(UMNS) Anything a soldier tells a chaplain is confidential ”“ and that fact is the single biggest reason clergy are on the front lines of the U.S. Army’s suicide prevention efforts, United Methodist chaplains say.
“Chaplains have specialized training and are gatekeepers for the prevention programs,” said Chaplain Lt. Col. Scott Weichl, behavioral health program manager at the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
“Many, many folks come and talk to us. We are not judgmental, and many who have had serious difficulties just need someone to talk to,” added Weichl, who is a United Methodist chaplain. “We try to discern, to triage who needs to see someone with special training and skills.”
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Chaplains on the front lines of Army suicide prevention
(UMNS) Anything a soldier tells a chaplain is confidential ”“ and that fact is the single biggest reason clergy are on the front lines of the U.S. Army’s suicide prevention efforts, United Methodist chaplains say.
“Chaplains have specialized training and are gatekeepers for the prevention programs,” said Chaplain Lt. Col. Scott Weichl, behavioral health program manager at the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
“Many, many folks come and talk to us. We are not judgmental, and many who have had serious difficulties just need someone to talk to,” added Weichl, who is a United Methodist chaplain. “We try to discern, to triage who needs to see someone with special training and skills.”
Read it all.