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• In general, most people who used non-medical counseling experienced a reduction in problem severity and its impact on their lives over the short and long term.
• There was a statistically significant decrease in the frequency with which a participant's problem interfered with work or daily routines following non-medical counseling, and a decrease in stated difficulty coping with day-to-day demands.
• Most non-medical counseling participants were connected with support and services outside of the program — although not necessarily to support they would not have found on their own.
• Across most measures, over 90 percent of participants reported positive experiences with non-medical counseling provided through the Military and Family Life Counseling and Military OneSource programs.
• Over 90 percent of participants expressed favorable perceptions of the professionalism and knowledge of non-medical counselors, thought that their counselor listened to them and spent enough time with them, and agreed that their counselor provided the services they needed to address their problem.
• Despite positive perceptions from the majority of participants, between 1 percent and 7 percent of participants reported being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with non-medical counseling, and about 15 percent continued to rate their problem as severe or very severe, suggesting that there is room for improvement.

This report evaluates two programs offered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that provide short-term, solution-focused counseling for common personal and family issues to members of the U.S. military and their families. These counseling services are collectively called non-medical counseling within the DoD and are offered through the Military and Family Life Counseling (MFLC) and Military OneSource programs. RAND's National Defense Research Institute was asked to evaluate these programs to determine whether they are effective in improving outcomes and whether effectiveness varies by problem type and/or population. Two online surveys were provided to program participants — the first two to three weeks after their initial session and the second three months later. Surveys were designed to gain information on 1) problem severity and overall problem resolution, 2) resolution of stress and anxiety, 3) problem interference with work and daily life, 4) connection to other services and referrals, 5) experiences with MFLC and Military OneSource programs, and 6) perceptions of non-medical counselors. The majority of participants experienced a decrease in problem severity and a reduction in reported frequency of feeling stressed or anxious as a result of their problem following counseling. These improvements were sustained or continued to improve in the three months after initiation of counseling. Non-medical counseling was not universally successful, however, and a small minority expressed dissatisfaction with the program or their counselor. Collectively these findings suggest a number of policy implications and programmatic improvements of interest to program leadership in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Evaluation Design, Methodology, and Analytic Approach

• Chapter Three

  Severity and Overall Problem Resolution

• Chapter Four

  Resolution of Stress and Anxiety

• Chapter Five

  Interference with Work and Daily Life

• Chapter Six

  Connection to Services and Referrals

• Chapter Seven

  Experiences with MFLC and Military OneSource Programs

• Chapter Eight

  Perceptions of Non-Medical Counselors

• Chapter Nine

  Summary and Conclusions

• Appendix A

  Data Collection, Weighting, and Analytic Approach

• Appendix B

  Survey Instruments

• Appendix C

  Tables of Significant Subgroup Differences