Seahawks Partner With Cohen Clinic at Valley Cities To Host Couples Counseling Clinics

“Often, we rightfully focus on the veteran and the active-duty service member,” said Dr. Nichole Ayres, the clinic director at the Cohen Clinic at Valley Cities. “But military family members are just as important for that service member’s readiness. If the family is struggling back home, that service member now has that in the back of their head while they’re also deployed and trying to do their job. So, I think it is so crucial that we remember the spouses, the partners, the children, the parents, the people that love that service member that are back home, worrying about their loved one’s safety and wellbeing on a day-to-day basis, struggling to figure out, how to fill that person’s shoes while they’re gone temporarily. Having done this myself, your routines change, your life changes to fill the gap of that person. But that person is not gone forever, and so it’s this huge cycle of adjustment every time that service member departs and then comes back.”

Ayres isn’t speaking in hypotheticals when she talks about those challenges—her husband, a First Sergeant in the Army, is currently deployed to Iraq—so when Seahawks community engagement manager Nino Gray approached the clinic, which was already doing great work to help veterans, servicemembers and their families, it was a natural fit to bring the local NFL team on board.

“The Seahawks are proud to be a part of this and look forward to growing this event with our military community,” said Gray, an Army veteran who served for seven years before he was injured in the line of duty while serving in Afghanistan.

“Nino and the Seahawks have been a huge resource,” Ayres said. “I think it increases the visibility towards the military community. I’m from Washington; I’m a huge Seahawks fan. People know the Seahawks and they recognize the things that they do in the community. So, being able to bring our resources to, and then connect with, Nino to bring what we do to a greater audience, and also add the fun elements, that’s huge help.”

The day-long clinic, which will become an annual event, took place in September. In addition to the couples counseling, the day ended with a date night that included attending a Tacoma Rainiers game in a suite sponsored by Western Governors University.