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Content warning: This article contains mentions of suicide.

The National Veterans Resource Center at Syracuse University hosted Alejandro Villanueva, a United States Army veteran and retired professional football player, for a Suicide Prevention Education Talk Wednesday afternoon.

SPEd Talk is a storytelling event where speakers like Villanueva share their stories with the hope of shining a light on mental health challenges and resources. This is the second consecutive year SU hosted the occasion.

Villanueva, who was born in America and grew up in Spain, played football at The U.S. Military Academy at West Point and joined the Army when he was 22. He was stationed in Afghanistan in 2010, receiving a Bronze Star Medal for rescuing wounded soldiers under enemy fire. But he said he found life as a veteran different from what he expected.

“In my mind, I could not make sense of a lot of the things that I have just done,” Villanueva said. “And while I couldn’t make sense of anything, that’s when we started getting ready to go back again.”

SPEd is a national initiative to bring awareness to veteran suicide by discussing and destigmatizing mental health. Suicide among veterans accounts for nearly one in every five suicide deaths in the U.S. despite accounting for approximately 8% of the adult population, according to the SPEd website.

As a veteran, Villanueva said he’s seen firsthand the reality of his fellow military members’ lives in the aftermath of war. He said that while it was difficult to come back from combat, never cutting ties with his soldiers ensured that they got through it together.

His own mental health experiences were what led him to speak more about suicide prevention, Villanueva said.

“More veterans kill themselves from suicide than in action. The most powerful country in the world, and most of all mighty military in the world,” Villanueva said. “What can be said about such a military? What do we really say when we say thank you for your service, and they’ll kill themselves more than they have been caught killed by the enemy?”

After Villanueva spoke, SPEd Talk hosted a discussion with panelists, who either served or had family members that did. Among them were veterans and members of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which aims to connect with others who have lost a loved one to suicide.

Army veteran Kenny Mintz said the special connections a group makes while serving are irreplaceable. Being a person to lean on for those suffering is one of the most important parts of his life, he said.

“I have a responsibility to those that I serve with,” Mintz said. “Even though I was a commander in combat and we went through this crucible event together, my commanding role has changed, but my responsibility to people has not.”

Kevin Swab, who attended the event and was a lieutenant in the National Guard, now serves as director of the Veterans Service Agency for Cayuga County. He said he sees challenges in connecting younger veterans with resources, which wasn’t always an issue, like during the height of the Vietnam War.

“The culture was obviously completely different than what we have today,” Swab said. “I see the younger veterans falling into what I consider to be kind of a trap, where they’re not coming together as easily.”

Austin Gleaton, a mental health therapist for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said he came to the SPEd Talk to educate himself since suicide prevention is part of his job description.

“I really love hearing personal stories about people’s relationships so I can implement that into my work,” Gleaton said.

Karen Heisig, a central New York area director for the American For Suicide Prevention, said people can reduce the stigma surrounding suicide by changing language patterns.

“Change the way you talk about it, such as, ‘died by suicide,’ not ‘commited suicide,’ Heisig said. “My husband did not commit a crime.”

Heisig said her husband’s death altered the course of her life. She also said the warning signs are real and should not be ignored.

“You’re human beings first. You have mental health, and if we don’t take care of our mental health, suicide is a real possibility and a real issue,” Heisig said.

For those struggling with mental health after serving or mental health in general, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 is available 24 hours a day.

Published on September 7, 2023 at 12:25 am

Contact Faith: [email protected]

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Basics of Mental Health and Coaching training, prepared by teachers from Hartland College (Rapidan, Virginia, USA), took place on July 17–28, 2023, in Bucha, on the campus of the Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences.

The event was initiated by the famous preacher and evangelist Mark A. Finley. After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he offered training in psychological assistance and the basics of mental health for Ukrainians. As a result, a training course was formed, with 60 participants from all over Ukraine. Among them were pastors, psychologists, chaplains, and those who wanted to start serving society. For two weeks, they learned skills to help in crisis situations, overcome PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and methods of effective spiritual support.

