Posted on Jan 4, 2015
Should Chaplains Be Gate Keepers for Mental Health Services?
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One of the more frustrating experiences I had in the military is when I made the career ending move to seek psychological help instead of letting my depression kill me. Never mind that seeking psych help being a career ending move probably isn't a good thing, I was forced by my command to go and see the Chaplain first, despite my own protests. I was sick, I needed an experienced professional to assist me, you wouldn't call the Chaplain for a sucking chest wound, so I'm not sure why a psychological injury is any different. By all means the chaplain should be there for troops who wish to seek their services for spiritual health, but they shouldn't be involved in the domain of actual medical care unless they're giving last rites to a terminal patient that's asked for them.
Psychology
Help
PTSD
Chaplain
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
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Nobody should be forced to see a Chaplain for anything. They are there to assist with spiritual needs, and if you had a spiritual need they would be a great resource. But you didn't sound like you had such a need - you needed the medical kind of help, you should have been sent directly to the medical folks.
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I agree, LCpl (Join to see). I didn't experience what you did, but when I did need the help of a medical specialist (and one time that did include a psychiatrist, for a nerve condition), I never had to go through the chaplain. I was referred to the specialist by my Primary Care Manager, or regular doctor. And this was at a military clinic.
On the other hand, if that is the command policy - to see the chaplain first - I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go see him/her and tell them that you want to see your doctor and be referred to a mental health professional.
Did your command give you a reason for requiring you to see the chaplain first?
On the other hand, if that is the command policy - to see the chaplain first - I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go see him/her and tell them that you want to see your doctor and be referred to a mental health professional.
Did your command give you a reason for requiring you to see the chaplain first?
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CW5 (Join to see)
All good points, LCpl (Join to see). I can see where the extra time could make a difference, and that "difference" could be very bad or even tragic.
I don't know why the stop at the chaplain was required by command policy. My first guess would be as a local screening mechanism (the chaplain is probably easier to reach than a psychiatrist or psychologist). Maybe someone else does know.
I don't know why the stop at the chaplain was required by command policy. My first guess would be as a local screening mechanism (the chaplain is probably easier to reach than a psychiatrist or psychologist). Maybe someone else does know.
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LCpl (Join to see)
CW5 (Join to see) I would guess it's an attempt to screen or protect the SNM's career like SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas is saying above. I feel like that is a serious problem culturally speaking with how we're approaching and treating psychological issues. Service members should immediately be directed to the best and most authoritative source of healthcare possible for wounds, mental or physical. Making it an automatic cashier with people being dropped into the broken VA health care system with 6 months to a year plus waits to even begin getting regular services... I find that very worrying. I'm no expert, but it seems to me while Suicide Awareness briefings are all well and good, treating these wounds as effectively and competently as possible, as quickly as possible, without the soldier, sailor, airman or Marine in question having to worry about immediate discharge (unless the damage is that severe of course) is going to have more of an effect.
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SGT(P) (Join to see)
I took the ASIST suicide prevention course a year ago. We were taught that chaplains, unlike Army mental health workers, have absolute 100% confidentiality, even in cases as horrible as child molestation or potential suicide. Chaplains are embedded in the unit and are able to provide the service member emergency counseling in a crisis situation, avoiding the wait time that would come with a medical referral. Also, chaplains are supposed to be connected to the local mental health resources, and can schedule quick referrals through those connections in emergency situations. If none of that is needed, then no file is created and the service member never has to explain seeing a mental health professional when it comes time for security clearance renewals or other special assignments. Not to mention, a lot of service members are still terrified of mental health due to stigma. It can be a lot easier to convince a troop to see the chaplain or a military family life consultant than it can be to convince them to go to mental health voluntarily. Commands like to avoid commands referrals to mental health when possible, as those really can be career killers, so one of these reasons might be why the Marine was sent to the chaplain first.
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SGT (Join to see)
SGT Mary Conner. Mental Health workers are under the confidentiality requirements as well with the exceptions of abuse, violations of UCMJ, threat of harm to self or others, and command referrals. The goal is to keep soldiers in the fight, not separate. Waiting until the very last second to seek help and getting command referred is what results in a private issue ending up public. That stigma that we're out to get you serves no one.
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LCpl Glocker, I think you bring up a good point.
First, in my opinion, no one should be a "gate-keeper" to urgent medical care of any kind - your sucking chest wound example is a good one.
That being said, I believe that the role of spirituality in society as a whole and the military in particular has been severely degraded and whatever vestige remains has been twisted into something it was never supposed to be. Obviously as can be read in some other responses to you there are some exceptions out there, I personally served with a fantastic chaplain who I still consider a friend today.
The role of spirituality in mental health has been well documented - people who actively practice sprituality are healthier, more content, and more resistant to mental injury. Check out this article from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/therapies/spiritualityandmentalhealth.aspx
So with that fact in mind, you would assume that spiritual health would be as important to the military as how many pull-ups you can do. Unfortunately, however, Chaplains in many cases are exactly what you experienced: the odd ball Navy guy that lazy commanders send their people to when they don't know what else to do with them (and are scared of doing something wrong and getting in trouble).
So to come back to your original question, no I don't think Chaplains should be the gatekeeper to mental health services - I think spirituality should be actively encouraged and trained to from the very beginning of military service which will in turn prevent some of the systemic mental illnesses our armed forces are suffering from today.
First, in my opinion, no one should be a "gate-keeper" to urgent medical care of any kind - your sucking chest wound example is a good one.
That being said, I believe that the role of spirituality in society as a whole and the military in particular has been severely degraded and whatever vestige remains has been twisted into something it was never supposed to be. Obviously as can be read in some other responses to you there are some exceptions out there, I personally served with a fantastic chaplain who I still consider a friend today.
The role of spirituality in mental health has been well documented - people who actively practice sprituality are healthier, more content, and more resistant to mental injury. Check out this article from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/therapies/spiritualityandmentalhealth.aspx
So with that fact in mind, you would assume that spiritual health would be as important to the military as how many pull-ups you can do. Unfortunately, however, Chaplains in many cases are exactly what you experienced: the odd ball Navy guy that lazy commanders send their people to when they don't know what else to do with them (and are scared of doing something wrong and getting in trouble).
So to come back to your original question, no I don't think Chaplains should be the gatekeeper to mental health services - I think spirituality should be actively encouraged and trained to from the very beginning of military service which will in turn prevent some of the systemic mental illnesses our armed forces are suffering from today.
Spirituality and Mental Health
Spirituality and mental health: readable and up-to-date information on spirituality and mental health from the Royal College of Psychiatrists
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