MacDill Air Force Base -- MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 927th Air Refueling Wing has a new full-time director of psychological health.
Ms. Tijuana Odom was selected by Air Force Reserve Command to ensure services are in place to help 927th ARW members and their families achieve and sustain psychological health.
Odom not only brings the paper credentials to fulfill the requirements for the DPH position, but she also understands military life; she served 12 years on active duty and two years as a reservist.
Odom has a master’s degree in counseling and guidance, and a master's degree in social work. She will provide the wing clinical and non-clinical services.
Clinical services available to members enrolled in the military healthcare system include initial assessments, therapy on a short-term focus basis, and referrals to outside clinical providers if the member needs longer-term assistance.
Non-clinical services include training and education, consultations and referrals, needs assessments, suicide prevention, resiliency building, crisis intervention and command advisement on psychological and mental health issues. These services are available to reservists, their families and civilian staff.
“I understand Air Force Reserve personnel face many challenges that are common among most people, but what sets their difficulty at a higher level is their constant shift between civilian and military statuses on a monthly basis,” Odom said. “This constant transitioning requires mental fitness and resilience in order to maintain the separate requirements of each lifestyle and perform required duties sufficiently and satisfactorily.”
“A large part of my role is assisting members and family members with developing resilience and navigating life stressors in order to ‘meet the mission,’ or be deployment-ready,” she added.
According to Odom, sometimes just having a sounding board can help reduce stress. She hopes over time people will realize talking to someone about their mental health is vital to their well-being.
“My door is open,” said Odom. “I want to offer a safe, welcoming environment to help everyone in the wing. To do that, I look forward to feedback on what is needed.”
Odom welcomes office visits and is also able to meet members at times and locations convenient to their circumstances. The DPH’s services are free of charge, private and confidential with a few exceptions as directed by the Air Force and state law.
Odom is located at the MacDill Area Resiliency Center (MARC) Bldg. #378, 3rd floor, Room 326 and is available during the week and regularly scheduled drill weekends. For more information or to schedule an appointment, email her at tijuana.odom.2@us.af.mil or call 828-0016.