Article

Symposium Report: Researching Spiritual and Pastoral Care: Measuring the Value of Chaplaincy

October 2017
Health and Social Care Chaplaincy 5(2):306-311

DOI:10.1558/hscc.34305

Authors:

I see myself as both chaplain and prospector. Occasionally, I find a gold nugget that needs weighing and evaluating. It may be rejected and may be my last. But what compels me to the uncertain life of a research chaplain? Where did the idea of the symposium come from? I address this symposium report as a case study, beginning with a short answer to these questions. I then describe the background, the keynote presentations, and close by reflecting on outcomes.

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Chapter

Communication issues in pastoral care and chaplaincy

March 2010

The diagnosis of a life-threatening disease can trigger a variety of reactions in the recipient of such news. In addition to a range of emotional and psychological responses, there will come a time for most when questions of a more existential nature arise. These questions are very much the concern of spiritual and pastoral care. The UK guidance for supportive care in adult cancer made it clear ... [Show full abstract] that all staff in a palliative care setting share a responsibility for spiritual care, even if there are specially designated people appointed to provide for the range of discerned need. The level of communication skills held by all staff should be sufficient to facilitate conversations and explore responses to the illness, to enable assessment of need and referral to appropriate people. Chaplains come from a faith tradition, but are usually able to work with people who are within and outside of their faith group.

Article

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Court Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in Australia: An Exploratory Study

May 2014 · Journal of Religion and Health

Lindsay Brian Carey

Carey, L.B. (2015) Court chaplaincy and spiritual care in Australia: An exploratory study, Journal of Religion and Health, 54 (3), pp. 1014-1026: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10943-014-9878-3 Abstract: This paper summarizes an exploratory study undertaken to consider the work of Australian chaplaincy personnel ministering to people proceeding through emotionally challenging ... [Show full abstract] judicial court proceedings. This qualitative research (a first among Australian court chaplains) was not concerned with specific court procedures per se, but predominantly about the perspectives of chaplains concerning their professional contribution and issues they experienced while trying to assist people struggling with court processes. Data from a single focus group indicated that court chaplains were striving to fulfill religious and spiritual duties according to national and international standards. Given various frustrations identified by chaplain participants, which either impeded or thwarted their professional role as chaplains, a number of improvements were subsequently identified in order to develop the efficiency and effectiveness of court chaplaincy and thus maximize the benefits of spiritual and pastoral care to people in court. Implications of this exploratory study relate not only to court chaplaincy but also to ecclesiastical organizations, governments and the need of support for further research to be conducted.

Article

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Understanding the Role of Chaplains in Veteran Suicide Prevention Efforts

October 2014 · SAGE Open

In recent years, identifying ways to mitigate the risk of suicidal behavior in Veteran populations has become a major public health challenge of special significance. This has included identifying support options that can be used by Veterans in times of distress or crisis. For example, Veterans at increased risk of suicide will sometimes voice complaints indicative of a need for spiritual and ... [Show full abstract] pastoral care support. At U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, such support is provided to Veterans by clinical chaplains. This discussion paper aims to present the contextual framework in which chaplaincy services are provided to Veterans at increased risk of suicide, better conceptualize the spiritual and pastoral care needs of at-risk Veterans who request chaplaincy services, and offer practical suggestions for framing the provision of spiritual and pastoral care services.

Article

Whatever Happened to Seelsorge?

January 1970

Herbert Anderson

HE CURRENT INTEREST IN SPIRITUALITY IN THIS SOCIETY HAS CHALLENGED theological reflection and ministerial practice with several questions. One of those questions is the theme of this essay: Whatever happened to Seelsorge (the care of souls)? Although Seelsorge has a long and rich history in the Christian tradition, pastoral care has been dominated for decades by psychologies of the self that ... [Show full abstract] paral-leled the movement away from "soul" in theological discourse. The emergence of specialized forms of pastoral care and counseling has also contributed to the hid-denness of Seelsorge in our time. For the last several decades, the theories of pas-toral care have been funded intellectually by the specialized practices of chaplaincy and pastoral psychotherapy. The question of this essay has gained new significance recently as "spiritual care" has replaced "pastoral care" as the descriptive term for the work of hospital chaplains. 1 This change raises a number of critical questions. Are spiritual care and 32 Copyright © 2001 by Word & World, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. All rights reserved. Word & World Volume XXI, Number 1 Winter 2001 Although pastoral care has fostered careful listening to human stories, in its modern practice it has not attended equally well to the stories of God. The recov-ery of Seelsorge (care of souls) can help build bridges between the human and the divine. 1 See the mission statement of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. I have also read the draft of a white paper, not yet approved by the major chaplaincy groups in the United States, on "Professional Chaplaincy: The Role and Importance of Spiritual/Religious Care in Healthcare." No material from that document is quoted in this essay. HERBERT ANDERSON is currently visiting professor at the School of Theology and Ministry; he is anticipating the quieter life of retirement.

Article

The Drg Era: A Major Opportunity for Increased Pastoral Care Impact or a Crisis for Survival?

