| dc.description.abstract | Veterans experience gaps in coverage and often find it difficult to access the care they need, this includes spiritual care. Chaplains are the designated spiritual care providers within the VA health network. Chaplains are increasingly encouraged by the National Chaplain Service Office to integrate mental health and evidence based practices into their spiritual care provision. While chaplains have a small but growing number of training programs to choose from, actual tools are difficult to come by, especially group tools. A visit to the National Chaplain center home page reveals few tools despite many links. National VA Chaplain Service Home.
Across the VA, Chaplain spirituality groups are not uniform, typically do not incorporate EVPs and do not usually use curricula. They are often Bible studies or prayer support groups that lack a robust theological exploration of the Veteran’s presenting mental health or life issues. The goal of this paper is to explore how to integrate chaplain spirituality groups with the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to imagine how such a curriculum would look and how it could serve Veterans and their mental health needs. | |
