Scottish Association of Chaplains in Healthcare
Scottish Association of Chaplains in Healthcare
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Members of SACH
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Scottish Journal Volume 8 No. 1 May 2005 EDITORIAL This edition begins and ends with reflections on the asking of questions. In his ‘Therapeutic Role of Spirituality in Psychotherapy', Professor Griffith provides examples of the kinds of questions which might enable the psychotherapist to gain insight into a client's spiritual life and to explore its therapeutic potential. Those of us in chaplaincy will doubtless be familiar with the asking of such questions – concerning hope, love, meaning and purpose – and with the posture of careful listening which we must adopt as we seek to approach a person's ‘core sense of identity'. Again, in his Orere source, Noel Brown also reflects on the asking of questions, reminding us that ‘the most powerful questions are not those which seek information, but which invite people to re-examine some aspect of their life or faith.' Yet there are those for whom the questions no longer make as much sense as they once did. People with dementia may well live with an impaired ability to understand the questions, the words, the invitation to reflect or to re-examine. Some may inhabit a realm altogether beyond the asking and the answering. What of their spiritual lives? Stephen Smith focuses upon this aspect of the palliative care of people with dementia, and describes how he approached the task of identifying spiritual need. He talks about the need to connect – ‘with people, things, the world, the past, deeply held views and beliefs.' I am reminded of Robert Davis' account of his own ‘journey into Alzheimer's disease' in which he describes the terror of feeling dis-connected from all that had once been familiar, even from the God who had hitherto sustained him at the deepest level. Connectedness, community, relationship: these surely belong at the heart of a spirituality which does not depend upon the ability to think, reason or understand. As James Griffith says elsewhere, ‘(Spirituality) places relationships at the centre of awareness.' It seems to me that this holding-within-relationship is the core task of caring spiritually for people with dementia. This is a challenge both professional and emotional. Most of us will not suffer from dementia, but all of us, if we live long enough, will have to face up to the ageing process. What will we, and society, make of it? Will it confront us with a crisis of meaning, or provide us with the opportunity for acceptance, integration and spiritual growth? Harriet Mowat makes the case that ageing is a spiritual journey, and that the search for meaning in ageing is fundamentally a spiritual task. W B Yeats wrote in his ‘Sailing to Byzantium'
The spiritual task of ageing is to balance ‘immortality and imminence' and through realism, hopefulness and self transcendence, to enable that song of the soul to be heard. This edition of the journal offers a varied and stimulating range of contributions, and with the above observations, I commend it to you. Full Text
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CONTENTS Therapeutic Role of Spirituality in Psychotherapy Pages 2-6 Abstract: Should the secular psychotherapist be prepared to explore a client's spiritual life? Psychotherapists since Freud have traditionally been suspicious of spirituality and religion as at once unscientific and psychologically harmful. More recently, spirituality has come to be viewed more positively as an often necessary component of psychotherapy. Acknowledgement of the spiritual facilitates a therapeutic alliance, builds resilience through spiritual resources and mobilizes relational support from spiritual communities. Psychotherapists need to learn how to listen and question in such a way that clients 'can comfortably reveal their spiritual lives. Such conversations draw both therapist and client into a dialogue between persons, which has the potential to 're-humanize the professional.' Key Words: Spirituality, Religion, Psychotherapy, Therapeutic Alliance, Spiritual Resources, Resilience James L. Griffith is Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, Director, Psychiatry Residency Program, The George Washington University School of Medicine Washington DC, USA. Ageing, Spirituality and Health Pages 7-12 Abstract: This paper takes the view that old age is a spiritual journey. It suggests that a primary task for the carer is to support this spiritual journey into old age. The spiritual development of the older person is also assisted by an appropriate societal context, hospitable to this view of the ageing process. Thus older people may be encouraged to retain a sense of self, of meaning and of integrity. The article explores the various discourses through which ageing is understood, and discusses the implications for health and social care services of the ‘spiritual journey' discourse. Key Words: Ageing, older people, spiritual journey, spiritual need, caring task Harriet Mowat is honorary senior lecture, University of Aberdeen. Dementia Palliative Care Needs Assessment: A Focus On Spiritual Care Pages 13-19 Abstract: Palliative and dementia care have a focus on holism and follow a person centred approach. Although these values could be described as core, they have arisen from differing perspectives of health and social care and as a result have different foci and approaches. This article describes a palliative care focus to assessing the needs of people with dementia and their carers, in particular their spiritual needs. People with dementia, carers and service providers participated in this assessment. The needs to know the individual, respect their beliefs, views and practices and adopt simple, practical approaches to spiritual care are highlighted. Key words: Spiritual care, religious care, dementia, palliative care, person centred. Stephen Smith is Co-ordinator Dementia/Palliative Care Project, West Lothian Healthcare Division, NHS Lothian Researching ‘Spirituality': some of the pitfalls and pleasures of theological anthropology Pages 20-22 Abstract: Following the publication of her book ‘Recognising Spiritual Needs in People Who Are Dying' the author reflects on the experience of researching spirituality. The article gives an open and honest insight into the unpredictable challenges, difficulties and humbling experiences that clearly have a profound personal impact that las to a journey of personal discovery and change. The Editors Key Words: Listening, religion, research, spirituality, theological anthropology Rachel Stanworth author of 'Recognising Spiritual Needs in People Who are Dying' published by the Oxford University Press, 2004. Reflection on an audit:
Healthcare professionals views of spiritual care Pages 23-26 Abstract: This article describes how a process of audit can be used to clarify the perceptions healthcare professionals hold regarding spiritual car and, how they understand and practice it. The audit process was used to identify training needs and devise a programme of spiritual care. Alongside the detailed results of the audit the author, new the process of audit, gives a frank personal reflection on the experience gained and encourages readers not to be daunted by the process. The Editors. Key words: Audit, Spiritual Care, Staff, Chaplain, staff training,, staff roles. Christiane Lehair is Macmillan Palliative and Supportive Care Chaplain in Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London Perspectives on ‘Agenda for Change' Abstract: Agenda for Change is in the process of being implemented throughout the NHS. Those chaplains who are directly employed are already involved in this process, and anticipate that for both full and part time chaplains it will have a profound effect on pay, terms and conditions of employment, and professional development. This article offers three perspectives on Agenda for change; they explore some of the benefits that it is expected to bring, but also touch on some of the difficulties along the way to implementation. The Editors Keywords : agenda for change; chaplaincy; direct employment;
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Book Reviews Pages 33-34 Rebuilding Trust in Healthcare Appraisal and Revalidation-Demonstrating Your Competence Attending to the fact – staying with dying |
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THE ORERE SOURCE Abstracts from the Pastoral Care and other Healthcare Journals Page 35-44 The Rev. W. Noel Brown is a Chaplain and ACPE Supervisor, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, and editor of THE ORERE SOURCE, a bi-monthly compendium of his abstracts from the pastoral care and healthcare literature. The summaries printed in the Journal have been selected from recent additions to the 13,600 in the database.
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