Abstract
A diagnosis of serious neurologic illness challenges spiritual well-being. Loss of identity, uncertainty of prognosis, or fear of dementia, can result in feelings of meaninglessness, isolation, or helplessness. Difficult emotions are also common, such as grief, guilt, fear, and anger.
By recognizing these challenges, clinicians can better discern how to offer basic spiritual support and when to request help from a chaplain, who is the spiritual care specialist on the team. The chaplain helps patients, families, and clinicians discover and use their spiritual resources in the service of their healing and strengthen their spiritual resilience. The chaplain also helps the team understand the patient’s and family’s spiritual and cultural perspectives which affect their treatment decisions. This chapter discusses common challenges to spiritual well-being for patients and families affected by neurologic illness, and suggests ways to initiate spiritual support and help build resilience. The chapter ends with take away messages, triggers for requesting a palliative care specialist or chaplain, and tips for working with difficult situations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Puchalski C. The role of spirituality. In: Pulchalski CM, editor. A time for listening and caring: spirituality ad the care of the chronically ill and dying. New York: Oxford University Press; 2006. p. 22.
Handzo G. Chaplain leadership/mentorship and the team approach. Palliative Care Certificate Program, Online Course 2014.
Handzo G. The process of spiritual/pastoral care: a general theory for providing spiritual/pastoral care using palliative care as a paradigm. In: Roberts SB, editor. Professional spiritual & pastoral care: a practical clergy and chaplain’s handbook. Woodstock: Skylight Paths; 2016. p. 21.
Sulmasy D. The health professional as a person: the spirituality of providing care at the end of life. In: Pulchalski CM, editor. A time for listening and caring: spirituality and the care of the chronically ill and dying. New York: Oxford University; 2006. p. 14.
Clark P, Drain M, Malone MP. Addressing patients’ emotional and spiritual needs. Joint Comm J Qual Saf. 2003;29(12):2.
Neff K. Self-compassion: stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind. New York: Harper Collins; 2011.
Germer C. The mindful path to self-compassion: freeing yourself from destructive thoughts and emotions. New York: Guilford Press; 2009.
Chochinov H. Dignity therapy: final words for final days. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2012.
Pantilat S. Life after the diagnosis: expert advice on living well with serious illness for patients and caregivers. Boston: Da Capo Press; 2017.
McGonigal K. The upside of stress: why stress is good for you and how to get good at it. New York: Penguin Random House; 2015.
Grech A, Marks A. Existential suffering: part 1: definition and diagnosis. J Palliat Med. 2017;20(1):93.
Yalom I. Starting at the sun: overcoming the terror of death. 2008.
Halifax J. A heuristic model of enactive compassion. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care. 2012;6(2):8.
Cullen M, Brito PG. The mindfulness-based emotional balance workbook: an eight week program for improved emotion regulation and resilience. Oakland: New Harbinger; 2015.
Tirch D, Schoendorff B, Silberstein L. The ACT practitioner’s guide to the science of compassion: tools for fostering psychological flexiblity. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications; 2014.
Stuart S, Robertson M. Interpersonal psychotherapy: a clinician’s guide. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2012.
Kabat-Zinn J, Hanh T. Full catastrophe living: using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Delta; 2009.
Wetherell J. Complicated grief therapy as a new treatment approach. Diaglogues Clin Neurosci. 2012;14(2):159.
Bonnano G. The other side of sadness: what the new science of bereavement tells us about life after loss. New York: Basic Books; 2009.
Schutz R, Coats H, Engelberg R, Curtis J, Creutzfeldt C. Is there hope? is she there? how families and clinicians experience severe acute brain injury. J Palliat Med. 2017;20(2):170.
Cooper R, Ferguson A, Bodurtha J, Smith T. AMEN in challenging converations: bridging the gaps between faith, hope, and medicine. J Oncol Pract. 2014;10(4):e191–5.
Guttierez S. Cultural competencies. In: SB R, editor. Professional spiritual and pastoral care: a practical chaplain’s handbook. Woodstock: Skylight Paths; 2016.
Brown S, Smith D, Schulz R, Kabeto M, Ubel P, Poulin M, et al. Caregiving behavior is associated with decreased mortality risk. Psychol Sci. 2009;20(4):7.
Fredrickson B, Grewen K, Coffey K, Algoe S, Firestine A, Arevalo J, et al. A functional genomic perspective on human well-being. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; 2013.
Crum A, Leibowitz K, Verghese A. Making mindset matter. BMJ Br Med J. 2017;356.
Jinpa T. A fearless heart: how the courage to be compassionate can transform our lives. New York: Hudson Street; 2015.
Brown R, Brown S. Informal caregiving: a reappraisal of effects on caregivers. Soc Issues Policy Rev. 2014;8(1):29.
Taylor S, Masters S. Social responses to stress: the tend-and-befriend model. In: The handbook of stress science: biology, psychology, and health. 2011. p. 9.
Emmons R. Thanks!: how the new science of gratitude can make you happier. 2007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Long, S.J. (2019). Spiritual Care. In: Creutzfeldt, C., Kluger, B., Holloway, R. (eds) Neuropalliative Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93215-6_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93215-6_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93214-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93215-6
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)