Strengthening Workplace Pastoral Care in Military, Paramedic and Police Settings: Chaplaincy Confidentiality, Proactivity, Proximity & Referral Options

Peter Devenish-Meares

This paper investigates the significance of workplace pastoral care in military, paramedic, and police settings, emphasising the pivotal role of chaplaincy in supporting personnel through psychological distress or crises. It explores the effects of chaplaincy proximity, confidentiality, proactive engagement, and early interventions on healing and well-being. Employing a heuristic methodology, a chaplain’s person centeredness, proximity and nonverbal immediacy were found to be crucial to effective pastoral care in some settings. In general, military leaders expect chaplaincy proximity and responsiveness which is underscored by confidentiality reassurance, however, this is less clear in emergency and police research. The literature highlights the challenges and importance of confidentiality, trust, and personal choice in chaplaincy interventions. Noticeably there is less police-focussed research to date than military research. The study underscores the necessity for proactive chaplaincy practices, cross-contextual research, and policy development to enhance pastoral and mental health care particularly when it comes to knowledge that pastoral care is even an option and referral pathways. A conceptual framework for mapping the nature and extent of chaplaincy care, if any, as ameliorated by pastoral care options, personal awareness and individual choices is outlined in the following section. It attempts to capture and illuminate something of the complex, relational and dynamic relationships between choice, need, and chaplain outreach action, in a simplified form. The paper proposes some policy enhancements and advocates for enhanced organisational protocols, adequate resources, and collaboration between pastoral and mental health professionals. Further, research is necessary to explore the effectiveness of chaplaincy responses, early interventions, and the balance between organizational expectations and privacy rights.

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Devenish-Meares, P. (2025). Strengthening Workplace Pastoral Care in Military, Paramedic and Police Settings: Chaplaincy Confidentiality, Proactivity, Proximity & Referral Options. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(3), 1134–1154.

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Strengthening Workplace Pastoral Care in Military, Paramedic and Police Settings: Chaplaincy Confidentiality, Proactivity, Proximity & Referral Options

Peter Devenish-Meares

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