Tipps

Spiritual Care Tipps D/E

Understanding Nonverbal Communication
A well-known and commonly misunderstood statistic about nonverbal communication states that it makes up 93% of face to face in person communication. Albert Mehrabian combined the statistical results of the two studies and came up with the now-famous--and famously misused--rule that communications are only 7 percent verbal and 93 percent non-verbal. The non-verbal component was made up of body language (55 percent) and tone of voice (38 percent) (Thompson. 2011). Over 90 percent of what we communicate in person comes from cues that supplement, confirm, contradict, or clarify our spoken words. It is important to remember that just as with all communication, nonverbal communication is highly contextual. As with any cultural difference, it is incumbent upon the chaplain or spiritual care provider to allow general propensities to inform but not stereotype a nonverbal cue.
Powerful Communication Techniques - Spiritual Care Association Learning Center 13/12/2019

Decision Making in Care and Treatment
It is essential to keep in mind that while health care is changing in its emphasis on person-centered care and the importance of cultural diversity, autonomy is typically valued as the right of a patient to decide for him or herself what they want in terms of their care and treatment. Often, however, individuals do not make decisions in isolation. It may be the decision of the family as a whole, the tribe, the clan, a spiritual/religious leader, or the eldest member of the family. Perhaps it is the tradition of the culture that the patient not is told at all of their illness, particularly when it is terminal, and as a result, families make all decisions on their behalf or they decide what, when, and how the patient is told. This typically comes from an understanding that the family's role is to protect and take care of each other, particularly those who are the most vulnerable. It may be believed that telling a person directly information about their condition and asking him or her to make decisions alone is considered disrespectful, impolite, or cruel as it may cause the person to have elevated anxiety and lose hope. Other cultures believe that speaking bad news aloud can cause the worst outcome to occur. Cultural norms such as this need to be respected while also understanding to what extent the patient has the ability to speak for him/herself. Searight and Gafford (2005) wrote that patients who prefer family decision making have "made a clear voluntary choice."
Values, Obligations, and Rights: Health Care Ethics. Spiritual Care Association Learning Center. 15/11/2015

Competence Training Should Start with Self-Awareness
Cultural competence training can take many forms. In some health care organizations, the focus is generalized to focus on simply honoring differences without any discussion of what those differences might be. Others may provide an in-service or workshop that describes cultural groups, often using broad generalizations without attention to regional differences or individual belief systems. Some may simply require that a written or online brief competency is completed by its staff in order to document that training has taken place.
To be truly effective, competence training should start with self-awareness: which is how a clinician individualizes their own culture, beliefs, and traditions as well as their reactions to those that are different. Rather than focus on teaching broad information on various groups, which can often result in promoting stereotypes, provide training that teaches skills in how to ask questions, listen closely, and negotiate cultural differences, including ways to incorporate those that are identified as most meaningful to patients and families.
Cultural Competence, Inclusion, and Vulnerable Populations. Spiritual Care Association Learning Center 4/11/2019

Attending to the Spiritual Needs of Children
Children begin to develop spiritual understanding, including concepts of God, angels, heaven, hell, and divine reward and punishment, at a very early age. Specific beliefs will vary widely depending on the nationality, culture, religious beliefs, and values of the child's family. In an inspired little book called God Lives in Glass (2001), author Robert Landy collected children's writings and drawings about God from over 30 countries and more than 20 different spiritual orientations.
There is a richness and a creativity to children's beliefs about God that go far beyond the theologies and world views of their parents and the religious traditions and stories they have been taught. Attending to the spiritual needs of children, especially those of a different religion, ethnic group or culture, may stretch the boundaries of a chaplain or spiritual care provider who holds to a rigid set of theological perspectives. A need to develop cultural awareness, therefore, is paramount. One excellent cultural and religious resource is the Handbook of Patient's Spiritual and Cultural Values for Health Care Professionals.
Caring for the Smallest: Pediatrics. Spiritual Care Association Learning Center 15/11/19

