Chaplains are also trained to remain present with people through the thick dullness and daily struggle of chronic illness, loss of a limb, unsatisfying or traumatizing work, relentless bullying at school, the daily grind of working with young kids, caregiving for your child, spouse, or an elderly parent. 

Chaplains offer a place for people to land, to be heard and truly seen, to say all that needs to said without interruption or someone changing the subject. Chaplains stay with people in the pain and sorrow, the joy, the frustration, grief, and hope.

Because chaplains do not diagnose mental illness like licensed therapists and are not tasked with finding a good medication for you like a psychiatrist, chaplains are there to listen without an agenda. 

I will never forget early in my work sitting with an 87 year old woman who had just suffered a minor stroke. She talked to me for about an hour about her life and all that led to the stroke and some stressors she was facing and as she finished telling me her story, she paused and said quite solemnly, “no one has ever taken the time to listen to my whole story.” Amazed she turned to me and said, “thank you. I feel so relieved that someone has finally heard me.” 

Much of what chaplains do for people is hold sacred space for people to share their story, their lives, and all that is on their minds. 

Chaplains are especially trained to help people process those big questions that can come up like why is this happening and why is this happening to me. 

We are also trained to help people process their faith. When we face any major change in our lives, what we believe can sometimes become confusing and even distressing. I met a man who for his whole life strongly believed in a God who is good and heals people, but now his wife, the mother of their 3 year old daughter and 1 year old son was dying from a terminal brain tumor. He wondered: “How could a good God who heals allow my amazing wife to die before she ever had a chance to raise our children?”

Sometimes when we face tragedy in life, our faith is the only thing getting us through and we may not have anyone to really talk to about that. Chaplains are also trained to help people deepen their faith and find more ways to lean on their faith. 

Finally chaplains are trained to help people discover what they truly believe. Often a major transition in life can make us rethink our faith but sometimes we can also just find ourselves contemplating what we really believe. I’ve had countless patients who have come for appointments because they were raised with a certain faith tradition and now find that that faith tradition is just not working for them. I met with a man who was raised catholic and found more hope in mediumship and spiritualism but wasn’t sure how to incorporate the two traditions. I’ve met with a woman who was raised Muslim but decided she really wanted to start attending a Catholic Church. I’ve met with a Methodist woman who started reading books by zen masters and went on a zen Buddhist retreat and wasn’t sure now what she believed exactly about Jesus. Chaplains are trained  to help people sort through what they believe rather than what others tell them to believe. We come to our appointments not to push any particular religion, but to help you figure out what you believe so that you can  come to a place of acceptance and peace about that.

Until now, you could only meet with a chaplain if you were a patient at a hospital, in the military, or located at some particular airports, schools, and work places. That’s because these institutions have recognized the overwhelming need for chaplains in these settings. Yet people face tragedy, loss, and ongoing challenges whether they are in the comfort of their own home, a hospital room, or a boarding school. 

That’s where chaplain connect comes in. Here at chaplain connect we offer one on one and group sessions with highly trained chaplains who are here to support you wherever you are. People have said that meeting with a chaplain is as healing as the medication that they take. Sometimes all that we really need is to be truly heard and to have a place to process all those questions about life and faith that swirl around.

Book a session with us today and take that first step toward deep, inner healing and peace.