October 1987 · Journal of Pastoral Care

Notes how the Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) system, now being utilized by a growing number of hospitals, may provide chaplains with ways of demonstrating their worth as team members in total health care. Claims that pastoral care ought to be a major clinical service in a hospital and that chaplains therefore need to provide objective evidence of their contribution to the well-being of patients, ... [Show full abstract] as do other major clinical areas. Suggests specific ways for chaplains to establish such data, including the use of objective measures of the spiritual conditions of patients. Offers examples of accountability procedures and notes that such meticulous chaplain accountability along with follow-up work with patients could lead to expansions of services and new roles in the chaplaincy fields.

Article

Support to spiritual needs in hospital care. Integration perspective in modern hospitals

July 2014 · Recenti Progressi in Medicina

Within the course of medical care in the most advanced health care settings, an increasing attention is being paid to the so-called care humanization. According to this perspective, we try to integrate the usual care pathways with aspects related to the spiritual and religious dimension of all people and their families, as well as the employees themselves. It is clearly important to establish ... [Show full abstract] this kind of practices on the basis of scientific evidences. That is the reason why it's a necessity to improve the knowledge about the importance that spiritual assistance can offer within the current health service. The aim of this work is to show the relevance of the integration of spiritual perspectives in the hospital setting according to a multidisciplinary point of view. In this work many data that emerge from the international scientific literature, as well as the definition that is given to the concept of "spirituality" are analyzed; about this definition in fact there is not unanimous consent even today. It is also analyzed the legal situation in force within the European territory according to the different laws and social realities. Finally, the possible organizational practices related to spiritual support are described and the opportunity to specific accreditation pathways and careful training of chaplains able to integrate traditional religious practices with modern spiritual perspectives is discussed.

Article

The spiritual and pastoral dimensions of chaplaincy work

July 2009 · Journal of Interprofessional Care

Ian Ainsworth-Smith

Chaplaincy in the National Health Service, historically funded by the NHS, has not declined in a ‘purchasing' culture. Chaplaincy provision has developed from a more formally ‘religious' role to embrace concern for the related but separate areas of religion, culture and spirituality. There is also a relationship between individual and shared needs which is of concern to chaplains. The historic ... [Show full abstract] ‘established' roles of the Church of England and the Church of Scotland have helped provide a framework for ministering to a community, rather than a gathered church, which has been drawn upon in chaplaincy.

Article

The Development, Status, and Future of Healthcare Chaplaincy

July 2006 · Southern Medical Journal

This review article provides insight into the evolution of professional healthcare chaplaincy. It identifies key historical developments identifying the training, qualifications, and competencies of chaplains. Consideration is given to both the unique character of the pastoral role in healthcare as well as the contribution of chaplains to the interdisciplinary care of patients and families. The ... [Show full abstract] article points to the emerging need for chaplains to pursue research within the clinical context.

Article

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In Memoriam: The Disenfranchised Grief of Chaplains and the Recovery of Memory

February 2008 · Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling Advancing theory and professional practice through scholarly and reflective publications

Phil Samuel Helsel

The article explores the disenfranchised grief of the chaplain from the perspective of the author's own experience in hospice chaplaincy. Borrowing from the works of Kenneth J. Doka on disenfranchised grief, Robert C. Dykstra on crisis ministry, and James Dittes on grief work in ministry, this article focuses on the grief work of chaplains. In doing so, it analyzes the theological perspective of ... [Show full abstract] remembrance, explaining how personal remembrances connect the chaplain with his or her own repressed grief in a way that communal events can not accomplish because of the chaplain's responsibility for the grief of the community in these settings. From the perspective of the Christian faith in its sacramental connections with the Lord's Supper, the spiritual practice of honoring the deceased and praying for their guidance is posed as a possible model of healing remembrance.

Article

A Christian for the Christians, a Muslim for the Muslims? Reflections on a Protestant View of Pastor...

December 1998 · Christian Bioethics

Whereas in the first half of the 20th century, proclamation was the focal point of pastoral care in Germany, the 1970s witnessed an embracing of the American pastoral care movement. From then on, pastoral care was increasingly understood as accompanying patients whilst adopting the spiritual dimension . Nowadays, Christian chaplains are encountering an increasing number of patients from different ... [Show full abstract] religious communities. Various models have been proposed to help Protestant chaplains find an authentic form of pastoral care suitable for all religions. Until a clear position is assumed with regard to Christianity's demands of absolutism, however, none of these approaches can be satisfactory.

Article

Perceptions of the role of chaplaincy and spiritual life programming in two independent boarding sch...

January 1970

Robert Peter. Clements

Thesis (D. Min.)--Princeton Theological Seminary, 2000. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-149). Includes abstract.

Article

Healing: The Power of Presence. A Reflection

March 2011 · Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Margaret B Guenther

The focus of my work as a teacher and Episcopal priest has been pastoral. In my work of chaplaincy, spiritual director, and trainer of spiritual directors, I have been powerfully aware of the importance of presence. Furthermore, I have concentrated on the significance of healing-physical, emotional, and spiritual-as distinguished from curing. This article is a reflection, based on my decades of ... [Show full abstract] experience, as contrasted with an academic exploration of the history, various traditions, or the methodology of healing.

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