[Credits: UUC]

Hartland College was represented by pastors Robert Bruce Mackay and Paul Coneff, faculty members Gerardo Payan and Ivonne Restrepo (Ruiz), and a student from the college, Johan Gómez.

Mackay is a chaplain with extensive experience, a graduate of Andrews University, a clinical chaplain educator, and founder and director of Chaplain Training Service. He taught the history of chaplaincy, spoke about his practice of ministry in hospitals, and gave advice on how to help in various crisis situations. The trainees learned from the examples given to them, discussing various situations and seeking answers to practical questions.

[Credits: UUC]

Coneff is a graduate of La Sierra University, a licensed marriage and family counselor, and president of Straight 2 the Heart, an organization that helps people overcome the effects of trauma and violence and recover from addictions. During the training, Pastor Coneff taught the practice of intercessory prayer based on the life story of Jesus. Together with him, participants looked at biblical passages used for prayer ministry with those who have gone through traumatic experiences.

Payan is a clinical psychologist, director of an emotional health center in northern Mexico, and has been providing psychological assistance to families who have experienced violence, crises, or addictions for the past 15 years. Payan is also the director and teacher of the online course Integrating Missiology with Biblical Psychology. During the training, he shared algorithms for helping post-stress and traumatic events, considered cases of acute stress disorder and PTSD, and {taught} steps for first aid.

[Credits: UUC]

Restrepo is a certified mental health coach from Hartland College and has organized training in various countries in North and South America, the United Kingdom, China, and the Philippines over the past 25 years. During her training, she introduced her students to the use of biblical coaching for counseling as well as building strategies, goals, and actions based on biblical values and the identity given to each person by the Creator.

Part of the training included tasks performed in groups or pairs, which made the training aimed at developing the skills necessary for ministry. Classes were held from 9 a.m.–6 p.m., and additional meetings were organized after dinner for those who wished to dive deeper into the topics of chaplaincy and intercessory prayer.

[Credits: UUC]

The Klimuk family, Olha and Volodymyr, assisted with all the activities and provided English translation.

The participants of the training noted the harmonious combination of biblical principles and modern methods of psychological assistance.

[Credits: UUC]

“I thank God for the wonderful opportunity to attend this event. Professional activity, especially in times of war, requires awareness and competence in dealing with trauma and victims of war. This program is special because it is built on a biblical basis and Christian principles that help to have confidence in one’s professional actions and apply the example of Christ,” said Olena Nosova, a practical psychologist, lecturer in psychology at the Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences, and head of the Ministerial Spouses Association of the Ukrainian Union Conference.
According to Iryna Begas, Women’s Ministries director for the UUC, it was an incredible learning experience: “I have heard the saying many times before that only the method of Christ is the most effective in serving people. During this training, we practically experienced and felt the method of Christ: compassion, closeness, understanding, and gentle healing of the Holy Spirit. It was a real revelation for me that all the psychological methods of help that were discussed at the training have a biblical basis and are Christ-centered! When the Lord heals the heart, He fills it with His light and love. It was with such hearts that we all left for different regions of Ukraine to bring God’s love and healing further! May the Lord bless this ministry!”

[Credits: UUC]

According to Serhii Lutskyi, director of the Health and Chaplaincy Ministries departments for the UUC, it was not only the first visit of the Hartland College team to Ukraine but also the first trip of each of the speakers to the country, and they highly appreciated the level of training of the participants and their desire to learn.

“The teachers who came to Ukraine are very busy people, as each of them provides consultations and teaches in their home country. But for Ukrainians, they are ready to provide online training, support from supervisors, and even come here again because they see a thirst for knowledge. So I hope we will continue to cooperate, and when we see a request for a certain topic that interests people in Ukraine, the next time the teachers will come to us with a new training,” said Lutskyi.

The original version of this story was posted on the Ukrainian Union Conference website.

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