Dr. Dawn Sokolski, True North clinical psychologist, poses for a photo at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Aug. 27, 2024. True North is a service that provides service members and their families with integrated mental health support and consists of support teams that are directly embedded into Air Force units. (1st Lt. Mary Anna Turpin, U.S. Air Force)
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- September is Suicide Prevention Month, but every month of the year, Kadena Air Base offers a myriad of mental health resources designed to help Airmen.
One such resource is True North, a service that provides Airmen and their families with integrated mental health support. True North consists of mental health and religious support teams that are directly embedded into units; this allows them to be easily accessible to members and their families, while being uniquely familiar with the day-to-day stressors of active duty life at Kadena.
Dr. Dawn Sokolski is a clinical psychologist with True North, embedded in the 18th Wing Staff Agency. With 29 years of experience in mental health support and 6 years of active duty experience herself, she has many sage words of advice for Airmen during Suicide Prevention Month.
“Suicide prevention is complicated, but it’s very universal. It’s universal because suffering is universal. That doesn’t mean you just ignore it,” said Dr. Sokolski. “We can’t eliminate suffering; we have to get through it, and sometimes that’s really difficult.”
Dr. Sokolski, colloquially known as “Dr. Dawn,” earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Duke University in 1987 before receiving her masters degree in 1992 and her doctorate from Texas Tech University in 1995. After that, she started her clinical internship with the U.S. Air Force; but she says it does not take a trained psychologist to prevent suicide.
“Sometimes what you need is someone to sit with you while you are suffering,” said Sokolski. “Sometimes, to lead you out of a dark place, all you need is someone who has been in the dark place before, and can show you the way out.”
While “Dr. Dawn” emphasized the importance of “sitting with people while they are suffering,” she also emphasized that the first step in prevention is communication.
“Prevention needs to be early and often, and the key to prevention is not being afraid to ask. Not being afraid to ask your friends and co-workers, but also not being afraid to ask yourself.”
Sokolksi, while being a True North clinical psychologist, also talked extensively on the resources outside of True North.
“You have the chaplain, mental health clinic, Military OneSource, military and family readiness counselor,” said Sokolski. “But the first line of defense is self-care. The ‘wingman attitude’ applies to your friends, but it also applies to yourself.”
Sokolski closed the conversation by encouraging military members to seek help and to encourage their friends to seek help when they need it.
“You have to think of the military like a sports team,” she said. “If your players get injured, you don’t play them. You wait till they heal. It’s not bad to take a knee. It means you get to play next season.”
