International chaplains gain insight into Veteran spiritual care at South Texas VA
Veterans and members of the military often experience mental and emotional challenges that extend far beyond the physical scars that result from their service.
Providing hope, solace, and spiritual guidance as a chaplain in a Veteran health care setting requires a unique awareness of those challenges and an understanding of the Veteran experience.
For the international chaplain who is regularly provided little to no chaplain training, the linguistic barriers, cultural divides, and complex conflict zones often present additional challenges to providing the best spiritual care to their Veterans and military members when needed the most.
Imparting Veteran spiritual care wisdom
The South Texas VA Chaplain Service hosted 12 such international chaplains on September 20, 2023, to share their experience and insight on how the VA chaplaincy provides Veteran-centered spiritual care.
The international chaplains hailed from countries throughout Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean and included senior officers and chaplains in training from their respective militaries.
The visit was part of a broader two-week International Chaplain’s Training (ICT) course sponsored by the Association of Christian Conferences, Teaching and Service taking place in San Antonio that week.
The VA is visited as a training site due to the unique Veteran population it serves, and the shared challenges faced by international Veterans including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and moral injury.
“They’re going to take the ideas and opportunities for spiritual care learned at the hospital and take them to their home countries, talk to their leadership, and see if they can implement some of those same ideas” said Chaplain David Zavala, Chief of the STVHCS Chaplain Service. “They want to provide spiritual care to those Veterans who are experiencing similar situations as Americans, that is, PTSD, moral injury, and military sexual trauma” Chaplain Zavala added.
Opportunity for future chaplain training
VA chaplain Bryon Bridges also presented a possible future opportunity for the international chaplains to train in a clinical environment through the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) online distance learning program.
The CPE program provides chaplain trainees the opportunity to experience supervised encounters with persons in crisis and serve on the interdisciplinary team for treatment. They would also learn clinical skills, gain a wider knowledge of medical language, and learn how to think critically in a complex clinical atmosphere.
“They would be a member of the interdisciplinary team and provide input on the spiritual wellbeing, family support and the meaning of life the Veteran may have or lack” Chaplain Zavala said regarding the benefits of participation in the CPE program.
Many of the chaplains expressed interest and it is notable that they would be the first international chaplains to participate in the CPE online program. “While providing spiritual care in intense clinical environments and with the feedback from peers and certified educators, these international chaplains hope to develop a new awareness of the needs of those to whom they provide spiritual care” Zavala added.
After the taking of a group photo and a tour of Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, the international chaplains departed with a deeper understanding of the spiritual challenges our Veterans face and through that understanding, how to better care for their own Veterans back home.