The 150 or so professionals descending on 麻豆传媒映画next week for a national conference prefer to call themselves 鈥渟piritual care practitioners,鈥� but most people are probably more familiar with the term 鈥渃haplain.鈥�
When Marc Doucet, now finishing his term as president of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care, was starting in the field 27 years ago, he was called a chaplain.
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鈥淏ut I didn鈥檛 see my sole or primary purpose as limited to religious care,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was always about the total person.鈥�
If a person with a religious faith wants someone to pray with, Doucet will do so, to the extent that his knowledge allows. As someone who was first ordained as a Roman Catholic priest and later as a United Church minister, he cuts a wide swath across Christian tradition. But if an individual seeks a religious connection that Doucet can鈥檛 fulfill, there are always partners in the community he can call to step in. However, he says only about 10 per cent of his work is what he calls 鈥渞eligious,鈥� while 90 per cent is 鈥渟piritual.鈥�
What鈥檚 the difference?
鈥淩eligion is the adherence to, and practice of, certain tenets and beliefs of a particular religious faith denomination,鈥� he explains. 鈥淪pirituality, I鈥檇 say, is broader than that. People might express their spirituality through a religious practice, but that is not the only way that one can express one鈥檚 spirituality.鈥�
Their work overlaps that of social workers, psychologists and nurses, he says, but differs in one key respect. At root, it comes down to transcendence. When someone is dying, or adapting to a major life change such as incapacity or chronic illness, they may face a personal crisis. A spiritual care practitioner will help them work through their feelings, emotions and fears, a process that may or may not involve discussions about God, mortality or afterlife.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about making meaning and purpose out of their life,鈥� Doucet says. 鈥淗ow do I understand myself in my world, connect to that bigger picture outside of my own world?鈥�
Doucet, who is the manager and clinical educator of the department of spiritual care at the University Health Network in Metro Toronto, says spiritual care is crucial for overall health.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an integral part of the wholeness of a person,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t is part of the circle of care that we need to be providing people. It鈥檚 about physical, mental, psychological, spiritual health, and if any of those are not well... It affects the recovery of the other parts.鈥�
While Doucet鈥檚 work is in health care, members of the association also work in corrections facilities, hospices and long-term care facilities, and some are associated with religious denominations or work in private practice.
Replacing Doucet as national president next week is Vancouverite Philip Weaver, manager of pastoral care at Providence Health Care, who also oversees pastoral care at St. Paul鈥檚 Hospital.
He says a spiritual care practitioner can encourage patients to articulate their deepest feelings using language that is natural and not wrapped up in religious jargon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about finding what gives them joy, peace, hope 鈥� we鈥檙e not using those terms explicitly, but we might be when we鈥檙e talking with the rest of the medical team,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his person really finds a great deal of comfort when they鈥檙e talking about their grandkids. So when the person is feeling anxious in the middle of the night, then the nurses there at the bedside can say 鈥榯ell me about your grandkids.鈥� It kind of gives them some ways to offer support. It鈥檚 really about us learning to speak about spirituality in everyday language, not a specialized vocabulary.鈥�
Taking the helm of the national association next week, Weaver foresees threats and challenges ahead.
鈥淔unding in health care is always a threat,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here is always the question of how do we justify our existence in the system. What鈥檚 the bang for the buck?鈥�
In an area 鈥� health care 鈥� where science, empirical evidence and numbers rule, the impact of spiritual care on patients is less quantifiable, though research is mounting to show that people who meet with spiritual care practitioners are better prepared to have conversations with the medical team around the course of treatment and end-of-life decision-making, Weaver says.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really good with stories,鈥� he says of his profession, 鈥渂ut not so good with numbers. Numbers are much easier and faster ways to make decisions than to have to listen to stories.鈥�
Nevertheless, if stories must be told to convince funders and decision-makers, so be it. This expertise, in fact, forms the theme of next week鈥檚 conference, Identity Narratives: Rediscovering our Professional Identity Through Story.
Sessions will include discussions about how dogs can reduce stress among university students at exam time, delivering culturally and spiritually sensitive care to Indigenous people, refugees and immigrants, spiritual distress in veterans, and 鈥淲eaving a Bag, Weaving a Story,鈥� in which two First Nations facilitators will lead participants in traditional Coast Salish weaving. A 鈥済entle meditative frame of mind鈥� emerges, while 鈥済ood feelings, energy and prayers are woven into the piece,鈥� the program promises.
Some components of the conference () are open to the public for a fee.
@Pat604Johnson
