Page 42 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Christian Psychology as a Challenge

vironmental relationships. Spirituality underli- At a conference of clinicians, medical educa-
4
nes anew the interrelatedness between faith and tors, and chaplains for medical school courses
life, care and communal and social issues. on spirituality and health in 1999, the follo-
wing clinical definition of spirituality had been
The plight for spirituality in care and healing is agreed upon: “Spirituality is the aspect of hu-
also becoming more and more prevalent in the manity that refers to the way individuals seek
other human sciences. In the Oxford Textbook of and express meaning and purpose, and the way
Spirituality in Healthcare (2012: vii) the editors they experience their connectedness to the mo-
(Cobb, Puchalski, Rumbold) pointed out that ment, to self, to nature and to the significant or
the notion of spirituality in healthcare is closely sacred” (Puchalski & Ferrell 2010:25). The plea
connected to the realm of human suffering. It is was that this definition should be applied to spi-
argued that if healthcare has any regard for the ritual care in paliative care lliative care and care
humanity of those it serves, it is faced with spi- in general. The suggestion was also that this
rituality in its experienced and expressed forms. definition should be universally adopted for
“Spirituality is for many people a way of enga- research in spiritual care in palliative care and
ging with the purpose and meaning of human in health care in general to help standardize the
existence and provides a reliable perspective on research and literature in this field.
their lived experience and an orientation to the
world” (Cobb, Puchalski, Rumbold 2012: vii). In the publication Making Health Care Whole,
Thus the conviction of Pellegrino (2012: vi) that Puchalski and Ferrell (2010:4) refer to the fact
healing of the psychosocial-biological is of itself that spiritual practices can foster coping resour-
insufficient to repair the existential disarray of ces; promote health-related behaviour; enhance
the patient’s life without recognition of the spi- a sense of well-being and improve quality of life;
ritual origins of that disarray. provide social support and generate feelings of
love and forgiveness. “The notion that spiritua-
“Research in palliative care has demonstrated lity is central to the dying person is well reco-
the impact of religious and spiritual beliefs on gnized by many experts, the most being those
people’s moral decision making, way of life, in- patients who are seriously ill” (Puchalski & Fer-
teraction with others, life choices and ability to rell 2010:4). Spirituality is then broadly defined
transcend suffering and to deal with life’s chal- as that which gives meaning and purpose to life
lenges” (Puchalski & Ferrell 2010:4;14). Besides (Puchalski and Ferrell 2010:4).
the dimension of significance and purpose, “spi-
rituality can be understood as one’s relationship In Christian spirituality, the encounter between
to a transcendence that for some people might caregivers and people in need should open up
be God and for others might be different con- a new vista of hope and healing. This new vista
cepts of how they see themselves” (Puchalski & cannot be exclusive focused to a ‘hidden soul’
Ferrell 2010:1-21). Often the term “spirituality” but should encompass the whole of our being
is used synonymously with “religion” and has a human. Soul care should dignify human beings
binding and stabilising impact on people’s atti- and reflect the human face of God in order to
tude towards illness and suffering. “The word establish a kind of ‘spiritual humanism’.
“religion” comes from the Latin term religare To conclude one could say:
from re – again and ligare – to bind. Thus, reli-
gions talk of spiritual experiences as the rebin- • Spirituality is a many-layered concept and
ding to God” (Puchalski & Ferrell 2010:22). is used differently in the many healing and
helping professions.
• In general, there is a kind of consensus in
literature that ‘spirituality’ refers to the in-
4 For the emphasis on human relationships, the social as
well as the political dimensions in Catholic spirituality, tegration between belief systems and con-
see Costello 2002:1-31. Nowadays within protestant cir- crete, existential life events. Spirituality re-
cles, there is even a reference to spiritual caregiving as a fers to a way of life determined by norms,
secular sacrament. Anderson 2003:11-25.
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