There are two main elements to work through on this page, and some additional recommended reading. The first element is the Spirituality in Practice presentation and the associated reflective exercises. The second is a video by the Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group, Royal College of Psychiatrists. They also provide excellent resources for spiritual practice and care which can be accessed online here.
Please complete the recommended reading which is a chapter in the following book:
Cranbourne-Rosser, M., (2018), The Place of Spirituality in Health and Social Care Practice, in: T.J. Clouston, L. Westcott and S.W. Whitcombe. Eds. Transitions to Practice: Essential Concepts for Health and Social Care Practitioners, Cumbria, UK: M&K publications. This is available in Cardiff University Library.
By the end of this page you will be able to:
- Understand and debate how spirituality is defined in practice and how it is linked to meaning in life and wellbeing
- Understand why it is an important consideration in health and social care practice
- Reflect on how your own values and beliefs in terms of spirituality can enhance and support your understanding of others, however different they may be
- Consider how you can address and discuss spiritual issues and concerns in practice
- Recognise some of the barriers to spiritual care in practice and consider how these could be overcome
- Have an awareness of how emerging research around spiritual crisis or emergency is influencing how we think about spirtual care in practice
- Understand how challenges such as vicarious trauma are linked to burnout and compassion fatigue.
Please read through and engage with the following presentation and take the time to complete the reflective exercises. Do read the Cranbourne-Rosser (2018) chapter prior to this as it will provide you with a greater understanding of the issues discussed.
Now that you have completed the spirituality presentation and the associated exercises listen to this Youtube production by the Spirituality and Psychiatry special interest group, Royal College of Psychiatrists. As you listen reflect on what you are thinking and update your reflections if you feel there is anything you would like to adapt as a result.
We hope that you have found the work on this page useful. Now that you have completed all the work and the associated reflective exercises you might find it useful to visit the Dealing with work-based stress & work-life balance page OR the Resilient practitioner page. We hope you enjoy your on-going journey. Alternatively you might prefer to explore the Dealing with loss, death and dying page where you can explore personal stories and reflections on loss, death and dying. Through this page you can also access the Christian Perspectives on Death and Dying Toolkit which provides a more theological approach to end of life decision making.
If you wish to reference written materials found on this page please use the following citation:
Clouston, T.J. 2018. Exploring Spirituality in Practice [Online]. Available at: https://caringpractitioner.wordpress.com/exploring-spirituality-in-practice/ [Accessed: date].