Five Therapists' Personal and Professional Reflections and Integration

Abstract

Women come to the therapeutic table with varying degrees of integration of sexuality and spirituality. Some have felt harmed by traditional religious interpretations and practices, others embrace these, and still others recreate and reclaim this integration in ways that are empowering and meaningful to them. Both the literature and the profession's guidelines have compelled us to begin with ourselves as women who are therapists. Five diverse women who are therapists share their own personal accounts of their sexuality and spirituality. Their experiences and identities run the gamut from keeping spirituality and sexuality distinctly separate to finding sacred meaning in the intersection.     

The Spiritual Dimension of Caring: Applying a Model for Spiritual Tasks of Ageing

SUMMARY

This chapter describes a spiritual dimension of ageing using themes and a model for spiritual tasks of ageing, developed as a part of doctoral studies that examined spirituality amongst a group of independent-living older adults in Canberra and NSW. This model has been tested further and the model was confirmed through in-depth interviews of residents of nursing homes in the ACT. The first study identified six major spiritual themes from participant interviews. These were: ultimate meaning in life for each person, the way they responded to meaning, self-sufficiency versus despair, moving from provisional to final life meanings, relationship versus isolation in ageing and hope versus despair.     

How the “Not Religious” Experience and Witness Suffering and Death: Case Studies

ABSTRACT

This article is based on a subset of a multi-site (8), multi-year (4) research study that explored the cultural construction of dying and death in long-term care facilities. In open-ended interviews with residents and staff members, we learned how four individuals who describe themselves as “not religious” respond to queries about the meaning of suffering and death while working and living in long-term care.

We present case studies of two residents and two staff members from one of the sites–a secular, for-profit nursing home–who described themselves as not religious. We offer a brief history of their lives and daily activities, and present their responses to our queries about dying and death.

A finding of this article is that the nonreligious residents and staff members discussed here found significance in personal meaning systems developed through past, positive life events and present uncertainty about suffering and death. The self-described “not religious” provide another perspective on facing the end of life.     

A Survey Report of Nursing Home Ministry and Perceived Needs with Implications for Pastoral Care

ABSTRACT

The last 40 years of growth in the development of pastoral care to the sick appears to have virtually bypassed persons in nursing homes. A study within 13 nursing homes in one city revealed that spiritual ministry within those institutions was generally limited to a series of 9 to 13 worship services per month, attended by approximately 20 percent of the patients/residents. Some patients receive an occasional personal visit by a pastor. The staff perceive that pastoral ministry as good, but inadequate, and expressed their views on that which is needed within their institutions and challenge the clergy with specific suggestions for pastoral care for nursing home patients/residents, their families, and staff.     

A qualitative study of the interdisciplinary approaches to adolescent spirituality in Australian government schools

Abstract

The growing body of evidence in education reveals that ‘spirituality’ as an aspect of learning is largely overlooked in government schools in Australia and consequently, there is a paucity of research investigating whether young people consider spirituality to be an important and worthwhile component of their educational experience. This paper will report on some findings of a PhD study which investigates the spiritual lived experiences of secondary school students. As an interdisciplinary approach to spirituality for adolescents, this paper represents the different ways spirituality is understood across the disciplines and whether young people view themselves to be ‘spiritual’. In sharing some of the student narratives, this paper will explore what spirituality means in the context of young peoples’ everyday lives. It will also address how schools can play a central role in students’ quest for a sense of meaning; and the important role of teachers in this process will also be explored.     

Developing spirituality – an equal right of every child?

ABSTRACT

Children’s spiritual development is influenced by those with whom they interact and by the world around them. An important context for young children is the kindergarten, which has a high level of responsibility for their (spiritual) education. At kindergarten children encounter people with different religious and spiritual attitudes, which may be fundamental to the development of their own spirituality. Research results regarding how two kindergartens in Austria deal with this diversity and how children address it are summarized. One result of this qualitative ethnographic research project is that, depending on their religion, children have different opportunities to develop their spiritual communication and spirituality based on religious traditions and rituals. Developing kindergartens in line with the metaphor of safe spaces where diversity is recognized and discussed can contribute to the creation of equal opportunities for children’s spiritual development.     

