Posted on Oct 20, 2020
Who is the EMFP contact for Torii Station? Does anyone have experience with EFMP codes for mental health?
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My husband has orders for Torii Station, and the EMFP office at Womack wants to enroll me as EFMP for mental illness because I received more than 6 months of talk therapy (in 2020!). I find talk therapy helpful to manage stress, and I have an excellent therapist who is also a milspouse. Both my therapist and PCP have told the EFMP office in writing that I'm not mentally ill. 1SGT went to the EFMP office with my husband, but wasn’t able to get them to budge. We are running out of time to get to Torii Station before my husband’s report date, and I am considering enrolling in EFMP despite my better judgement. I was told that my two choices are 1) enroll, which will allow my therapist to choose a diagnostic code and add notes saying that I'm healthy and no further treatment is required 2) Have my husband fill out a form that acknowledges that I refused to enroll for mental illness and I refuse to release my medical records (which is not true, and the Womack EFMP office even spoke to my therapist on the phone). Does anyone know which diagnostic code is considered the least serious by EFMP offices? Does anyone know who handles EFMP for Torii station? Because of how EFMP tracks mental health, my "history of mental illness" will count against us for a minimum of five years and be visible in the system for seven.
Here are the arguments I made against enrollment, which failed to convince EFMP (but got command on our side – which was appreciated):
2) I was told that if I really wasn’t mentally ill, my therapist could have used a V Code like Grief Counseling or Stress Management, rather than Adjustment Disorder. This is factually accurate, but has no relevance for the military population. Tricare requires a diagnosis for reimbursement, and Adjustment Disorder is the least “serious” diagnosis accepted by Tricare. Grief Counseling (I have had two loved ones die in the last 9 months) or Stress Management (2020!) may have been more accurate, but Tricare would have refused payment. Adjustment Disorder is not listed anywhere in Womack’s EFMP handouts – for good reason. Because of the realities of Tricare billing, Womack EFMP should not automatically equate Adjustment Disorder with mental illness.
3) Grief or stress response is not considered an Adjustment Disorder until after the source of the stress has passed. I have been personally impacted - and the people I care about have been imperiled - by the pandemic, recession, civil unrest, and natural disasters (i.e. my brother’s house burned down in the forest fires, my major client lost their Boeing funding). In 2020, rigidly espousing the idea that six months of talk therapy equals mental illness is out of step with reality. In contrast, Tricare Select has waived all deductibles for online counseling and is encouraging everyone to get extra support.
Here are the arguments I made against enrollment, which failed to convince EFMP (but got command on our side – which was appreciated):
2) I was told that if I really wasn’t mentally ill, my therapist could have used a V Code like Grief Counseling or Stress Management, rather than Adjustment Disorder. This is factually accurate, but has no relevance for the military population. Tricare requires a diagnosis for reimbursement, and Adjustment Disorder is the least “serious” diagnosis accepted by Tricare. Grief Counseling (I have had two loved ones die in the last 9 months) or Stress Management (2020!) may have been more accurate, but Tricare would have refused payment. Adjustment Disorder is not listed anywhere in Womack’s EFMP handouts – for good reason. Because of the realities of Tricare billing, Womack EFMP should not automatically equate Adjustment Disorder with mental illness.
3) Grief or stress response is not considered an Adjustment Disorder until after the source of the stress has passed. I have been personally impacted - and the people I care about have been imperiled - by the pandemic, recession, civil unrest, and natural disasters (i.e. my brother’s house burned down in the forest fires, my major client lost their Boeing funding). In 2020, rigidly espousing the idea that six months of talk therapy equals mental illness is out of step with reality. In contrast, Tricare Select has waived all deductibles for online counseling and is encouraging everyone to get extra support.
Posted in these groups: 
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)
Torii Station
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) Torii Station
Edited 4 y ago
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 1
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For starters there is no EFMP at Torii Station. EFMP office is out of Foster Naval Hospital at Camp Foster. Torii is a tiny post with a handful of people. The person who manages EFMP has no control over anything, so if you do contact him, it won't be any help.
Your understanding of the EFMP is a bit off. Your husbands Commanders have absolutely no power or authority in this area, either You yourself have absolutely no control over any codes or ratings, and the process is a lot more simple than it sounds. All dependents get an EFMP screening. That screening goes to EFMP section at HRC. They send that over to the Army EFMP at Torii. He forwards it to Foster Hospital. They decide whether or not to accept you based on your medical needs and their capabilities. If your husband is headed to 1st Group, they have their own Psychologist. Foster sends a response to the Army EFMP who sends it back to your EFMP. If you're accepted by the hospital the acceptance goes to your reassignment section who then adds the dependent to the orders. USAR-J in mainland Japan is also in that routing somewhere as well.
Whether or not you are scary to EFMP isn't really a factor. Foster may just have a policy to deny anyone who refuses to reveal their medical status. You could always contact the Foster EFMP office and ask. You could contact the Torii EFMP liason, but they're just a liason and can only give you a wild guess. Also, the person who handles EFMP has other jobs and EFMP is only a tiny part of their job. Torii is so small that the entire MPD is about six people large so everyone is doing multiple jobs.
Also, there is no Japan health system for you. You will be enrolled at Foster Naval Hospital or Kadena Clinic if your husband is in the ADA unit. Okinawa has very limited mental health capacity for dependents, but they do have it.
Your understanding of the EFMP is a bit off. Your husbands Commanders have absolutely no power or authority in this area, either You yourself have absolutely no control over any codes or ratings, and the process is a lot more simple than it sounds. All dependents get an EFMP screening. That screening goes to EFMP section at HRC. They send that over to the Army EFMP at Torii. He forwards it to Foster Hospital. They decide whether or not to accept you based on your medical needs and their capabilities. If your husband is headed to 1st Group, they have their own Psychologist. Foster sends a response to the Army EFMP who sends it back to your EFMP. If you're accepted by the hospital the acceptance goes to your reassignment section who then adds the dependent to the orders. USAR-J in mainland Japan is also in that routing somewhere as well.
Whether or not you are scary to EFMP isn't really a factor. Foster may just have a policy to deny anyone who refuses to reveal their medical status. You could always contact the Foster EFMP office and ask. You could contact the Torii EFMP liason, but they're just a liason and can only give you a wild guess. Also, the person who handles EFMP has other jobs and EFMP is only a tiny part of their job. Torii is so small that the entire MPD is about six people large so everyone is doing multiple jobs.
Also, there is no Japan health system for you. You will be enrolled at Foster Naval Hospital or Kadena Clinic if your husband is in the ADA unit. Okinawa has very limited mental health capacity for dependents, but they do have it.
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Sara C Brown
My husband is going to 1st Group. I figured Torii station wouldn't have their own EFMP office, and I was hitting a brick wall trying to figure out what the process was on that side. Your answer provided needed clarity, and was very much appreciated. My therapist has filled out her portion of the enrollment form, with the notes that I was being treated for stress management and that "no follow up is needed. Client is healthy and high functioning. No safety concerns. No history of safety concerns." We've been sitting on the form while we researched alternatives. Turning in the enrollment form with those notes from my therapist may be my best option in a bad situation.
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SFC (Join to see)
Sara C Brown if you do need counseling once you're there, Fred is a wonderful Psychologist and sees family members at the unit. Good luck. You will love Okinawa and your husband will love working at 1-1. It's definitely my favorite duty station I've been to. Start looking on a website called OkinawaHai to learn about the things you'll need to know prior to going.
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