Counseling and care have typically been seen as a dyad consisting of the counselor and the counselee. However this limits the scope of the relationship as it often fails to recognize the presence of a third other, which is God. Counseling done within the context of chaplaincy, as well as any other form of Christian or spiritual counseling, whether professional or not, is better thought of as occurring within a triad, recognizing the presence not only of myself and the other, but also of God.
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Chaplaincy and Evangelism: Is “Sharing the Gospel” the Same as Proselytizing?
So in reading a few other blogs yesterday looking for other comments and thoughts on faith and chaplaincy I came across the following clip.
I found this clip interesting on many levels and got in to a discussion with the blog poster who brought it up as an example of how postmodern Christians, especially mainline chaplains, seem unable or unwilling to present the Gospel to those who need it. But I found this clip very interesting regarding the skills a chaplain needs as well as whether or not it is considered proselytizing for a professional chaplain to share the Gospel. Continue reading
So Many Straws: Reflections on Self Care, and the Lack Thereof
“You’d better be careful, Sam. You’re going to burn out like this.”
These were words from my CPE supervisor several years ago. At the time I was a bit taken aback. After all my schedule certainly seemed manageable, and I felt I was doing OK at work and at home. Sure I had my struggles, but found a way to pick up and keep going every time. This March I realized he was right. Continue reading
Life Review and Meaning-Making in Hospice Care
**update 9/5/17** Meredith Rogers passed along an excellent resource on depression she wrote on GeriatricNursing.com. I’ve linked it here – it’s well worth your time and is a good summary of types of depression and various treatments.
This article came through my LinkedIn inbox recently and I wanted to pass it along. While it refers to “Dignity Therapy” as a new tool it certainly seems as if many of the tools discussed are open to us already. Good reading after the jump:
“Do your worst!”
I came across this excellent post regarding CPE verbatims that I wanted to link to. In it, Allison Kestenbaum writes about how she asks students to present their “worst work”, that is the cases in which they have been stumped, messed up, or feel that they otherwise didn’t do their best. This goes against the grain for many of us especially in areas where we feel that we are being held up to critique. However Kestenbaum shows us that the real growth happens in the margins and troublesome areas of our lives.
“Vebatims also teach seminary students to develop more balanced assessments of their strengths and weaknesses. I have encountered many seminary students who are achievement-junkies who seek to master every academic task put before them. One of my students, an experienced Lutheran pastor and D.Min. candidate, told me that, “I am taking a leap of faith with writing verbatims about encounters I feel least secure about. This is a completely new pursuit for me; I have not encountered this directive anywhere in my schooling so far.”
A rabbinical CPE student who was required to do CPE with no intention of becoming a chaplain told me that verbatims “have helped me not be so scared of my mistakes” and to learn from them. For those going into a ministerial—really any—profession, the ability to have a nuanced perception of one’s strengths and weaknesses can help prevent burnout.”
I highly recommend that students and supervisors review the article as I think it’s insightful for all.
And I know that I’m not the only one who’s hyperactive mind went right to this scene after reading the title:
Poignant Thoughts on Suicide Among Physicians
While perusing some articles I found this on KevinMD. It brought me back to a prior post I had concerning burnout among caregivers. I think it has insights not only for those of us who serve as caregivers but to those who work with and among caregivers. Read on after the jump:
Love Does Strange Things, or How I Got a Cup of Cremated Remains From Pittsburgh, PA to Newfoundland, Canada
The following is an essay I wrote for a friend of mine, Shane Blackshear, who hosts the podcast Seminary Dropout. I highly encourage you to check out his page and podcast. Oh – and upgrade your book budget as the authors and speakers he interviews will undoubtedly make you want to fill your shelves with their insights.
view of Fox Island, Newfoundland, Canada
As anyone who is – or has been – on love will tell you, love isn’t just an emotion you feel for someone else. It sometimes captures you to the point where you will do just about anything for that person. It’s not always romance that produces this feeling, but it’s instead the kind of love that comes from losing yourself, which is what true love is and does. Sometimes it looks like spending hours crafting a poem or writing a song for that person. In this case it looked like smuggling a dead man’s ashes across international boundaries on a passenger jet. Continue reading
Too Close to Home: Hospice workers and personal loss
Within the past 6 months two of the nurses I work with lost their mothers. In both of these cases, they chose to have their mothers on our hospice.
This is a very hard thing to do. It was awkward for a while for all of us at team especially to be referring to and discussing someone in a very clinical manner, yet knowing that this was a team member’s mother. Yet it was also a good reminder for all of us that all of our patients are someone’s mother, father, brother, sister, or even child.
The awkwardness goes away after a brief time. However when that loss finally happens it can be devastating, not only to the family member but to the whole team. Continue reading
I wish I could do this in real life
Just so you know this isn’t all gloom and sadness.
Happy “Get your patients anointed before Christmas” day!
Why I’m a Chaplain – III: “The Church” and the wandering path
At one point in my life I had wandered away from my faith. Not wandered, more like stormed out to be honest. That’s a whole other issue. I came back though, and a big reason I came back was I attended a Christmas service at a large megachurch here in Pittsburgh that changed my perspective on myself and my relationship with God. I started attending and joined about a year later. Continue reading
The Chaplain's Report 