.F.T. (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist), L.C.M.F.T. (Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist), or L.I.M.F.T. (Licensed Independent Marriage and Family Therapist) after a name indicate that the person is licensed to provide marriage and family therapy by the state. Marriage and Family Therapists are trained in psychotherapy and family systems, and treat a wide range of problems, including depression, marital problems, anxiety, individual psychological problems, and child-parent problems. Marriage and Family Therapists cannot prescribe medicines or admit people to a hospital.

  • This specialty is commonly associated with psychiatric hospitalization, chronic pain, and withdrawal symptom care options.

  • Mental Health covers a broad range of psycho-emotional concerns. Take charge of the emotions and behaviors that negatively impact your life, by seeking a provider to nurture your mental wellbeing concerns.

    This is a great place to start, when you aren’t sure what type of provider you might need. A mental health specialist can evaluate your experiences and symptoms and send along the favored path to mental wellbeing.

  • Whether you were a witness or directly involved, a negative event that lingers in the mind causing flashbacks or repeated nightmares may be a sign of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Spend time with a provider, specialized in PTSD to evaluate your response to concerning events and to plan what you might do to improve your

  • Address misuse or dependency on prescription medications (narcotics/opioids), illegal drugs, alcohol and other addictive substances.

Identify the appropriate provider based on the treatment type and level of care.

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  • Provides cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectal behavior therapy (DBT), and other therapeutic interventions.

  • Offer support and resources, often involved in outpatient and community settings.

  • Can prescribe medication and provide medical management, often involved in more intensive levels of care.

Preparing for your first appointment

Before you go to a see a provider, it may help to know what to expect and how to prepare for your session. That way you will more likely get the help you want and feel more at ease.

Here are a few notes and suggestions to help prepare you for your experience.

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  • Some people may feel uneasy or embarrassed about seeing a counselor for personal problems. However, nearly everyone is faced -- at some time -- with challenges that are difficult to resolve independently. 

    Seeking assistance with a problem is usually a prudent, wise step and a  sign of personal strength. Having personal problems doesn't make you “crazy” or mean that you are experiencing a “nervous breakdown," and it doesn’t indicate that you have failed in any way.

    All services are provided in strict confidence. The personal information that you share with your counselor is confidential and not shared outside of the program unless you sign a release of information or if law requires disclosure.

  • Counselors are available to assist you with a wide variety of situations. The counselor will help you:

    • Clarify a problem.  Assess and evaluate complex situations.
    • Develop an action plan.  Identify steps to resolve the situation.
    • Handle a crisis.  Help you sort through your options.
    • Resolve a problem.  Many concerns can be resolved quickly, in just a few sessions. Your counselor can work with you to reach these short term treatment goals.
    • Engage in a treatment process.  The counselor will help you resolve more complex issues requiring extended treatment.

  • It’s best to come prepared for your session, so that you can get the most out of your time. Here is a list of a few things that you should consider bringing to your first appointment or share ahead of time with your provider.

    • Written list of questions.  Write down your questions and concerns and bring the list with you. Sometimes it's hard to remember all the problems or issues, especially in a new situation.
    • Notes about problem.  Bring any notes, documents, or records that will help you remember and describe the problem to the counselor.
    • History of problem.  Include how long you've had the problem. Also include similar problems you've had in the past and how you resolved them.
    • Medication.  Bring all current medications with the pharmacy label if possible. It will help your counselor provide a more complete evaluation.
    • Significant others.  Where appropriate, bring family members or other significant people who are involved with the problem to the first session.
    • Environment.  A counselor's office is typically a private office in an accessible location. The office will be comfortable, quiet, and designed for private conversations.
    • Assessment.  You will be asked to fill out some forms. The counselor will ask you some questions to better understand your concerns and talk with you about available options.
    • Referrals.  The counselor may refer you to specialists or other clinicians.

  • More advanced levels of care can come with additional paperwork, and in some cases you may be admitted into the facility for at least one overnight stay. If possible try to come with necessary forms filled out, a designated point of contact, a couple forms of identification, and basic necessities for an overnight stay.

    Keep in mind that for some facilities, your belongings may be sealed away until you are released. Before entering the facility, please ensure that any dependents have an adult caregiver and that a trusted person has access to necessary documents and accounts to manage your affairs.
     

Paying for Care

Your program benefits include a number of pre-paid counselling sessions per year. These sessions are paid for by the employer program. Check the number of sessions provided by your plan on the membership and eligibility page.

For live, one-on-one sessions with a provider you must get a code to use one of your pre-paid sessions otherwise you may be charged out-of-pocket. For BetterHelp, the code is automatically provided to the system for you and you will not be charged.

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Managing Care

Once you have initiated care you may have several appointments per year, which may be scheduled directly with the current provider, unless you wish to switch providers. If you experience any appointment or claims-related issues, please review the content below and submit either a grievance or appeal.

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  • A grievance is a formal complaint, regarding the care or services that you have received. You have the right to file a grievance, if you feel your service provider has been inappropriate or unprofessional. Upon receipt of a grievance report, Magellan will investigate the facts of the situation and seek to resolve and/or rectify the complaint.

    File a Grievance or Complaint