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Finding meaning |
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 Chaplains
and Others Who Can Help
If you are in a hospital or hospice program, a chaplain can offer
support, prayer, and spiritual guidance. Chaplains are people ordained
or consecrated for religious ministry who have a special commitment
to work with people who are seriously ill. They come from various
religious backgrounds, and provide support regardless of your religious
affiliation. They can join you, your family, and your friends for
prayer or worship services, or for other rites and rituals that honor
your faith. You also may want to invite health care professionals
to join you in prayer or ritual; often, they are willing and even
happy to do so.
Many, but not all, hospitals have chaplains whose job it is to counsel
and support the very sick and their families. Some people feel reluctant
to talk to chaplains for fear that the chaplain will preach at them
or attempt to convert them. This situation should not occur. Hospital
chaplains participate in rigorous clinical pastoral education (CPE)
programs, and their desire will be to help you and to offer you comfort
and care that is centered in what you believe and value, not to persuade
you toward any particular religious faith. Because chaplains have
been trained to listen to your concerns, you may find that they are
easy to talk to, and that you can lean on them to help work out problems
or issues that trouble you.
Most hospital chaplains participate in clinical pastoral education
programs approved by either the Association for Clinical Pastoral
Education or the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. The time
commitment for this process varies but includes at least 400 hours
of study, service, and reflection for an introductory program. People
who become hospital chaplains generally spend one or two years in
a residency program devoting their full time to preparation for the
chaplain's role. The Association of Professional Chaplains (and other
national and denominational groups), a respected national professional
association, provides a process for board certification of chaplains.
Board-certified chaplains must complete at least one year of training
and also pass a rigorous peer review process. As is true in so many
professions, credentials are no guarantee of quality. However, people
can ask questions of chaplains, such as the level of formal training
they have received and the focus on interfaith care.
What
you can -- And Should -- Expect From The Chaplain
You deserve to:
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Tell your story and your concerns to a chaplain
who listens to you and hears your concerns. |
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Meet with a chaplain who is affiliated with an
established religious denomination. |
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Understand the person's credentials. |
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Maintain control over your care; if a chaplain
makes you feel pressured to take a particular direction for
medical care, you are probably not working with the right person.
Work with someone who respects and values you as you are. |
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Talk to a chaplain who understands the dynamics
of disease and knows how to talk about your illness. |
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Be comfortable with the chaplain. |
| (from Patrick McCoy and Tom Smith) |
A religious leader in your own faith is obviously someone you might
turn to for help. Your own community's ministry may have recommendations
on how to seek spiritual support and care for end-of-life issues.
When you leave the hospital, you may want continued professional support
and guidance. Pastoral counselors are well-suited to help. Pastoral
counselors are individuals who have training in theology or ministry,
and who have formal training in counseling and psychology. They can
help you and your family work through spiritual concerns, fears, and
problems, and can counsel those who may be depressed, overwhelmed,
and under a great deal of stress. They can help you put issues in
perspective. If you are uncomfortable discussing your spirituality
with your family, pastoral counselors offer the security and privacy
you may need. If you want to bring up spiritual concerns, but don't
know how, pastoral counselors can help with this, too. Most pastoral
counselors accept payments according to a sliding fee scale, so the
cost should not be a barrier for you.
Your worship or faith community (meaning your church, synagogue, temple,
or other site) may have prayer support groups and lay ministers. One
wide-spread lay group is called the Stephen Ministry. People from
your church or congregation may visit you at home or in the hospital,
pray and offer sacraments, and provide practical support, such as
respite care for your family or grocery shopping. Some communities
have prayer support groups that meet to pray together, but that also
pray on your behalf. People who participate in these groups find them
supportive and comforting. In fact, such groups can even be found
on the Internet. And emerging research shows that people who are active
in their church, have a relationship with God or some spiritual being,
and pray seem to cope with illness and dying more easily than those
who have not yet focused on their spirituality.
You may also find support and comfort through practices such as yoga,
relaxation therapy, meditation, healing rituals from other cultures,
writing and journal exercises, or spirituality courses offered by
local colleges and adult education programs. Ritual and tradition
give form and focus to faith, strength, and support for many people
and families. You may find that praying alone or with your family
or other caregivers (even if this is not something you have ordinarily
done) is comforting. When you are gone, shared prayers and rituals
will offer a way for people to reconnect with you and the love you
shared. In fact, you might think of creating some more family rituals
while you are very sick. How do you say goodnight or goodbye on a
daily basis? Sometimes it makes time seem much more meaningful and
orderly if there is some little prayer or other ritual that marks
important times each day. The essay, "Night Light"
describes how one woman, in learning to pray with her dying grandmother,
supported her grandmother and learned to cope with her own loss. |
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Adapted from The
Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness,
by Joanne Lynn and Joan Harrold, copyright by Joanne Lynn, used by
permission of Oxford University Press.
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