Dallas VA Conference Clergy’s Role in Suicide Prevention

The Dallas Morning News has done it again. They put out a story that shows something that does not work along with the report of what has been working for decades. Spiritual healing for Combat PTSD.

It works so well that Point Man International Ministries, a group I am proud to be associated with, started doing it in 1984. We've been doing it because veterans and their families support each other with a commitment that is measured with love.

I've been living with and working on PTSD since 1982 but back then, without a computer, I didn't know about Point Man. I didn't hear about them until the 90's. After many years of watching what they do, I joined them.

We talk about the stuff in the news but then again, we also talk about the history of where we were and how we got to where we are now. We walked in darkness and confusion feeling lost and alone. We saw our lives fall apart. Then we were found, led to understand, found hope and became part of a family we could turn to.

It isn't about getting butts in the pew. It's about keeping souls here on earth and showing them they are not stuck where they are.

The VA, as you'll read, has been connecting to others but you hardly ever hear about it. Easier for reporters to bash what they got wrong instead of helping veterans find what they do have working right.

Dallas VA conference discusses clergy’s role in suicide prevention
Dallas Morning News
By JASMINE AGUILERA
Staff Writer
Published: 08 February 2015

“Typically, people don’t come to you and say, ‘Hey, doc,’ or ‘Hey, chaps, I have a religious problem, or I have a mental health problem,’” he said. “They come to you because they are suffering; they are in pain. Chaplains [always provide] a safe place to turn to so the healing process can begin.”

Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer
Chaplain Bill Cantrell spoke about suicide prevention efforts aimed at military personnel during a recent Veterans Affairs conference in Dallas. Since 2008, the VA and the U.S. Department of Defense have incorporated spiritual guidance into service members’ mental health care.

Reginald Robertson, an Army veteran, was at the lowest point in his life. He was angry about being homeless and dealing with a divorce, alcoholism, unemployment and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

He tried to commit suicide by swallowing much of his medication. “Anger comes in, because you feel like you’ve just let yourself and your family down,” he said.

The pills weren’t enough to kill him, but were enough to push him to reach out for help — including spiritual guidance.

He is one of thousands of veterans nationwide who have turned to clergy. A 2013 report published by the Journal of Religion and Health found that 12 percent of veterans surveyed sought spiritual consultation. About 47 percent said they were very likely to seek help from spiritual counselors.

With that in mind, since 2008, the VA and the U.S. Department of Defense have been exploring ways to incorporate spiritual guidance into service members’ mental health care. Many soldiers returning from war describe feelings of guilt or an inability to forgive themselves for things they’ve seen or done.

About 59 percent of chaplains in the VA system and 79 percent in the active-duty military said they perceive that veterans and service members commonly seek help from clergy instead of a mental health care provider, according to a 2013 report published by the VA and the Pentagon.

“Typically, people don’t come to you and say, ‘Hey, doc,’ or ‘Hey, chaps, I have a religious problem, or I have a mental health problem,’” he said. “They come to you because they are suffering; they are in pain. Chaplains [always provide] a safe place to turn to so the healing process can begin.”

Latest suicide rates published by the Pentagon show that there has been an increase in the rate of suicides per 100,000 service members in the nation’s reserve component, from 19.3 percent in 2012 to 23.4 percent in 2013.

The rate of suicides in the National Guard has also increased slightly from 28.1 percent in 2012 to 28.9 percent in 2013.
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Suicides went up. Plain, simple and underreported, after "prevention" started in the military. They also went up in the Veterans' population after all the bills on "prevention" and countless charities popped up all over the country at the same time thousands of calls went to suicide prevention hotline.

The best experts say PTSD has to be addressed with a triple play, mind, body and spirit. If you leave out the spiritual part, then they do not heal. Add in that part, they heal, then turn around to make sure others heal too.