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Veteran families are better able to disrupt remarkably common underlying contributors to suicide, homelessness, and opioid abuse through increased capacity to create and sustain relationships with family, friends and social supports.

Greater than 99% of participants recommend PAIRS Warrior to Soul Mate classes to friends, families, and colleagues.

I wanted to write to tell you guys how much I appreciate being a part of the PAIRS training last week. In case you don’t remember me, I am the guy who spoke of his son learning to ride his bicycle and practicing his bike while I was away in Afghanistan. I used this story to illustrate levels of learning with Chaplain Mills and Chaplain Stuki. Thank you Seth and Lauren for all you do. I can tell you owned this program and actually believe in it. I found myself using these tools in my life as a way of cognitive therapy—it works. This program has equipped me with practical tools to overcome anxiety. I believe anxiety is the main problem with returning Soldiers. Anxiety has to do with memory and the effects of it can be catastrophic. Since Jan 2000 I have served in the Army as a chaplain and been taught 3 different, but similar programs.
These programs didn’t work with anxiety to the extent that PAIRS does. Soldiers need a tool to integrate back into the civilian world and family situations that will take practice but is practical towards relieving emotions and exposing false beliefs. Soldiers have bad habits and need a program that is attractive to overcome. Soldiers are sensitive and know when they are being treated like a number. They cannot handle command driven programs. They will choose something that is colorful, quality, and honest. This was portrayed in the instructors – I can tell you practice this in your lives and that you care. The Soldiers will want what you have and begin to believe in themselves. Thank you for all that you do. I am looking forward to doing more with PAIRS. 

Chaplain David J. Wateska, BCC

Leadership Training and Education,
NOT Therapy or Counseling

PAIRS Warrior to Soul Mate Program integrates a triad of practical, proven leadership skills that give you the best chance of getting where you want life to take you. 

Where you go, who goes with you, and everything else that has to do with your personal values, vision and goals ... those are some of the most important decisions you’ll make in life. And they are yours to make. 

PAIRS is an educational, leadership training approach developed, researched, and refined over half a century to empower you to personally and privately discover and implement your own solutions to the challenges and opportunities of your life. 

A Multi-Disciplinary Whole Health Approach

Warrior to Soul Mate directly supports critical VA national goals and is direct evidence of the VA tackling issues head-on in a surprising and innovative way to equip the Veteran with skills to improve the quality of their key relationships in pursuit of higher levels of wellness.

Warrior to Soul Mate Public Private Partnership

A Decade of Public-Private Partnership


Representatives of the public-private Warrior to Soul Mate partnership meet at the National Chaplaincy Center in Hampton, Virginia. From left PAIRS Program Specialist Alan Young, Purpose Built Families Foundation CEO Seth Eisenberg, VA National Chaplain Center Director Juliana Lesher, Hampton VA Chief of Chaplain Services Kim Willis. The program goal is to make Warrior to Soul Mate available to every Veteran, at every VA facility.
In 2008, a multi-disciplinary team of chaplains, psychologists and social workers from the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia asked PAIRS Foundation to donate a relationship restoring 16-hour retreat for returning OEF/OIF combat Veterans and their spouses over Valentine’s Day weekend. 

Participants and team members agreed the experience was extraordinary. 

Over the weeks and months that followed, some shared how real their thoughts of suicide had been prior to the event. Nearly a decade later, members of that class continue to offer gratitude for the healing and happiness that began with their weekend together.

That experience led hundreds of VA chaplains and behavioral health professionals to participate in PAIRS accreditation training to be able to facilitate similar experiences. From San Diego to Hampton, Indianapolis and many places in between, outcomes reported by professionals and, most importantly, the Veterans they’ve served, have been overwhelmingly positive and profoundly meaningful.

In Washington, DC, a second chaplain adopted the model for conducting PAIRS events (e.g., weekend retreats), developed a user’s guide to implement these events, and managed the distribution of grant dollars. 

In 2012, San Diego’s collaboration with PAIRS Foundation was recognized with the Spirit of Planetree Award for the program’s impact on strengthening relationships between family, friends, and social supports as a central component of patient centered care.
Subsequent national adoption of W2SM by individual VA facilities was facilitated through grants awarded by the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation ("OPCC&CT").

In 2013, 23 VA facilities receiving OPCC&CT innovation grant funding held W2SM events. These medical centers were located in 14 of the 23 administrative regions of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks, located across the United States. A total of 67 W2SM programs were held, serving 826 couples and 12 individuals. The OPCC&CT funded a collaborative evaluation of the program’s sustainability, including barriers to and facilitators of potential sustainability for the W2SM program. 

This evaluation was conducted by a multidisciplinary team from one of the VA Health Services Research & Development Centers of Innovation and the VA Mental Health and Chaplaincy program, in collaboration with representatives from the OPCC&CT, VA National Chaplain Center, national leadership of the W2SM program, and one of the VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers.

In 2019, the National Chaplain Center awarded PAIRS Foundation a fixed price contract to be able to offer W2SM according to the same rigorous training, ethical, and licensing standards throughout the Veterans Administration. The program goal is to make W2SM available to every Veteran, at every VA facility. It is estimated that the need is to train 7,500 Facilitators and establish a training system to keep making W2SM available to every Veteran.

As of May 2019, the W2SM program had graduated 806 facilitators from professional certification training, enabling provision of classes in locations throughout the VA enterprise. 

Ethical Standards

Standards of professionalism aim to assure the high quality and safety of Warrior to Soul Mate classes. As a community of providers, facilitators collaborate to create an efficient and effective experience for couples, singles, and youth regarding learning the dynamics of relationships. Warrior to Soul Mate facilitators rigorously adhere to PAIRS ethical guidelines for self-monitoring to support the quality and reputation of the family of PAIRS experiences as the best couple and relationship education, prevention, and intervention programs available.

The Mission Act
The Warrior to Soul Mate program empowers participants through psychoeducational skills training, enabling interpersonal relationships to be mobilized as an effective “front line defense” in achieving whole health wellness.

Warrior to Soul Mate provides the Veteran and his/her family the knowledge and skills to make informed choices, better decision-making, prioritization and means of communications to improve relationships, including those with their health care providers. 

Participating staff members are more highly motivated and satisfied by their work -- measurably supporting longer retention.
Customer Service
The Warrior to Soul Mate program is delivering excellent cross disciplinary programs and enhancing the patient experience. 

Ninety nine percent of those individuals who participated in Warrior to Soul Mate recommended the training program for others. 

The high percentage of satisfied customers demonstrates Warrior to Soul Mate's perceived value and the likelihood of continued success enrolling Veterans and their spouses, partners or caregivers. 
A robust schedule of Warrior to Soul Mate classes offers an attractive, inexpensive, high quality option for reducing wait times for Veterans accessing psychological, social work, or chaplain services.
Business Transformation
Warrior to Soul Mate is delivered by an interdisciplinary team supporting wellness, and provides Veterans with better skills to direct their health care. W2SM provides a high ROI and reduces demand for additional services through enhancing the Veteran’s relationship skills capacity, competence, and confidence.
VA/DoD Collaboration
Warrior to Soul Mate promotes collaboration between VA and DoD personnel committed to the wellness of their respective members. VA Warrior to Soul Mate Trainers are training DoD personnel.  W2SM allows for the seamless integration of service members, VA employees, and Veterans.
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