Self-Care In Turn Improves Patient Care
This time, when I reached the end of the presentation, I gave them a typical blessing and ended with a short silence, asking all to focus on their breath. This is how I introduce patients to meditation and contemplation. The breath is an introduction to sitting in silence in many cultures and religions, and it has no associations for most of the patients that I see. As I let the nurses sit in silence, the quiet in the room deepened. I kept it short and asked them to briefly focus on what brought them into nursing and what they hoped to accomplish that day. Afterwards, the nurses reacted positively. Many said they wished they could have more meditative experiences themselves, and I offered to lead quiet time with them whenever they made a request. In the months that followed, nurse managers came to me and asked me to begin meetings with quiet time. Chemo nurses asked me to lead contemplative time at their morning briefings. I was asked to present to administrative staff, and a few of them spoke about how much they wanted to begin every day with a silent time. Our conversation led to a meditation group run by administrative staff that met for several months. Many administrative staff began sitting in silence on their own, some with the aid of phone apps. Staff began to see how self-care in turn improves patient care and began to understand that they need to care for themselves as they provide care for patients.
Clio Pavlantos -Fall/Winter 2018, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 16/9/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Chronic Pain and Patient Care
Chronic pain patients often struggle with the meaning of their disease and the changes it makes to their relationship with themselves, others, and the Divine. If no longer able to work or engage in formally satisfying activities, questions and distress can arise regarding what meaning and purpose their lives now have, and how to adapt to those changes. Chronic pain patients may struggle with a sense of betrayal from their bodies, their belief and values system ("Why is this happening me?"), and even the health care system that may not be able to adequately meet their medical needs. Their sense of self-worth is often challenged along with questioning their ability to make decisions, their relationships that can become strained, changed, or broken due to their symptoms and limitations, and their inability to participate in community activities that have been a source of connectedness and support. Anger, sadness, and feelings of abandonment can be common. Depression can be overlooked by health providers or treated simply with medication rather than identifying and addressing the underlying emotional and spiritual distress.
Myra Christopher, LDH, Sue Wintz, MDiv, APBCC, BCC - Spring/Summer 2018, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 16/8/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Teaching Compassionate Communication to Health Care Professionals
"The Patient Wish List" by Peter Provonost, was generated from patient feedback about their care. The ten items on the list can best be summarized by 'keep my room clean, listen to me, and be fully present and engaged in my care.' The assumption here is that many care providers do not listen. A survey of 800 recently hospitalized patients and 510 physicians found broad agreement that compassionate care is very important to medical treatment, yet only 53% of patients and 58% of physicians said that the health care system generally provide compassionate care.
At Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region, we discovered the need for specific training in compassionate communication from an examination of our consumer concerns which revealed that consumers were more concerned by far about 'communication' than they were about 'skills/ability,' which ranked lowest in concerns. In response to this information, we chose to develop a compassionate communication course as part of an overall Exceptional Care Initiative. Utilizing basic communication principles from Neuro-Linguistic Programming, input from a compilation by one of our social workers, nursing and physician field experiences, and from specific studies of the principles of compassion, we developed a three-and-a-half-hour course that has become mandatory for all new staff members -- clinical, administrative, etc. While there are many ways to approach this subject and several outstanding companies who provide detailed communication training, it is important that any sort of compassionate communication training contain a spiritual component...
Larry Dawalt, MDiv, CT, cTSS, Robert Michael Smith, MD, MBA, Patty Brown, BSN, CHPN - Fall/Winter 2017, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine -HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 15/7/2019 To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Advocating for Systems that Allow Humans to Flourish During Illness
I received an unexpected email a couple of years ago from Spence, a young man whose wife I had recently treated. He told me, "Beyond using your medical skills to treat her physical problems, you went out of your way to make sure my questions and concerns were taken care of. You spent extra time talking with me and giving me honest assessments and advice. When she returned to consciousness you again took the time to talk with us about her experience, helped us understand what to expect and what recovery would be like. In other words, you treated us, and especially her, like an individual. She wasn't another body in a bed and I wasn't another shadow in the corner."
Efforts to improve the ICU experience and replace advance directives should provide a cultural context in which life-threatening illness and death can be meaningfully interpreted, honor and acknowledge people in their diversity, create useful maps between people's individual values and priorities and specific patterns of decision making, and employ multiple, complementary approaches to improving conditions in both medicine and society. What I'm advocating is the development of systems that allow human beings to flourish even in the face of serious illness in ways that are attentive to what people actually want and aspire to. I describe several ideas here; many more are possible.
Samuel M. Brown, M.D., MS - Spring/Summer 2017, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 8/7/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Treatment and End-of-Life Decisions Are Personal, Vary With Each Case
You can't assume that you know about someone because you know that person's ethnicity, country of origin, religion, or primary language. You certainly don't know his or her preferences for something as personal as medical care and spiritual needs at the end of life. Although cultural traditions play a role in making treatment decisions, that role is not absolute. For example, in some cultures the tradition is to withhold unfavorable information from patients. In those cultures, physicians don't discuss diagnosis and prognosis directly with the patient. And yet, cultures are not homogeneous. Opinions diverge even in the most traditional communities. They are never 100 percent one way or the other. Ultimately, treatment and end-of-life decisions are personal and vary with each case. I tell my students to be curious--to ask respectful questions like, "What do I need to know about your culture or religion to make sure I take good care of you?"
Steven Z. Pantilat, M.D. -Spring/Summer 2017, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 5/7/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

