Abstract

Wholeheartedness is unconditional commitment and devotion to God and one’s patients. In healthcare work one needs to make sense of what is happening: pain, suffering and yes, miracles. God’s plan can help one to recognize the value of completing ordinary tasks in an extraordinary way. Patient care, even technical interventions, and maintenance of peer relationships, are then completed out of love. And love contributes to well-being.

The key to well-being is prayer. Prayer needs to be the soul of our existence. If a day or a day’s work begins with prayer then there is the intention of fulfilling the will of God. One is starting one’s day with the outcome in mind of assisting others to achieve physical well-being. Prayer is offering the day to the Lord, trusting that God has a plan and will reveal His plan, and can make sense of what is happening with patients and colleagues in the clinical setting.

Spirituality enables one to be a humble servant of God in caring for others. Striving to be whole in clinical practice is accomplished through engaging the spiritual values of faith, hope and charity by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Further, working and living in gratitude contributes to well-being. Prayer helps us to hear God’s voice and prepare ourselves wholeheartedly to serve others through one’s work of serving and assisting in the healing process. Through the recognition of the abundant flow of grace in our lives and sharing our abundance through small acts of kindness one practices wholeheartedness and witnesses for Christ. Life and work provides exposure to experiences that result in spiritual growth and well-being for provider and patient alike.

 Abstract
 

      I’m going to talk about family, about physical suffering, and I’ll give you a few perspectives on medical treatment of oncology patients and their families, and a little bit on grief.

Anyone that comes to work for me in our hospital, who thinks that somehow they can skirt relating to the patient’s families has to leave, because 90% of our energy is spent with families. Why is that? Because cancer “metastasizes” to the family first. Families suffer the death of a loved one and their own life is changed forever. Sit down and tell the families the truth, at least, and later on, in your own way, care for the family. This is the art of medicine. The science is in the bed, but the art is with the family. I work hard with my physicians and nurses and all healthcare participants to accept and honor the families.

In our hospital we receive patients with a constellation of symptoms that are unbearable and unmanageable only because there weren’t competent medical personnel, compassionate people, providing medications and spiritual, mental and emotional care. If you don’t see Christ in the room and you don’t genuflect and you don’t say, “I’m here, Lord, to glorify thee,” then this becomes an almost intolerable job.

 Abstract
   

     American society today is increasingly consumed by fear and anxiety. Diminished confidence and distrust in our social systems has become painfully apparent. While most react negatively to these and other fear-provoking concerns, it is possible to respond in a neutral and even positive manner. Despite the bleak and pessimistic portrait of life today that the mass media presents 24/7, there are some compelling reasons to be optimistic and to respond positively or at least neutrally. Recent research shows that elements of effective psychotherapy such as a therapist’s warmth, empathy and positive regard, along with therapeutic discussion, can create a mental state that fosters neuroplasticity, allowing for higher-level responses. In their book, Abundance: The Future is Better than You Think, Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler provide a broad perspective on life today that offers a compellingly optimistic alternative to the pessimistic, crisis-riddled view of many, if not most, Americans. We will soon have the ability to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman and child on the planet” (Diamandis and Kotler, 2012).

     Prayer and faith provide override strategies. The Christian vision of life and grace, the gift of faith and scriptural admonitions not to fear but to trust God are very powerful strategies to overcome fear. The challenge is to respond to fear and anxiety from an inner center of strength reflecting faith, trust and courage with calmness, equanimity and composure.

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This paper reports the results of an evaluation of a new listening service provided for General Practice patients by healthcare chaplaincy volunteers in Inverness, Scotland. The service discussed in this paper offers the opportunity to patients who are visiting their General Practitioners to tell their story to listeners who are trained to “hear well” and in so doing help the talker unravel and understand themselves and their actions and behaviours better. There were four listeners all trained through The Acorn listening model (www.acorninscotland.org.uk).

This pilot listening service started in January 2010. The evaluation was commissioned in April 2010 and ethical permission granted for the research in June 2010. The project continues but the data collection period ceased in March 2011.This was intended to be a simple descriptive study which sought to ask patients, GP staff and listeners about their experience of the listening service. In total some 70 patients attended the listening service across four Practices.

On the whole patients were very pleased with the listening service. They understood the concept of listening without too much difficulty, and thought that they had learnt to manage themselves better as a consequence of the experience.

They acknowledged that the GPs have limited time and they knew that they needed time to tell their story. The patients didn’t have to wait and since the things they were preoccupied with were “immediate” this was very helpful. The waiting lists for psychology, psychiatry and other talking therapies are long.

The themes that came out of the data suggested that patients who participated in the listening sessions were calmer, more able to talk to family, and build and sustain better relationships with family, more able to return to church, accept the death of a loved one, leave the past behind, change a way of thinking, socialize, and were keeping a diary and reading more.

The listeners and the materials produced by the pilot project emphasised the importance of the listeners being seen as part of the treatment team.

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   Both the Old and New Testaments warn against idolatry, of having gods before God. This paper provides findings from a survey of idolatry and American culture from a convenience sample of American Christians to drive discussion regarding the extent to which American culture may foster the love and worship of false gods over God. The article includes remarks about the theology and psychology of idolatry, and a discussion of the survey methodology and its findings.

