| TO <38th Fleet/ALL> CC <K-7/Counseling>, <K-7/Operations> FROM LCDR Sedai SUBJ Counseling status and services on K-7, please read |
Hello,
This memorandum contains a summary of self-care reminders and services that counseling personnel are able to provide at this time. I will spare you all the usual counseling rhetoric in favor of something more succinct: if you cannot take care of yourself, then you will be useless to help anyone else. Please do not forget to prioritize your mental health.
I have spent some time speaking with K-7's counseling staff and their facilities operators for accommodations regarding some of these pursuits, but ideally we will have some starship facilities volunteered for this purpose as well. Those who are interested, please contact me on a separate chain and we can get your facilities listed.
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1. DO NOT NEGLECT YOUR SLEEP NEEDS.
Sleep is, bar none, the absolute singlemost important factor in assisting healing in mental health and traumatic events. We are all understandably working overtime at this time, but I cannot overstate the importance of getting rest, for the significant positive impact it has on one's ability to process their emotions and their ability to integrate negative experiences in a healthy way.
All command staff should be reminded of the counseling requisite that personnel take a mandatory five hours minimum rest period between every twenty six hours of work, if the full eight to ten hours is not an option. Those of you whose command or duty structures have been disrupted to the point of having no work or schedule, it is grievously important that you enforce this schedule on yourself.
If you require sleep aids, please visit sickbay for a consultation! We have safe and non-addictive options for this and they are an absolutely acceptable way to get through these next several days. Assisted sleep is still real sleep.
2. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
If there was ever a time to reach our to your emotional support network, now is it. If your friends are available, get temporary quarters together. If your family is remote and unaffected, call them. This is a poor time to be too proud to accept other people's company. If you feel you do not have anyone, please contact counseling promptly and we will absolutely find a way to help you via group or individual counseling, or community gatherings.
3. ATTEND A GROUP COUNSELING SESSION.
Attached, you will find a three times daily schedule for group counseling, which will be facilitated by a group of three to four counselors, lasting roughly two hours each. While individual sessions are still available, we ask that personnel attend and participate in a group session first, and then pursue scheduling a followup individually if you feel you would benefit from the continued interaction.
Should more ships volunteer facilities, we will be able to host more simultaneous sessions as long as we have personnel to cover. There will be signups available, but these sessions will be equally welcoming to drop-ins, so please do not hesitate to attend one that's convenient.
4. ATTEND A SCHEDULED GROUP MEALBREAK.
I have coordinated with K-7 facilities to provide specific timeframes in which displaced DS13 officers and families can convene for shared mealtimes. Please consider bringing yourself, your friends, and/or your family to socialize. In the coming weeks, there is potential for these to expand for entertainment (live music, film, etc.), so if that is something you are interested in, these are worth keeping tabs on.
5. CONTACT COUNSELING FOR ASSISTANCE IN LOCATING COMMUNITY.
Small community leaders, regardless of central focus, are highly encouraged to contact counseling in order to be added to a central registry that we can use to advise individuals of possible matches. Whether this focus is religious in nature, interests-based, species-based, or even career and professions-based, shared, common elements are key for building communities that can have significant impact on one's sense of self-worth.
6. FIND A WAY TO HELP OUT.
Many, many, many of you will find yourselves at a loss for things to do, given our recent upheaval. Command will be working on assigning the tasks that are most pressing, but until you receive specific orders, one of the best things you could be doing for yourself and others is looking for ways to help in the current crisis.
If you have medical skills or even any basic interest in it, the sickbay wants you. Those with engineering experience will be extremely useful volunteering on vessels where significant damage was done, as well as crafting makeshift solutions to handle our current overpopulation crisis. Facilities will need assistance with meal making and distribution and quartering.
Or just find others who are looking for things to do and come up with ways to improve morale for yourselves.
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Thank you for reading. Take care of yourself and each other. We are all counselors in our own way and it is times like this when we must most let that aspect of ourselves rise to the top.
//SIGNED//
LCDR Sedai, Katriel
DS13 Counseling
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//ATTACHMENT// 38K7-GROUP_COUNSELING.sched
//ATTACHMENT// 38K7-INDIVCOUNSELreq.form
//ATTACHMENT// 38K7-COMMUNITYLEAD-REG.form
//ATTACHMENT// Crisis Counseling for Families and Parents - How to help your children understand.101
//ATTACHMENT// FLEET CRISIS PROTOCOL (Commander) HANDBOOK.101