The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016 5 January-February 2016 Volume 93, No. 1 FOREIGN SERVICE AFSA NEWS 2015 AFSATax Guide / 61 VP Voice State: A Strong FS Begets Strong Diplomacy / 62 VP Voice FCS: Promotions and Flow-Through / 63 High School Essay Contest Accepting Entries / 63 VP Voice Retiree: Saving the Foreign Service / 64 Sinclaire Language Award Nominations / 64 AFSA Newsletter 2.0: A Good Thing Gets Better / 65 Steadfast Partners on Diversity / 65 AFSA Joins in Trade Policy Dialogue / 65 SOSA Celebrates 25 Years / 66 AFSA Scholarship Deadline / 66 Dissent Awards Nominations / 66 AFSA Governing Board Meeting / 67 Progress in the Senate / 67 AFSAMembership Fees Unchanged in 2016 / 68 Performance Awards Nominations / 68 Awards and Plaques Committee News / 68 COLUMNS President’s Views / 7 Reaching Out BY BARBARA STEPHENSON Letter from the Editor / 8 Considering Mental Health BY SHAWN DORMAN Speaking Out / 18 Retiree Access, Step by Step BYMARY ELLEN GILROY Reflections / 101 The Foreign Service and a Girl Named Alex BYJIM PATTERSON DEPARTMENTS Letters / 9 Talking Points / 14 In Memory / 89 Books / 92 Local Lens / 102 MARKETPLACE Classifieds / 94 Real Estate / 97 Index to Advertisers / 100 On the Cover: Surveying the maze of mental health care issues. Illustration: TheiSpot.com/Dennis Wunsch FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR THE FOREIGN SERVICE The Evolution of State’s Mental Health Services / 20 MED’s mental health program has grown and evolved over the years to address the unusual needs of FS employees and their families serving overseas. BY SAMUE L TH I E LMAN Mental Health and ECS—What You Should Know / 26 The State Department’s Employee Consultation Services can help members of the foreign affairs community resolve workplace and interpersonal concerns. BY CHANTAY WH I TE AND PAUL ETTE BALDWI N The Face of Mental Health Services Overseas / 28 State’s 22 regional medical officer/psychiatrists are the backbone of mental health support for the Foreign Service community overseas. BY STEPHEN A . YOUNG Time to Heal and a Place to Thrive / 32 One DS special agent offers his own case as a model for successful rehabilitation from mental illness. BY RONALD HOL LOWAY Mental Health Services Checkup: Foreign Service Members Weigh In / 35 As part of our look into mental health services for the Foreign Service, we asked members in the field for their thoughts. Here is a compilation of candid views. What About Our Kids? / 50 Foreign Service children are just as at risk of mental health problems as the average American child, if not more so. BY K I M DEBLAUW A Foreign Service Officer’s Alzheimer’s Journey / 52 This is the heartbreaking story, told by a devoted spouse, of a vibrant and trailblazing FSO’s descent into the most insidious form of dementia. BY JOHN COL L I NGE FS HERITAGE Samuel Lewis in Israel, 1977-1985 / 56 BY YOAV J . TENEMBAUM FS KNOW-HOW Estate Planning for the Foreign Service Community / 58 BY SAM SCHM I TT