A Spiritual Well-Being Guideline Revitalizes Assisted Living Residents
A former grade school teacher residing in an assisted living community missed being around children. She played piano for most of her life as well, and regretted not being able to bring the piano to her current living situation. As a result, she lost her purpose and reason for living. For this longtime resident, sharing these two important aspects of her past has guided an ongoing intervention--and now her spirit is soaring again.
The woman's new lease on life is a result of a spiritual well-being guideline developed and implemented by The Goodman Group, a senior living corporation that manages the community where she resides. The guideline addresses spiritual well-being through a one-on-one comprehensive assessment of spirituality, intervention with an individualized care plan, and follow up. The process has resulted in meaningful outcomes. The guideline incorporates the administration of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy -- Spiritual (FACIT-Sp) measurement system, which was developed to describe spiritual well-being and is not limited to any religious or spiritual tradition. Many residents who were known to us for years revealed their true selves to us in the course of this spiritual model. This approach changed the direction of that resident's life and his or her family and personal relationships, has changed the culture of our senior care community--and has been setting our beloved residents' spirits free to soar again.
Hutch Walch, ORDM, Phyllis Gaspar, Ph.D., RN, and Katie Westberg, BS - Spring/Summer 2017, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 3/7/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

How Do People so Close to Life's Finish Line Think About Death?
Over the past decade, I've conducted surveys of the oldest Americans, asking them about their lessons for living--that is, their practical advice for having a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life. They provided excellent guidance for a host of issues, from choosing a career, to having a happy marriage, to raising healthy children. The Cornell Legacy Project has gathered these lessons and made them available to the public.
In the Legacy Project interviews, one topic I really wanted to explore is how people so close to life's finish line think about death. So I decided to bite the bullet, to look 80-, 90- and 100-year-olds in the eye and ask: "When people reach your age, they begin to realize that there are more years behind them than in front of them. What are your feelings about the end of life?"
In our hundreds of interviews, we discussed what the elders thought about dying and whether it concerned them and occupied their daily thoughts. And I was in for a surprise. In fact, one question repeatedly entered my mind while listening to the interviews: Where's the terror? Because what the elders told me is that the intense, overpowering fear of dying is very much a young person's game. I did not detect denial from these elders, but rather a matter-of-fact approach to dying and a willingness to discuss it and what it means.
Karl A. Pillemer, Ph.D. - Spring/Summer 2017, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 28/6/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Spiritual Care for the Aging
There is a crisis of aging services in the U.S. Many older adults suffer from six or more chronic conditions, live in poverty, and are hungry, socially isolated, lonely, and often in despair. They face medical and long-term care systems that require seniors to impoverish themselves to pay for nursing homes, and that often humiliate and overmedicate older adults instead of respecting, understanding and honoring them.
Despite the many injustices older adults have endured for so long, it is amazing how aging Americans of all races, cultures, and economic levels have coped with these multiple issues. One of the key elements in this coping is a strong spiritual character. Spirituality is relevant today more than ever in our diverse culture and society--among both old and young. Spirituality goes beyond readily defined social roles and relationships, and focuses on one's relationship with an interior world (the soul) and a limitless external world.
Finding meaning and purpose in life is the key to a strong spiritual life. "Remembering, Reassuring, Reconciling and Reuniting"--what Joanne Lynn, M.D., co-author of "A Handbook for Mortals," calls the 4 R's of the spirit--are the drivers for finding that meaning and purpose, and thereby finding peace of mind. Why should we be interested in spiritual care for the aging? Simply put, because it provides a better quality of life for older people. It can help them cope with the difficult and inadequate medical and long-term care systems, along with the other holes in the social safety net (e.g., poverty, isolation, hunger).
