• Like previous years, CIC has taken 3000+ incoming calls in 2021
• We celebrated 10 years as a national VA telephone-based service
• We revised our quality assurance processes to improve our service delivery
• We proposed and received additional funding for developing suicide prevention strategies for CIC callers and specifically for family members concerned about Veterans just discharged from a psychiatric hospitalization
• We published our first paper in Psychiatric Services describing our unique service
• We started a grant project to test and enhance our coaching strategies
• We also made great progress in clinical development in these areas: 1) enhancing our coaching manual, 2) refining our strategies for supporting staff on high risk calls

Contact Coaching Into Care today for help in talking to a Veteran about getting mental health care: (888) 823-7458.

Military culture is internalized by most service members and Veterans but sometimes a mystery to their family members and friends. Military values such as sacrifice, honor, humility, collective effort, and a desire to limit risk or harm to others are important to understand. Veterans share a special camaraderie and bond between them because they go through challenging situations both in training and during deployments. They also share a sense of Duty to Country.

When a Veteran is reluctant to get help, these values can become your talking points to getting the Veteran in your life to consider mental health treatment. Make it the family mission. But first and foremost, validate their feelings and just listen. Don’t bombard them with questions. CIC can help you have that conversation. Give us a call at (888) 823-7458.

Effective communication starts with good listening. CIC often advises callers to listen more, talk less. Listening is more than hearing, it’s understanding not only what is being said but how, the emotions behind it. Some tips for becoming an engaged listener:

• Focus fully on the speaker and minimize distractions
• Avoid interrupting. You can’t concentrate on what someone is saying if you’re focused on what you are going to say next
• Try to set aside judgment and withhold blame and criticism in order to fully understand them
• Provide feedback, reflect what has been said by paraphrasing, e.g. “what I’m hearing is”, “Sounds like you are saying.”

Find more tips for successful communication on our website at: https://www.mirecc.va.gov/coaching/tips-for-family-friends.asp