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OPINION:
Despite investing $17 billion to increase veterans’ access to mental health care and an additional $583 million for suicide prevention outreach programs, the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to fall short in addressing the veteran suicide crisis for one simple reason: Its well-funded programs neglect to instill soul-level purpose and meaning after military service.
In its budget submission to Congress, the VA calls “on all partners, stakeholders, and communities to help us reach Veterans and reduce Veteran suicide. … We cannot win this fight alone.”
I wholeheartedly agree with the VA’s analysis that “addressing suicide requires a comprehensive approach that focuses on community and clinical intervention.” Faith-based solutions are uniquely suited to address the deeper root issues of combat trauma. It’s time for the government to partner with the faith-based veteran service community.
To this end, leaders from veteran service organizations, including REBOOT Recovery, National Center for Healthy Veterans and SOF Missions, met last month at the White House with administration and Cabinet officials, the VA undersecretary and staffers, and members of Congress to discuss the role of faith in suicide prevention.
These elite organizations don’t just treat symptoms; they offer lifesaving solutions based on peer-reviewed research and proven methodology. The results speak for themselves.
“Spiritual care for combat trauma focuses on helping military personnel find meaning and purpose in their experiences,” researchers shared in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, a journal of the American Psychological Association.
Research and writings from Harold Koenig, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center, found that the SOF Missions’ Be Resilient Clinic demonstrated substantial success in improving the mental health and well-being of veterans and active-duty service members. Clinic participants experienced significant reductions in depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts from program entry to six months post-completion.
REBOOT Recovery’s efficacy studies are published in journals such as Military Psychology, Traumatology and Military Behavioral Health. The studies’ recent outcomes report highlights statistically significant improvements in mental, emotional and social wellness for veterans who have graduated from their faith-based programming.
Washington acknowledges the problem but has been slow to embrace successful faith-based intervention frameworks.
To truly support our veterans and active-duty military personnel, the bureaucracy must recognize that resilience after combat is multifaceted. True treatment involves addressing the whole person: mind, body and soul. A comprehensive treatment program combines psychological, physical, cognitive, spiritual and social care. These components cannot be isolated; they are interconnected, each playing a crucial role in fostering hope and healing in our nation’s hurting heroes.
Many good-hearted and well-intentioned nonprofit leaders, government officials and medical professionals focus on the wrong issue, leading to the pursuit of ineffective solutions. Clinicians primarily attempt to treat post-traumatic stress disorder through medication and talk therapy. Although these approaches can be valuable tools, they are neither the only nor necessarily best solutions.
PTSD affects an estimated 1 in 7 adults at some time in their lives, significantly impacting military service members and veterans. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD is a severe condition that arises from experiencing or witnessing traumatic events. Veterans are particularly vulnerable to this disorder because of their exposure to war zone deployment, training accidents and military sexual trauma.
Deployments increase the risk of PTSD. Some studies report it to be three times more likely among deployed veterans than non-deployed veterans.
Since 2011, more than 2.8 million men and women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism. The scars of war run deep, affecting their psychological well-being and their physical, cognitive, social and spiritual health. When warriors return to civilian life, many feel lost, disconnected and purposeless.
Grief and guilt compound, and stress levels mount, leading to insomnia. Chronic pain issues drive opioid addiction. Destructive lifestyle habits develop, such as poor diet, substance abuse and decreased physical activity.
When someone experiences trauma, it affects them on multiple levels. Psychologically, PTSD can lead to more pronounced cognitive dysfunction, often manifesting as nightmares, flashbacks and emotional turmoil. Cognitively, traumatic brain injuries disrupt memory and cognitive function.
PTSD is a serious part, but only one part, of the veteran suicide crisis. Moral injury and spiritual despair are the real battlefields.
Moral injury is a blunt trauma to the soul, and many symptoms require a thorough understanding so treatment can be correctly guided and implemented. Ideally, recognizing moral injury promotes resiliency and is part of the holistic health model.
Together, we can honor the sacrifices of our nation’s warriors this Veterans Day by ensuring they find peace beyond the battlefield by building resiliency through effective treatment that focuses on the mind, body and soul.
Veterans and their loved ones don’t care whether a solution is “faith-based” or “government-approved.” They care that it works.
• Damon Friedman, a decorated veteran of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in special operations. He is the recipient of the Spirit of Hope Award from the secretary of defense, chairman of the Veterans Service Alliance and founder of SOF Missions.
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