Spiritual care

A spiritual care counselor or chaplain is assigned to each patient and their family/caregivers. These skilled professionals are calm, compassionate listeners. Without preaching or imposing, they support you in your own belief system.

Spirituality is about those aspects of life that are not material, such as relationships, meaning and values. People may express their unique spirituality through religion or in more individual ways.

Many emotions, such as fear, anxiety, guilt and despair, may be examples of spiritual distress, which is common at times of change, such as a serious illness.

Here are ways a spiritual counselor can help:

• Give unbiased, nonjudgmental spiritual or religious support.
• Explore questions about the meaning of life, suffering and death.
• Help find ways to complete a life’s work and prepare for death.
• Offer tools such as ritual and guided visualization to move toward forgiveness, integrity, acceptance and peace.
• Contact members of the clergy or the minister of a specific church or faith community and complement that spiritual support.
• Administer sacraments, if desired.
• Assist in planning and/or carrying out funeral or memorial service arrangements.