Joseph F. Prevratil, J.D. - Spring/Summer 2017, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 24/06/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Carve Out Space in Your Grief to Honor the Person You Loved
Grief asks so much of us; it changes our world from the way we once knew it, and it changes us from the person we were "before." We have to learn a new way of living in the world, choosing how we are going to take those first and then continuing steps that will last for the rest of our lives. We also need to reimagine our relationship with the person we loved who has died. The relationship doesn't end; it changes. We no longer see and hold that person in our lives, but we always hold him or her in our hearts, our memories, and our spirits. As we know, grief is not a quick process: it can be one step forward and then a slide, not just a couple of steps, backwards. We can find joy in a moment, and in the next feel the overwhelming sadness knowing that we can't share that joy with the person who we long to have beside us. Yet one thing I have learned in the years since our daughter's death is that the journey does become softer. The painful moments--the grief bursts--still come, but they are clothed in loving remembrance and, yes, even grace. You see, there is another meaning for grace--one that can become not just a lifeline for us when we are grieving, but a tool for hope and healing in our journey. Grace also means to favor or to honor. What better thing for us to do than to carve out space in our grief to honor the person we loved?
Sue Wintz M.Div., APBCC, BCC - Spring/Summer 2016, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 10/06/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Quality of Communication from Health Care Team has Profound Effect
Health care chaplains as well as other health care providers frequently encounter patients and families overwhelmed by the complexity of information received and the magnitude of decisions needed to be made during a hospitalization. The quality of communication received from the health care team can have a profound effect on patient and family outcomes from both a financial and emotional standpoint. For example, adequate communication can empower patients and families, increase patient/family satisfaction, decrease patient suffering/distress, and reduce moral distress for staff. Research demonstrates that patients and families in the acute care setting consistently rate communication with the health care team as one of their most important needs. However, the simple act of communicating does not necessarily mean the communication is adequate. In many cases, communication does not take place on a timely or regular basis. In other cases, even though communication is timely, its quality or content is inadequate. Interactions with physicians may be very brief and decision makers can be left with an incomplete or inaccurate grasp of clinical status, prognosis, or treatment options. The health care team can be left without knowing the identity of the legal decision maker or a clear understanding of the goals of care, treatment preferences, and end-of-life wishes. A family meeting repeatedly surfaces in research literature as a means for improving the quality of communication.
Kathy Manske, RN, MSN, CCRN, CHPN - Spring/Summer 2016, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 3/6/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Learning How to Calm the Mind & Body
Mantram repetition is a simple, easy-to-learn, evidence-based, and spiritually integrated practice for quickly calming the mind and relaxing the body. A mantram has been defined by Eknath Easwaran, a spiritual teacher at the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, Tomales, Calif., as "the living symbol of the profoundest reality that the human being can conceive of, the highest power that we can respond to and love." Historically, nearly every spiritual or wisdom tradition has taught the value of repeating certain holy, sacred words that contain a "divine charge" that serves to calm the mind and body, and refreshes the spirit.
There is growing evidence for the efficacy of mantram repetition to manage symptoms and behaviors in a variety of circumstances. Among health care providers, nurses have reported its benefits in the workplace when dealing with stressful situations; and health care providers have reported its usage to reduce exhaustion. In addition, research has shown that mantram repetition can help veterans manage symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including nightmares, flashbacks, and road rage; and help family caregivers of loved ones with dementia to reduce depression, anxiety, and caregiver burden.
Jill Borman, Ph.D., RN, FAAN - Spring/Summer 2016, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 31/5/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

