WOUNDED SPIRIT
Spirituality and Veteran's Mental Health
Wounded Spirit works with Australian Defence Force veterans whose Defence service may have led to mental health issues with a spiritual or faith basis. It’s not just for veterans it’s also their key supporters, friends, families and the medical, social and spiritual teams who support them.
Wounded Spirit is a non-denominational volunteer group that works with people from any faith group. How, when, where or if veterans worship is their call – we don’t judge and respect their rights and beliefs. Likewise, whether a veteran are lapsed or active doesn’t matter to us.
Our YouTube site is live!
Please join us at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsLAT1qhhB-JAT-Usx1Jc1Q
2020 NATIONAL FAITH LEADERS WORKSHOP SERIES
Throughout 2020 Wounded Spirit will be conducting a national series of Faith Leaders Workshops across Australia. The whole focus of these workshop is to help faith leaders (priests, pastors, imams, rabbis, lay people, etc etc) who want to work more effectively with Defence veterans in their communities.
Many Veterans have issues of faith and spirituality which are influencing their mental health and overall general well-being. This is an important although as yet, not a widely discussed or understood issue. These workshops are not about religion, theology or dogma but rather, the tactical and practical knowledge faith leaders need to understand about veterans in order for them to be more effective in their support.
The tour has been made possible by a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs and we work closely with the Department of Defence and a number of national faith organisations and groups across Australia.
For more information about locations, dates and the workshop program are attached.
2020 NATIONAL FAITH LEADERS WORKSHOP SERIES
Locations and Dates
Toowoomba
Monday, 25 May 2020
Brisbane
Wednesday, 27 May2020
Sydney 1
Monday, 6 May 2020
Sydney 2
Wednesday, 24 Jun 2020
Orange
Monday, 27 April 2020
Melbourne 1
Wednesday, 17 June 2020
Melbourne 2
Wednesday, 22 July 2020
Bendigo
Thursday, 4 June 2020
Launceston
Monday, 17 August 2020
Adelaide
Monday, 14 September 2020
Canberra 1
Wednesday, 13 May 2020
Canberra 2
Monday, 16 November 2020
Perth
Thursday, 19 November 2020
Please note workshop locations are still being finalised in these areas
National Program
0830 – 0900 Registration
0900 – 0930 Welcome – Overview of the Day
0930 – 1030 Spiritual Wounds – Defined and Described
1030 – 1100 Morning Tea
1100 – 1200 What is a Veteran?
Definitions
Recent ADF Engagements
Defence Structure
Defence and DVA Policy
Defence Structure
1200– 1330 Understanding Defence Culture - Working with Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans
1330 – 1430 Lunch
1430 – 1530 A Veteran’s View - Presentation by Veteran
1530 – 1630 A Padre’s View Presentation by Defence Padre
1630 – 1700 The Way Forward
ABOUT US
Wounded Spirit works with Australian Defence Force veterans whose Defence service may have led to mental health issues with a spiritual or faith basis. It’s not just for veterans it’s also their key supporters, friends, families and the medical, social and spiritual teams who support them.
Wounded Spirit is a non-denominational volunteer group, working with people from all faiths. How, when, where or if veterans worship is their call – we don’t judge and respect their rights and beliefs. Likewise, whether a veteran are lapsed or active doesn’t matter to us. The fact that a veteran or a key supporter is reading this now says that there is something in their faith or spiritual relationship that they are concerned or at least curious about.
Belatedly, we are starting to understand that the service provided by our Soldiers, Sailors or Airmen/women comes at a terrible cost and is leading to some significant mental health issues within our veteran community. Preliminary evidence indicates that within the approximately 36,000 personnel who deployed to the Iraq and Afghanistan operational areas, somewhere between 8-13% will suffer from some form of service related mental illness. Additionally, figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) cite that the net total of veterans from all Australian conflicts is approximately 301,200 and as such this may mean there may be over 30,000 veterans living within the community that have or may develop some form of service related mental illness such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
There is strong evidence to suggest that a component of these mental illnesses is caused by spiritual or faith based issues. Disappointingly, this is not yet being addressed by agencies such as DVA or the mainstream faith based organisations.
OUR MISSION
Mission
To help find answers to veteran’s faith or belief based questions that may be a factor in their mental health.
How
We aren’t saying we have all the answers to these question but we can help. Of course treating mental illness is a serious business best left to properly accredited health professionals and we urge veterans to seek help from their doctor or health provider. Likewise those of you who belong to a faith community you should reach out to those faith practitioners who support you – that’s what they are there for!
We can help in three areas:
Information. The question we posed above we’ve thought about and added a section called FAQ for you. We’ve also included a series of papers, articles and stories for you in our Spiritual First Aid section that might help
Access. Finding the right approach to answering these questions can be difficult if you don’t already come from a faith or spiritual background or experience. We’ve included some useful links that might help you
Workshops. We’ve prepared two workshops that might help you. Wounded Spirit – Veterans and Supporters is a practical and tactical workshop that addresses some of the common faith and belief issues that veterans and their families face. Wounded Spirit – Faith Leaders has been specifically designed to help professional spiritual leaders to work with veterans.