Command use and compliance in staff communication with elderly residents of long-term care facilities

Verbal communication between nursing assistants and individuals with dementia can be challenging, particularly during hands-on caregiving tasks. Although there are many aspects of verbal communication that can affect the quality of an interaction, one potentially important communication variable is the types of commands issued by nursing assistants when they need a resident to complete a task. The purpose of this study was to examine the kinds of commands used by nursing care staff when they interact with patients with dementia during activities of daily living. Commands were categorized according to their feasibility/specificity as well as form. An additional goal of this study was to measure compliance and noncompliance rates associated with the various categories of commands. Results indicate that alpha commands (clear, concise, and feasible) account for higher compliance and less noncompliance compared with beta commands (ambiguous, interrupted, and not feasible). In addition, commands that are stated directly, that clarify a previous command, and that are repeated exactly produce better compliance. It is concluded that training nursing staff to change the types of commands they provide during caregiving tasks may reduce distress experienced by both staff and residents.     

Spirituality and the Later Years

Summary

Three questions are raised and discussed. What is the meaning of spirituality? How is spirituality affected by the aging process? And what are some suggestions for spiritual ministry to the aging?     

‘And if not now,when?’: Spirituality,psychotherapy, politics

Abstract

Without collapsing distinct discourses into each other, the paper considers the linkages between spirituality, psychotherapy and politics. Changes are taking place in all three areas. Therapists who focus on the spiritual dimension as part of their ordinary work still tend to be marginalized. Similarly, the political dimensions of the client's experience often receive insufficient attention. The author offers an initial sketch of a new ‘anatomy of spirituality’: into social spirituality, democratic spirituality, craft spirituality, profane spirituality and spiritual sociality. He criticizes the practice of ‘safe therapy’, meaning therapy based on an object relations paradigm that represses the (incestuous) sexuality that lies at the heart both of the therapy encounter and the domain of spiritual values. The paper concludes with some thoughts about justice and an account of pertinent grassroots political developments.     

Depression and Spirituality in Australian Aged Care Homes

SUMMARY

A national survey of Australian aged care homes has found that between 40% and 60% of high care residents and 25% to 51 % of low care residents are depressed, depending on the method used to assess depression. While this survey did not specifically include items on spirituality, an analysis based the Geriatric Depression Scale question “Do you feel that your life is empty?” provides some insights into the type of person who may benefit from spiritual help.

The view is expressed that those committed to the provision of spiritual care must be more assertive in making the positive contribution to the reduction in depression that empirical research carried out over the last thirty years suggests is possible. The basic step of identifying those who are ready to talk about spiritual matters and who are depressed is offered as a starting point and some ways of doing this are described.     

Teaching worldviews through creative drama for religious education in Turkey

Abstract

Over the last two decades, Worldview Approach has been mentioned in the field of religious education and spirituality. This article aims to determine the effects of creative drama on teaching worldviews and religions. The main purpose of Worldview Education is to assist individuals to have a broader and deeper understanding on self-identity, worldviews of others, and on the meaning and purpose of life. It also helps individuals to think on ontological, epistemological and ultimate questions about life, values and beliefs. The spiritual development of individuals has a need for several guidelines from the fields of philosophy, theology, and education. As an educational tool, creative drama increases imagination, creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking skills and assists students’ personal and emotional development. Combining Worldview Education with creative drama creates a multidimensional educational environment for a meaningful learning on religions, worldviews, and spirituality.     

Finding connections between spirituality and play for early childhood education

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to provide holistic education and care, expand the view of young children’s development to include the spiritual, and make connections with the found benefits of play for all areas of development, this article looks at 33 surveyed U.S. early childhood educators’ perceptions on nurturing spirituality through open-ended and free play. Data collected from the open-ended questions of an online survey were analyzed looking at 22 mentions of play as a mean to support spirituality. Findings show that 45.5% of surveyed teachers mentioned play as a way intentionally used in the classroom to nurture children’s spirituality. It is posed that developmentally appropriate approaches to early childhood education would be enhanced by including spirituality in their understanding of the child, as well as intentionally nurturing spirituality in educational settings, by providing free, child-centered, child-directed play and opportunities for children to experience spiritual moments, defined as feeling wonder, awe, joy, and inner-peace.     

Residents' Attitudes About On-Site Religious Activities: A Comparison of Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Two States

ABSTRACT

Twelve older adults were interviewed in two continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), one in Florida and the other in Wisconsin. Only the residents in Wisconsin maintained contact with local congregations, probably because most had always lived in communities not far from the CCRC. On-site religious activities such as worship and study groups were important because of the ways they ordered the week and the opportunities they offered for social interaction. In both locations, Protestant residents appreciated the opportunity to worship in ecumenical services conducted by clergy of different Protestant faith traditions. Catholic services were also available in both locations. Suggestions are offered about ways that faith communities can nourish the spiritual lives of persons living in CCRCs by working with chaplains and by conducting small prayer and study groups.     

