Three Short Case Studies of Non?Religious Spiritual Care
Connecting with Nature, Gentle Touch, and Non-Theistic Personal Prayer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.40391Keywords:
non-religious, nature, personal prayer, spiritual careAbstract
Unlike Western countries with a majority of Protestant citizens, initiatives in the field of spiritual care provision in Israel have involved mostly lay leadership and secular individuals from their very inception, rather than clergy and religious adherents. This religiously neutral position made it easier for spiritual care to be accepted across the varied sub-populations that compose the unique mosaic of Israeli culture. Adhering to a religiously neutral approach led to the use of a broader set of tools in order to reach people in their time of distress. Currently, there are about 130 certified spiritual caregivers in Israel who graduated from four accredited training programs. This article describes three short case studies, in which we can see the benefits of three such neutral approaches – connecting with nature, gentle touch, and non-theistic personal prayer.
References
Ettun R., Schultz M., & Bar-Sela G. (2014). Transforming Pain into Beauty: on Art, Healing, and Care for the Spirit. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume. pp 1-7. Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Kinzbrunner B.M. & Kinzbrunner B.D. (2014). Spiritual care in Israel: the future is now. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, 3:32.
Pagis M., Cadge W., & Tal O. (2018). Translating Spirituality: Universalism and Particularism in the Diffusion of Spiritual Care from the United States to Israel. Sociological Forum, pp. 1-23.
Puchalski C., Ferrell B., Virani R., Otis-Green S., Baird P., Bull J., Chochinov H., Handzo G., Nelson-Becker H., Prince-Paul M., Pugliese K., & Sulmasy D. (2009). Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care: the report of the consensus conference. Journal of Palliative Medicine, vol. 12, no. 10, pp. 885–904.
Thiel M.M., & Robinson M. (2015). Spiritual Care of the Nonreligious. PlainViews - HealthCare Chaplaincy Network Pub. Vol 12, Number 7 July 14.
