What is the Military & Family Life Consultant Program?

The Department of Defense (DoD) established the Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) Program to provide short-term, non-medical counseling services for service members and their families. These services are focused on issues specific to the military lifestyle such as:

• Stress related to the deployment cycle
• relocation adjustment,
• loss and grief,
• homesickness,
• separation,
• building resiliency, and
• reintegration and reunion
• developing and using coping skills

MFLC’s also provide coaching and counseling on life skills issues such as:

• anger management, 
• communication, 
•  relationship issues,
• productivity at work,
• conflict resolution,
• parenting, and
• problem-solving and decision-making skills.

The MFLC Program is intended to partner with and augment existing military counseling and helping services. MFLC’s offer flexible appointment times and locations, including locations off the military installation. Their services are free and no records are kept. Please note that consultants are mandated reporters of child abuse, domestic abuse, and duty-to-warn situations. Otherwise services are confidential and private.

All MFLC’s are masters or doctoral-level, licensed mental health professions. They work with families, individuals, couples, families and groups to provide non-medical problem identification and counseling services. They will address individual and family issues and provide crisis intervention when needed. All situations requiring formal mental health services will be referred to a military treatment facility or local clinical mental health providers. MFLCs may be assigned to a location for a 30 – 90 day rotation.

The program also offers consultation specializing in child and youth behavioral issues. Child and youth behavioral MFLC’s provide support to military children and youth and their family members or other adults who support them. Support can be provided in a variety of ways including groups facilitated at child and youth program sites, parent and staff training sessions, or direct intervention in classroom, camp or family childcare situations, including assisting staff in setting and managing behavioral boundaries. Examples of issues that may be addressed include:

• adjusting to school
• deployment and separation
• adjusting to the return home of a military parent
• family (sibling and parent-child) communications,
• behavioral concerns,
• fear, grief and loss; and
• other common developmental issues.

The MFLC Program serves all branches of the military and guard/reserve components. Additional “on-demand” services for guard and reserve units include briefings and counseling support for drill weekends and family events on topics such as the deployment cycle, communication, relationships, and grief and loss. Presentations are customized according the age and type of audience and the need for specific kinds of information.

To obtain information or to make an appointment, call (316) 706-4238 for adults or families and (316) 706-9672 for children and youth.