Bereavement support in the UK Armed Forces: The role of the Army chaplain
Keywords:
Armed Forces, bereavement support, Army chaplain, well-beingAbstract
AbstractThe military environment, particularly in the context of high intensity hostile combat operations, will regretfully always result in fatalities, which, more than in any other hazardous occupation, can be considerable and especially traumatic. The Army has a highly efficient system in place to deal with the aftermath of such tragedies, eg. death notification, repatriation of the body, funerals, etc. A fundamental part of this system is the Army chaplain. In terms of bereavement, no serving person or their families know how they will react to loss or what support they will need. Chaplains have been embedded in the Army for centuries, and their solid enduring pastoral role, often undertaken quietly behind the scenes, has been an invaluable source of spiritual comfort and support to many. However, such support can sometimes be at some cost to the chaplains themselves, especially psychologically. The clergy have been an integral part of British life since its beginnings, as has their association with death and bereavement, which often gets taken for granted. This article attempts to highlight the role of the clergy working in a more extreme environment, and discusses some of the potential personal downsides for those involved.
References
American Psychiatric Association 1994 . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders – fourth edition (DSM-IV) . Washington, DC : American Psychiatric Association .
BBC Religions 2009 . Available at: www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/priests/armychaplains_1.shtml [accessed 2 January 2013] .
Bridger, RS, Kilminster, S and Slaven, G. 2007. Occupational stress and strain in the Naval Service: 1994 and 2004. Occupational Medicine, 57(2): 92–97.
Charlton R , Rolph J , Francis LJ , Rolph P , Robbins M 2009 . Clergy work-related psychological health: Listening to the ministers of word and sacrament within the United Reformed Church in England . Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11089-008-0177-3 [accessed 6 August 2011] .
DASA 2010 . Deaths in the UK Regular Armed Forces, edition 2010 revised . Available at: www.dasa.mod.uk [accessed 30 January 2012] .
Doolittle, BR. 2010. The impact of behaviours upon burnout among Parish-based Clergy. Journal of Religion and Health, 49(1): 88–95.
Ellison, CW and Mattila, WS. 1983. The needs of evangelical Christian leaders in the United States. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 11: 28–35.
Freeborn, D. 2001. Satisfaction, commitment, and psychological well-being among HMO physicians. The Western Journal of Medicine, 174: 13–18.
Friedman, IA. 2000. Burnout in teachers: Shattered dreams of impeccable professional performance. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(5): 595–606.
Francis, LJ, Kaldor, P, Shevlin, M and Lewis, CA. 2004. Assessing-emotional exhaustion among the Australian clergy: Internal reliability and construct validity of the Scale of Emotional Exhaustion in Ministry (SEEM). Review of Religious Research, 45(3): 269–277.
Francis, LJ and Rutledge, CJF. 2000. Are rural clergy in the Church of England under greater stress? A study in empirical theology. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 11: 173–191.
Francis, LJ and Turton, DW. 2004. “Reflective ministry and empirical theology: Antidote to clergy stress?”. In Hermeneutics and empirical research in practical theology: The contribution of empirical theology by Johannes A van der Ven, Edited by: Hermans, CAM and Moore, ME. 245–265. Leiden: Brill.
Grosch, WN and Olsen, DC. 2000. Clergy burnout: An integrative approach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56: 619–632.
Health & Safety Executive June 1999 . Managing Health at Work . DDE10 . Sudbury : HSE Books .
Maslach, C and Goldberg, J. 1998. Prevention of burnout: New perspectives. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 7: 63–74.
Meisenhelder, JB and Marcum, JP. 2004. Responses of clergy to 9/11: Posttraumatic stress, coping, and religious outcomes. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 43(4): 547–554.
MoD 2012 . History of Army Chaplains . Available at www.army.mod.uk/chaplains/23350.aspx [accessed 30 January 2012] .
Morris, ML and Blanton, PW. 1994. The Influence of work-related stressors on clergy husbands and their wives. Family Relations, 43: 189
Trihub, BL, McMinn, MR, Buhrow, WC and Johnson, TF. 2010. Denominational support for clergy mental health. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 38(2): 101–110.
