Every Life Matters to God: A New Paradigm of Care for Suicide Prevention

Since 2001, National Guard soldiers and airmen have been ordered to multiple deployments In Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense (DOD) has released data that shows a dramatic increase in suicides by military personnel. This author has chosen this topic to develop a pastoral care strategy, by civilian clergy and/or military chaplains, to help lessen the number of suicides by National Guard personnel. The research will introduce a strategy in which pastoral care practitioners can be actively involved in the therapeutic counseling of National Guard soldiers and airmen who may be at risk. Currently, there is a lack of best practices to incorporate pastoral care as a necessary segment of therapeutic recovery and resiliency process. Information regarding suicide incidents will be obtained by data released by the DOD and other sources The strategy will be presented using research data gathered through surveys sent to current Chaplains and civilian clergy