The Ways in Which Adolescents Cope and their Relationship to Age,Gender and Specific Religious Variables

This study investigated the roles of age, gender, the importance of religion/spirituality, attending church activities and frequency of prayer on the types of adolescents’ coping strategies. Participants were drawn from ten public high schools. Data on coping strategies, personal variables and religiosity and spirituality were collected using the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences (A-COPE) coping inventory. Scheffé posthoc tests were used to evaluate associations between the coping strategies used by adolescents and the identified personal and faith-oriented variables. Gender and age explained some differences in types of coping strategies preferred. Specifically, females used the developing social support coping strategy more than males; older adolescents used the avoiding problems coping strategy more than younger adolescents. Adolescents for whom religion/spirituality is of lesser importance, obtained a significantly higher mean score for the avoiding problems subscale. Both personal variables (age and gender) as well as one of the faith-oriented variables (importance of religion) were identified as important role players in using developing social support and avoiding problems as coping strategies by adolescents.     

Who Is Afraid of Death? Religiousness,Spirituality, and Death Anxiety in Late Adulthood

SUMMARY

Data from a sample of predominantly white, Christian men and women born in Northern California in the 1920s (N = 155) were used to test the hypothesis that traditional, church-centered religiousness and de-institutionalized spiritual seeking exemplify distinct, but equally adaptive, ways of approaching fear of death in old age. Although both religiousness and spirituality were related to positive psychosocial functioning (an integrated identity and involvement in everyday activities), only religiousness served as a buffer against the fear of death. This effect was consistent with the greater emphasis on conventionality and acceptance of social norms that characterized individuals high in religiousness. The absence of a relation between spirituality and fear of death reflected the spiritual individual's emphasis on personal searching, creativity, and the positive use of reminiscence. The implications of the findings for the management of death anxiety in old age are discussed.     

Brief training to promote the use of less intrusive prompts by nursing assistants in a dementia care unit

We evaluated the efficacy of a brief staff-training procedure to increase the use of graduated prompting by 2 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) while they helped to dress 3 persons with dementia in a seven-bed dementia care unit. The multiple baseline design across participants showed that CNAs dressed residents with minimal resident involvement during baseline observations. Following brief in-service training, CNAs provided graduated prompts and praise appropriately, suggesting that CNAs can promote active involvement in personal care routines by older adults with dementia.     

The ethic of “responsible drinking”

Age‐specific prohibition of drinking has made possible the study of the conditions under which agents of control enforce an unpopular rule. This study examined enforcement of drinking rules at a large urban university. Research in three freshman residence halls over 3 academic years revealed a situational ethic of “responsible drinking.” Residential assistants (RAs) initially enforced the rule against drinking in the residence halls strictly. Then, in time, RAs devised three personal styles of enforcement of the ethic of responsible drinking. They were either “by‐the‐book,” “laid‐back,” or “in‐between.” RAs were less apt to report freshman residents who did not come to their attention, who drank quietly behind closed doors. Periodically, RAs patrolled all floors in the building. RAs were more apt to write up residents of floors other than their own for violation of the no‐drinking rule. Thus, “patterned evasion” outside residence halls recurred inside. The extent to which RAs evaded the norms of their position varied with their interests in enforcement and the degree to which they were able to manage the “friend‐RA” role conflict.     

The role of music in young adults’ spiritual development

Abstract

This article focuses on the role of spiritual music in Finnish young adults’ spirituality formation. The research data consist of interviews (2013, N = 10) and questionnaire answers (2011, N = 278). Spiritual music refers to music that the young adults themselves experienced supportive for their spirituality. The article indicates that the spiritual music enhanced young adults’ spirituality formation as the music was well related to the young adults’ current life questions and to experiences of early life span. According to the data, music offered tools for constructing personal world view and was experienced to strengthen confidence on higher power or life itself. As a mental resource, music had an important role in coping with life. As entertainment, spiritual music enhanced experiencing life as satisfying. As a part of public spiritual life, music advanced spiritual connection with other people. The role of spiritual music in spirituality formation was related to questions of spiritual well-being.