REACH-Spouse Facilitator Hub

Taking care of your mental health is vital to your overall well-being and plays a key role in the health of your family and community. An important first step to living your best MilLife is knowing it’s OK to ask for help.

REACH-Spouse — Resources Exist, Asking Can Help-Spouse — empowers military spouses to do just that by helping them find the resources they need for themselves and their service member to overcome challenges.

These free trainings, led by a facilitator, show spouses how to navigate mental health challenges, access resources and connect with support for themselves and their service member.

The curriculum includes two standalone two-hour REACH-Spouse sessions, each led by a trained facilitator. These can help military spouses:

You may wonder whether you should facilitate Session 1, 2, or both. Some facilitators feel equally comfortable leading both sessions. Others, especially those who have experienced military spouse challenges firsthand, prefer to begin with Session 1. Facilitators with more experience teaching suicide prevention skills may prefer to start with Session 2. Whichever you choose, you’ll gain confidence by learning to lead one of the sessions before tackling the other.

The two sessions are complementary and can be delivered in any order. Ideally, both should be offered to military spouses.

The REACH-Spouse facilitator training involves self-study. For the best user experience, download and save these seven key instructional materials to your device rather than viewing them in your browser.

Note: The REACH-Spouse facilitator’s manuals and materials reference “non-medical counseling” to describe short-term, solution-focused, confidential counseling. Learn more about counseling options available through Military OneSource and the Military and Family Life Counseling Program.

Review the materials before your first session in the following order:

1. Facilitator “Quick Start” Instructions

A cheat sheet describing each program material you will need to review as part of the REACH-Spouse facilitator training process.

• REACH-Spouse Facilitator Instructions

2. Facilitator’s Manual

A comprehensive guide for navigating the REACH-Spouse program. Separate manuals are available for active-duty spouses, and National Guard and reserve spouses. Download the manual that corresponds to your target audience.

• Active-duty facilitator’s manual
• Reserve and National Guard facilitator’s manual

3. Resources Handout

A list of key national and local resources available to military spouses, service members and their dependents, which you will distribute to your session attendees. Before your session, you will need to populate the local resources specific to your installation.

• REACH-Spouse resources handout

4. Demonstration Video

A video showcasing a full-length REACH-Spouse session, designed to demonstrate effective facilitation techniques. Separate videos are available for sessions 1 and 2. Watch the video for the session you will lead.

• Session 1 video (MP4)
• Session 1 video transcript (PDF)
• Session 2 video (MP4)
• Session 2 video transcript (PDF)

5. REACH-Spouse Session Slide Deck

A ready-to-use slide deck to accompany your REACH-Spouse sessions. Separate slide decks are available for sessions 1 and 2, active-duty spouses, and National Guard and reserve spouses. Download the slide deck associated with the target audience and session you will lead.

• REACH-Spouse Session 1 active-duty slide deck
• REACH-Spouse Session 1 reserve and National Guard slide deck
• REACH-Spouse Session 2 active-duty slide deck
• REACH-Spouse Session 2 reserve and National Guard slide deck

6. Military Spouse Recruitment Guide

A guide filled with helpful tips and strategies for recruiting military spouses for your REACH-Spouse sessions.

• Military Spouse Recruitment Guide

7. Practice Checklist

A checklist containing key points to cover on each slide along with essential tips and reminders to guide you through your session seamlessly.

• Practice checklist

Does REACH-Spouse really work, and what does it do?

Extensive field testing shows that military spouses who attend a REACH-Spouse session leave with significantly more knowledge of available resources. Learn about the evidence base behind REACH-Spouse in the REACH-Spouse Field Test Report.

Take the REACH Facilitator Training Course on MilLife Learning. This course trains facilitators to lead REACH sessions, which are designed to help service members address challenges by seeking help early.