 Abstract
 

     A culmination of experiences leaves me concerned and excited about the current historical situation and the crisis in the Western mind. Sartorius (2009) wrote that “Nothingness” is a new archetype in the Western mind. He argues simply that it is a fact of our Western mass mind that we tend toward an experience of pure materiality and meaninglessness. Pre-moderns looked for God beyond the rational. Moderns idealize rationality with or without God. Post-moderns find both faith and reason bereft. Meaninglessness contradicts human nature. Human beings simply cannot tolerate nihilism. Giant commercial interests promulgate substitutionary values for ultimate values. In other words economic institutions are predominantly filling the post-modern spiritual void with false gods. On the other hand, the Christian psychologist understands that human nature has an essence. And that essence transcends science, and historical epochs, and stands out in creation with God’s delighted endorsement, because most essentially to be human is to be loved. It is lovability, being loved, that grounds human nature, not dystopia and its discontents. A Christian psychologist can uphold the pre-modern belief that God is real and that God saves and loves human beings, and practice psychotherapy, and subscribe to the modernist notion that social science can make the individual and the world a better place. Social science can be in a state of grace. Faith and reason combine against the nihilism of the post-modern moment. Rather than leading to pessimism, nihilism, and addiction, this approach opens the way to hope, meaning, and sustainability.

 Abstract
    There seems to be growing agreement that marriage is being challenged and is in decline in the United States and in many other parts of the world. This article discusses factors that have contributed to the decline of marriage during recent decades. These factors, however, provide us with the opportunity to highlight how a marriage, which is based upon a spiritual foundation, can witness to its vitality and how through marriage an individual and couple can experience transformation.

     A spirituality of marriage can provide a foundation upon which to build a lifelong relationship which leads to the two becoming one. This article provides a framework by which therapists and pastoral counselors can intervene with couples in a way that recognizes the spiritual dimension of the relationship. The framework is Trinitarian and is focused upon four key characteristics associated with the Trinity and applies these characteristics to the marital relationship. These characteristics are permanence, self-revelation (communication), mutuality and other directedness (service). The framework which is presented can be incorporated into marriage preparation, marital therapy, pastoral care and/or couple coaching. The promotion of behaviors that enhance the marital relationship and integrates these behaviors with spirituality is a crucial issue for our faith communities today.

Abstract
Many treatment providers claim to address the individual’s treatment needs “body, soul and spirit.” But what does this really mean and how do we as treatment providers do this? In this paper, we discuss the importance of the tripartite nature of man and how this nature corresponds with the triune God. We will present the importance of the much-neglected spirit in current healing work. Additionally, we will introduce Sozo, a practical inner healing tool used to identify the blocks that keep individuals from fully interacting with the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). This tool assists the clinician’s work to restore the individual’s intimacy with God, utilizing the core Christian value of forgiveness. Sozo, with the guidance of the clinician and through the power of the Holy Spirit, identifies and breaks off the lies that block an individual in their relationship with God and releases the truth of identity, who God is, and the freedom He has for each individual.

Abstract
Clients across the nation are increasingly manifesting serious social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual deficits. The indicators of emotional deficits manifest themselves in increased incidents of violence, suicide and homicides. Social deficits manifest themselves with poor interpersonal relationships, an inability to resolve conflicts and manage anger. Cognitive deficits place clients and adults at a disadvantage academically reducing their career options and making them more vulnerable to criminal influences. Spiritual deficits can affect every area of life. Spiritual deficits correlate simultaneously with the cognitive, emotional, and social development. Primarily these spiritual deficits documented are wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. Spirituality is an awareness of a force that transcends the material aspects of life and gives a deep sense of wholeness or connectedness to the universe and inner healing. This article will identify more than 200 social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual deficits using a six step psychoeducational life skill mode that can be easily implemented with clients to remediate dysfunctional behaviors, promote resiliency and maximize human potential.

Abstract
Previous studies have shown that it is important for parishes to provide opportunities for religious instruction and participation for individuals with developmental disabilities (IDD). Developmentally disabled individuals themselves have reported an overwhelming desire to participate more in spiritual activities. The purpose of this study was to survey local churches to determine their preparedness and experience in serving these individuals. Twenty-two completed surveys were returned reporting clergy’s perceptions of their own and their congregations’ preparedness and willingness to enhance spiritual opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. Results indicated that the majority of clergy did not have formal training or in-service hours in serving individuals with developmental disabilities (81.81% and 76.19% respectively). Clergy rated their parishioners slightly lower (but not statistically significant) in their willingness to assist and create a welcoming environment for individuals with developmental disabilities as compared to the clergy’s own responses.

Abstract
    While all of mankind seems to have an innate yearning for beauty, we all find ourselves looking into the ugly face of torment and pain at some point in our life. How do we react to this pain, this attack to our well planned life? How do we endure the unendurable? Who is there to help us, to hear our lament? Do we feel comfortable enough with God’s promise of everlasting love to come to him both in sorrow and in anger? Can we rest in the assurance that God will welcome our angry rages, as well as our laments? How will we be healed, when the grief is unbearable?

     While many people know that they can turn to God for solace and strength, in times of grief or anger, it is not uncommon to find people who do not avail themselves of the gift of the lament. There is a certain beauty in grief, available to be experienced in tandem with God’s constant loving presence. This presence is never diminished, nor is his great love for us ever compromised. Pouring one’s heart out in grief is one way of providing a channel for God’s love. Oftentimes grieving encompasses anger and rage, not only at earthly influences, but at God as well. The Book of Lamentations provides an invitation to experience grief in the fullness of a hope that is full of assurances that God can and does welcome our sorrow as well as our rage and our anger. Hope is at the center of Lamentations, just as healing is always available to us through God.

      This paper will develop a study of the Book of Lamentations as a resource for those who are grieving. It will also be a resource for those who are angry with God. It will provide a framework for working with clients who are in distress, agony, or grief. A voice will be made available to those who might not otherwise know what to do with their anger. This paper will map out a journey that will illustrate the respite and healing that is available when experiencing God’s welcoming acceptance of laments and anger.