As Caregivers, We Must Also Take Care of Ourselves
"In the unlikely event of a loss of cabin pressure, please put on your oxygen mask first before assisting others." How often has each of us heard this message? Really heard this message? In truth, this is the key to successful caregiving--both for professional and family caregivers. It is not selfish to take care of oneself first; in fact, it is mandatory if we truly wish to be effective caregivers. We cannot give away what we do not have. If we are collapsing in any manner--physically, emotionally, spiritually--we are unable to help others. As caregivers, whether professional, family or both, we tend to push self-care to a back seat. But, for the benefit of the persons we care for and for ourselves, we must heed this reminder: You matter. You count. And only you can truly care for you.
Rev. Gregory Johnson, SMM, MDiv. - Spring/Summer 2016, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 27/5/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Living with Gratefulness
Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk known for his teachings about gratefulness, encourages us to live grateful in one's life situation even if we aren't grateful for the situation. He reminds us that no matter how difficult life becomes, if we are still breathing, we have something for which to be grateful. He also recommends that we use the ordinary moments during our day to open our eyes and be grateful. A gratitude practice teaches us to pay attention and notice the gifts right in front of us. For example, every meal can be an opportunity to slow down and truly experience the flavors and textures on our plates.
When we are grateful, we cease comparing ourselves with others and block negative emotions like envy, resentment and regret. We can't be grateful and jealous at the same time. In addition, several studies show that grateful people are more resilient and respond better to stress, trauma and adversity; they are better off physically, psychologically, and socially.
Anne Kertz Kernion - Spring/Summer 2016, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 24/5/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Creative Justice Provided by Listening, Forgiving and Giving
Theologian Paul Tillich suggests that there is another category of justice, the kind that can at least begin to bind up the wounds of those who suffer from injustice. Tillich calls this "creative justice," which is the only kind of justice that can actually meet our demands for justice. He describes the elements of creative justice as listening, forgiving and giving. This form of justice can provide some comfort to those who have suffered from the death of a child or any other kind of injustice. That's what a grief support group held at the First Baptist Church of Newfane, Newfane, N.Y., for example, has found in using this concept as a way to ameliorate the perceived injustice they've experienced.
Most of the participants in this group are mothers who have lost a child. At their meetings, they share their feelings and their stories. Their wounds are certainly not healed. They do not expect any real closure to their grief. But they do find some comfort. Their wounds are a little less painful because they experience the nurturing power of a group that practices creative justice. One time, a mother spoke about her ongoing need to take care of her son's grave. She clears away the leaves from his grave, and when it's cold outside, she puts a blanket on the grave. She said that it's the only way she has now of taking care of him. The other mothers knew that this was not the time to point out that putting a blanket on his grave does not actually take care of her son. Instead, the group members simply nodded their heads; they understood. They heard the terrible emptiness in her need to keep her dead son warm. They felt, with this mother, her need to nurture a son who could no longer experience her nurturing.
In applying this special kind of listening, the participants are able to hear the emotional content of each other's messages. They provide creative justice by listening to and accepting each other's feelings.
Rev. Dr. Judith Craik - Spring/Summer 2016, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 20/5/19
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Spirituality and Children
Children are naturally spiritual. When we appreciate their innate spiritual awareness, we can help ground them in a sacred reality.
1. A child's spiritual compass: trustworthy and good for life.
2. Children are hardwired to hold family sacred and sustaining.
3. Spiritual community gives children an expanded family of kindred spirits.
4. Spiritual multilingualism is a child's passport.
5. Spiritual agency empowers children to create a culture of love.
6. Transcendent knowing: dreams, mystical experiences, and other special knowing is the native spirituality of the child.
Lisa Miller Ph.D - Fall 2015/Winter 2016, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 13/5/2019
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Helping Patients, Family Caregivers Find Joy is Part of our Professional Calling
People must have joy. Loss of joy is an emergency. Joy should be a sixth vital sign. We should have rapid response teams: mental health providers and chaplains to search and rescue people lost without joy. Hope and joy are not the same thing. Perhaps for some, joy without hope of life is too difficult at that time. But still, it's really about joy; hope is one vehicle among others to joy. For those patients who have described dying as the best part of their life so far, hope for life was not what it was about. The love involved in connecting, being part of something so much larger than oneself; that was what it was about. We have to help people facing illness find the joy since it can be elusive. Symptom management and reliable care systems help. But it's also a personal matter. Helping our patients and their family caregivers find joy is part of our deep professional calling.
Linda Emmanuel MD Ph.D. - Fall 2015/Winter 2016, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 29/4/2019 - T
o read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Search for Meaning is Also Essence of Spiritual Care
The essence of palliative care is understanding who the patient is as a person--what matters most to that person. This--the search for meaning--is also the essence of spiritual care. As palliative care clinicians, we empower people who are navigating serious illness to make decisions that are right for them in the context of the reality of the illness. We hear our patients' voices and ask them important questions. Tell us about your life. Who are you and what is important to you? What are your greatest hopes and concerns? Tell us about your family. We all have one life to live, how do you want to live yours? Too often in the treatment of serious and chronic illness, patients and families struggle to voice a great many things, and things are left unsaid even at the end of life. The palliative care team, trained and expert in communication skills, helps patients and families express their true feelings, questions and concerns.
Edith Myerson D.Min, BCC and Diane Meier MD, FACP - Spring/Summer 2015, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 26/4/2019 -
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Spiritual Care Providers Actions Resonate with Survivors of Suicide Loss
There are six things every spiritual care provider should know about suicide.
Suicide is complicated. It is not a sign of weakness, selfishness, irresponsibility, a character flaw, or a coward's way out.
Grieving family and friends are likely blaming themselves and one another.
You probably carry your own beliefs and feelings about suicide. If you find that there are gaps in your understanding or you hold a view you'd like to re-examine, educate yourself (and do it soon, before you suddenly find yourself sitting across from a weeping family member who's desperately asking you for reassurance that their loved one is safe).
You may not feel totally prepared.
You have a unique and extremely important role to play.
You matter, too. As a spiritual care provider it's in your nature to take care of others. Take good care of yourself too.
Joanne Harpel - Fall/Winter 2014, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 15/4/2019 -
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Relieve the Stress of Caring for Others
Healthcare is a demanding field and takes an emotional toll on the people on the front lines: doctors, nurses, chaplains, social workers and others. Here are three suggestions to relieve the stress of caring for others.
1. The spiritual practice of meditation. Just breathe. Drop the story. Drop the speculating, the analyzing. Just breathe.
2. Keep a "Sabbath." Have some regular ritual that is not about your work, something that represents a time of rest, such as a regular dinner with friends or family.
3. Find sacredness of time within a workspace, even if only for the moment, as well as creating ritual practices at work to help stop yourself and re-center. Hand washing is something that all healthcare workers do before visiting a patient, so make that a sacred moment before each visit.
Fall/Winter 2014, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 5/4/2019 -
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

