Professional Care of Body, Mind, and Social Health
In modern Western civilization we have explicitly identified groups of highly trained professionals devoted to helping us with our physical, mental, and social health. Medical doctors, nurses, and others help us with our physical health. Mental and behavioral health professionals help us with our mental health. And social workers help us with our social well-being.
No Professional Care of Spirit
However, we have no explicitly identified group of highly trained professionals who help us with the health and well-being of our spirits. This is a serious problem. How can we provide high quality bio-psycho-social-spiritual care that is person centered, when we have no highly trained health care professionals who care for our spirits?
What about Clergy and Chaplains?
Some might say that clergy or, more specifically chaplains, are highly trained professionals who help us with our spirits. I disagree.
Clergy and chaplains help us primarily with religious matters or, more generally, matters of faith. That is what they are trained to do. They are experts is in the religion they were ordained to serve. They might have additional training to help with existential concerns, but that is at best secondary in their training.
To help us with our religious, spiritual, and existential issues is just that: to help us with our religious, spiritual, and existential issues. That is why we accept (or decline) clergy and chaplain visits. However, such help does not necessarily help us with the health of our spirit. It depends on how we define spirit.
NOTE: In Part 2 I will discuss my proposed definitions of spirit and care of spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment