By Peter Bugden
MANY military veterans dealing with mental illness have found embracing faith to be a vital component in their rehabilitation, Deacon Gary Stone said.
Deacon Stone, a chaplain to the ex-service community in Brisbane archdiocese and founder of the ministry Veterans Care, made the comment in the lead-up to World Mental Health Day on October 10.
Australian Catholic bishops’ Delegate for Disability Issues
and chairman of the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life Bishop Terence Brady has sent a letter to parishes encouraging them to celebrate the day.
Deacon Stone, a military veteran himself, said he had ministered to thousands of war veterans in recent years who had had various mental health conditions.
At the same time he has had to deal with his own post-traumatic stress.
“I have discovered that holistic approaches to health are necessary and people will benefit from embracing a combination of body, mind and soul therapies,” he said.
“Whilst I absolutely endorse medically supervised therapy, clearly everyone will benefit from regular exercise, good nutrition, positive mindfulness as well as spirituality.
“We must believe in the power of God through prayer to heal, and many veterans have told me that embracing faith has been a vital component to their rehabilitation.”
As founder of Veterans Care, a pastoral team of Catholics concerned for veterans, Deacon Stone participated in a recent international forum on post-traumatic stress disorder in Brisbane.
“The assembled panel of leading psychiatrists and clinical psychologists expressed their concern that many people with mental health issues were not accessing and not wanting the medication and exposure therapies that our health system was offering,” he said.
“They acknowledged that they were open to complementary therapies such as meditation, companion animals and peer support programs, provided they did no harm.
“Our holistic team of therapists at Veterans Care operates from a pastoral-care model, with an emphasis on embracing the sufferer with love, prayer, education and promotion of self-responsibility in healing.
“Families of those with mental health challenges will do well to encourage holistic responses to their loved ones’situation.”
Bishop Brady, in his letter to the parishes, said this year the Church had sought to celebrate World Mental Health Day as an opportunity to encourage a true pastoral view that embraced our total community as the living Body of Christ.
Bishop Brady said there were particular challenges to enabling full participation in the life of the community for people experiencing mental illness.
“Some of these challenges are visible and many others not so clearly identified,” he said.
“Once we acknowledge these challenges we can work together to ensure that all the gifts that flow through the Body of Christ can be shared by each member of that Body.
“It is also a reminder to look after our own well-being, especially our spiritual well-being.
“How are we nourishing our well-being through our spirituality?”