'Ultimate Concerns' are Spiritual Concerns
"You're a what?" The patient raises an eyebrow and looks at me suspiciously.
"I'm a chaplain. I'm part of the hospital team, to focus on your spiritual and emotional needs."
"But I'm not religious."
"That's ok. Neither am I!" My retort brings relaxed laughter and then conversation flows.
Theologian Paul Tillich wrote that faith can be defined as someone's "ultimate concern." Sometimes my patients are concerned with typical religious issues, like where is God in their suffering. Often, people have "ultimate concerns" that society doesn't always see as religious, but when they ground a person's sense of self and being, how are they not spiritual?
Christine Davies ACPE - Spring/Summer 2014, Caring for the Human Spirit Magazine - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 22/3/2019 -
To read the full article, visit https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/download-past-issues

Using G.R.A.C.E. as a Resource
To support and empower staff in their sense of resilience, a good resource is the G.R.A.C.E. intervention created by Joan Halifax of the Upaya Institute and Zen Center.

Gathering attention, intentional balance, grounding
Recalling intention for the good of all
Attuning to self/other/affective resonance
Considering what will really service
Engaging, enacting, ending.
Rev. Judy Long MA/MS. - 2018 Caring for the Human Spirit Conference - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 15/3/2019

Creating an Environment of Self-Care
An integral part of spiritual care is taking care of those we work with and create an environment of self-care. Quick and easy examples include: Complement 3 people publicly. Ask 3 people what they are looking forward to. Change your computer password to something you're looking forward to. Make eye contact and smile. Don't frown while charting or doing paperwork.
Bill Cooper MDiv and Jill DeVries RN-BC - 2018 Caring for the Human Spirit Conference - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network 11/3/2019

Dignity & Personhood
"What should I know about you as a person to help me take the best care of you that I can?" Within the culture of contemporary medicine, issues such as dignity and considerations regarding personhood are often overlooked or relegated to the niceties of care. The role of health care provider as witness also implicates perceptions of dignity and notions of affirmation, requiring a deeper understanding of how to achieve effective empathic communication.
Dr. Harvey Chochinov - 2016 Caring for the Human Spirit Conference 1/3/2019 - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network

Speaking the Language of Recovery
A fair number of patients are admitted to our hospital each week for difficulties involving drugs and/or alcohol. This is a very challenging patient population. Often times they can be changeable, difficult, in denial, manipulative, even charming. There are those with a dual diagnosis, with both mental and physical difficulties. Addiction is definitely a medical-psycho-social disease. I might add that I also consider addiction very much of a spiritual disease.
Elizabeth Jones - Making a Difference: Speaking the Language of Recovery - PlainViews, April 4 2012, Vol. 9, No. 5 - PlainViews- HCCN's Professional Online Journal]

Themes of Discovery in Living with Alzheimer's
There's a Taoist expression from the Chinese wisdom tradition for describing life--its 10,000 joys and its 10,000 sorrows. We know about those sorrows. When we're being with family members, working with people dealing with dementia, they're huge. I have the image of a stained glass window, and like pieces of colored glass, I'm going to give you bits and pieces of things that we discovered in living with this illness. My husband, Harrison, or Hob, as he was known, was 14 years older than me, so in a way it wasn't surprising that at age 70, he developed the symptoms of Alzheimers disease that he lived with for six years until his death. But let me hold this image of light coming through colored glass. There are three main themes here, and maybe this is like the metal that connects the colored glass. The first one is the spiritual aspects of care giving. These are unique for each of us within our own hearts, and depending on who we're with, whether a family member or we're working professionally. It's an invitation to discover what supports us and what inspires us. We need that. The second is finding meaning in suffering. How do we do that, especially when we're talking about mental diminishment? The third theme is how do we find the gifts, even the grace, amidst adversity? Are there ways we can begin to transform this unbelievable suffering in the midst of it? It's a huge undertaking, but I think it's an invitation.
Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle - Joys and Sorrows of Living with Alzheimer's - PlainViews, May 16, 2012, Vol. 9, No. 8 - [PlainViews- HCCN's Professional Online Journal

