Clergy play key role in veterans’ care

Clergy play key role in veterans’ care
Spiritual advisers called crucial ‘first responders’ on mental health issues

By Ben Wolford
Globe Correspondent / August 15, 2011

Pastor Elizabeth M. Krentz-Wee says that as many as 10 of the 50 worshippers who attend Sunday services at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Norwich, Conn., are veterans.

But like many clergy, Krentz-Wee acknowledges that she has had little experience dealing with mental health problems that plague many of those who have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other conflicts.

Now, the military and psychiatrists are engaging spiritual leaders in the region, like Krentz-Wee, saying they are pivotal as first responders in helping soldiers and their families cope with issues like post-traumatic stress.

Though soldiers might refrain from seeing a military psychiatrist because of a stigma that seeking help suggests weakness, they may be comfortable approaching a clergy member, experts said. And reaching veterans sooner rather than later is imperative to recovery as they make the jarring transition from violent battle zones to quiet New England life.

“What [clergy] can do that we can’t is actually take the first and most important major step and see the person,’’ said Dr. John A. Fromson, associate director of postgraduate medical education at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Fromson led a recent conference in Boston, attended by some 100 religious leaders, doctors, and military chaplains, on how to help soldiers suffering from mental distress. The conference was sponsored by Home Base, an organization that serves the region’s soldiers and their families.
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