VA Chaplains Services - Caregiver Support

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chaplain Services offers support to both religious and non-religious people with holistic,spiritual care that aligns with their needs and desires. Available through all VA facilities, VA chaplains are clinical care specialists and members of your Veteran’s Patient Care Team, ministering to caregivers, Veterans and families through outpatient treatment, inpatient admissions and extended care. As a vital part of the VA health care system, you, the caregiver, can look after the Veteran you care for and seek support through VA Chaplain Services.

VA chaplains collaborate with other VA health care providers in the provision of holistic care through a full spectrum of interventions and services as appropriate to an individual’s needs and desires.

Check out this one-pager and read below to learn more about VA Chaplain Services and Caregiver Support:  VA Chaplain Services Resource (PDF)  

Local VA Chaplains

VA Chaplain Services May Be Good for Caregivers Who May: 

   • Not know how to address their religious, spiritual, moral and ethical uncertainties.
   • Seek spiritual and/or bereavement counseling for themselves and immediate family members during crises. 
   • Want to improve how they communicate and resolve conflict with staff, Veterans and family members. 
   • Require referrals to internal and external resources.
   • Desire guidance on VA Advance Directives (legal forms detailing patients’ medical/mental wishes). 
   • Need assistance connecting to community clergy or other religious leaders to conduct specific religious rites, rituals and expressions.
   • Would like to join various spiritual and therapeutic groups. 
   • Would like to learn more about resources available to caregivers, their Veterans and loved ones.  

Specialized Expertise

VA chaplains are the only VA experts authorized to conduct spiritual assessments, devise a spiritual care plan and provide appropriate spiritual care as desired by you, your Veteran and your loved ones. Our chaplains support and minister to caregivers, survivors and Veterans who receive outpatient treatment, inpatient admissions and extended care. As members of your Veteran’s Patient Care Team, they also participate in Medical Rounds, Patient Care Conferences and Interdisciplinary Education, as well as document spiritual care interventions in medical charts. VA chaplains provide collaborative support as you care for yourself and those you love.  

Comprehensive Care

Chaplains collaborate with other VA health care providers in the provision of holistic care through a full spectrum of interventions and services as appropriate to an individual’s needs and desires. Our chaplains conduct worship services, rituals, rites, religious sacraments and ordinances while also coordinating and providing spiritual care for caregivers and Veterans in all inpatient and outpatient treatment settings. By offering expertise in health care ethics and risk screenings to identify factors that may affect recovery, VA chaplains can also help you process spiritual needs and uncertainties related to medical situations such as tissue/organ donation.

Benefits of VA Chaplain Services: 

   • Access to VA chaplains in your local VA Health Care System.
   • Collaborative VA spiritual and religious care.
   • Strategies for medical decision-making.
   • Spiritual assessments and personalized spiritual care plans.