Unser Filmtipp Nr. 1 - Die Hütte - Ein Wochenende mit Gott
(Stichwörter: Verlust, Trauer, Schuld, Vergebung, Auseinandersetzung mit Gott)
Vor Jahren verschwand Mackenzies (Sam Worthington) jüngste Tochter von einem Tag auf den anderen. Ihre letzte Spur fand man in einer Schutzhütte im Wald – nicht weit vom Camping-Ort der Familie. Vier Jahre später, mitten in seiner tiefsten Trauer, erhält Mack eine rätselhafte Einladung in diese Hütte. Ihr Absender ist Gott. Trotz seiner Zweifel lässt Mack sich auf diese Einladung ein. Eine Reise ins Ungewisse beginnt. Und was er dort findet, wird seine Welt für immer verändern. Der gleichnamige Bestseller von William Paul Young hat sich alleine im deutschsprachigen Raum weit über eine Million mal verkauft und ist somit das meistverkaufte Buch über Gott seit der Bibel. Die Hütte - Ein Wochenende mit Gott online anschauen: Stream, kaufen, oder leihen. Du kannst "Die Hütte - Ein Wochenende mit Gott" bei Netflix legal im Stream anschauen, bei Google Play Movies, Apple iTunes, Hollystar, Exlibris, Rakuten TV, SwissCom, Videobuster online leihen oder auch bei Google Play Movies, Apple iTunes, Hollystar, Exlibris, Rakuten TV, SwissCom, Videobuster als Download kaufen.
Siehe auch: https://www.justwatch.com/ch/Film/Die-Huette

Unser Filmtip Nr. 2
Video: Hirschhausen im Hospiz – wie das Ende gelingen kann
16.09.19 | 44:00 Min. | Verfügbar bis 16.09.2020

"Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie sind weg, es gibt Sie nicht mehr. Sie sind tot. Für wen ist das eigentlich schlimm? Für Sie selber oder für alle, die noch weiterleben?"
Die Frage stellt Eckart von Hirschhausen. Er verbringt zwei Tage im Hospiz.

Unser Filmtipp Nr. 3 - Zu Ende Leben
Die Prognose ist eindeutig: Thomas Niessl kämpft seit über drei Jahren gegen einen Gehirntumor. Operationen sind unausweichlich. Doch Aufgeben ist kein Thema für ihn. Leben, bewusst und positiv, auch wenn der Tod angeklopft hat. Rebecca Panian und ihr Team haben den heute 52-jährigen Tom aus Wetzikon über Monate begleitet – von Zürich bis Finnland. Prominente Schriftsteller wie Franz Hohler oder Pedro Lenz äussern sich zum Tabuthema Sterben.

Sprüche / Poems

If roses grow in Heaven, Lord, please pick a bunch for me, place them in my Mother's arms and tell her they'r from me. Tell her that I love her and miss her, and when she turns to smile, place a kiss upon her cheek and hold her for a while. Because remembering her is easy, I do it every day, but there's an ache withing my heart, that will never go away.

I never thought that I'll ever will make it without you. Still; it hurts so deeply, still ; a can't forget - I miss you so much!

I am scared to die, because I am afraid to meet you again.... my fears, my secrets are scary....

Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.

The fact that you're stuggling with an llness doesn't make you unloveable or undesirable or underserving for care. It doesn't make you too much or too sensitive or too needy. It makes you human.

Carrying all this pain constantly is exhausting. It is also difficult to sleep with chronic illness, so we don't get enough sleep. The more exhausted you are, the worse the pain gets (and the less you sleep!). Wer are so tired. We learn to pace ourselves so we don't make it wors for tomorrow. We count our moments. Straight OUTTA Skrull room

Whatever is in me is stronger than what is out there to defeat me.

I get jealous of the life I knew I would be having if I was not chronically ill, not others people's lives.

No cure does NOT mean no hope!

My hope is to see you again - one day - we'll be together for ever!

Quellen: Private Quellen, Arnold Chiarai, Kirsten Preus, Caroline Myss, Straight OUTTA Skrull room, womenworking.com