(Download PDF) Spirituality in Healthcare Perspectives For Innovative Practice Fiona Timmins Online Ebook All Chapter PDF
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Spirituality in Healthcare:
Perspectives for Innovative
Practice
Fiona Timmins
Sílvia Caldeira
Editors
123
Spirituality in Healthcare: Perspectives
for Innovative Practice
Fiona Timmins • Sílvia Caldeira
Editors
Spirituality in Healthcare:
Perspectives for
Innovative Practice
Editors
Fiona Timmins Sílvia Caldeira
School of Nursing and Midwifery Institute of Health Sciences
Trinity College Dublin Catholic University of Portugal
Dublin Lisbon
Ireland Portugal
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents
v
vi Contents
Abstract
This introductory chapter explores contemporary understandings of spirituality
and introduces the reader to spirituality and related concepts. It defines spiritual-
ity, spiritual distress and related concepts and describes associated key attributes.
It gives the reader an understanding of the difficulties encountered with defining
spirituality. The importance of spirituality is emphasised and expanded within a
modern healthcare context. Practical resources, including websites and case
studies, are provided to help the reader to explore their own spirituality and
understand spiritual assessment and how to address the spiritual needs of
others.
Abbreviations
1.1 Introduction
Since the mid-1990s, there has been an increase in the amount of literature pub-
lished on the topic of spirituality across several disciplines including healthcare
[1–4], psychology [5, 6], social work [7–10], counselling [11, 12] and
E. Weathers (*)
Ion Beam Applications (IBA), Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
e-mail: elizabeth.weathers@iba-group.com
organisational and employment literature [13–17]. Spirituality can affect all aspects
of a person’s life highlighting the importance of the topic. It is particularly promi-
nent during stressful life events, such as illness, suffering and bereavement and
during the dying phase. Healthcare professionals such as nurses, doctors, social
workers, etc. are present with people during all of these experiences illustrating the
importance of spirituality to these professions [18]. Addressing spiritual needs can
result in alleviation of suffering, a sense of well-being, enhanced ability to adapt and
cope with adversity and a sense of peace and inner strength [19]. This chapter intro-
duces the concept of spirituality and discusses the importance of spirituality from a
clinical perspective. Furthermore, the concept of spiritual distress is introduced, and
suggestions for addressing spiritual needs in clinical practice are proposed.
Spirituality is deemed to be that which gives life meaning, purpose and connection
with others; is distinguished from religiosity but may incorporate religious beliefs
for some people; and may comprise a religious system of beliefs and values or a
nonreligious system of beliefs and values. It can be a metaphysical or transcenden-
tal phenomenon that relates to connectedness, transcendence and meaning and pur-
pose in life [19].
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) [24] surveyed 4054 nurses to establish their
understanding and attitudes towards spirituality and the provision of spiritual care.
An online resource was created based on the findings to educate and create
1 What Is Spirituality? 3
awareness about the concept of spirituality and spiritual care. Spirituality was stated
as being difficult to define (see Fig. 1.1 and Boxes 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3).
According to Swinton [25], illnesses are deeply meaningful events that can chal-
lenge people to take a different perspective on their lives. Spirituality offers ways in
which people can explain and cope with their illness experiences and in so doing
discover and maintain a sense of hope, inner harmony and peacefulness despite the
challenges that arise when a person is ill. Swinton concludes that the experience of
It is central to experiences of
illness
illness is essential to a person’s movement towards health and fullness of life even
in the face of the most traumatic illness or life event [25]. Other theorists have also
expressed this idea of personal growth and spiritual enlightenment in the face of
illness and suffering. For example, Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychologist and
a psychiatrist who was captured during World War II and kept as a prisoner in the
concentration camps. Frankl developed a theory of meaning, which he called
‘Logotheory’ derived from the word ‘logos’, which, in Greek philosophy, means
purpose or meaning. According to Frankl, everyone will endure suffering at some
stage of their life—it might be physical, psychological or spiritual. If a person is
able to deal with this suffering in a positive way, by changing their attitude towards
the situation, it can lead to a sense of inner peace and connection with others and,
for some, an enhanced connection with God or a Higher Power [26].
Many authors have tried to clarify and define the concept of spirituality.
Steinhauser et al. [27] stated that some clarity regarding a definition of spirituality
can be established when one considers the difference between defining spirituality
for the purpose of clinical practice as opposed to a definition that is used for research
purposes. The focus in clinical practice is on individuality, promoting conversations
and capturing the breadth of the experience of spirituality. Furthermore, in clinical
practice, psychological or emotional concepts overlap with spirituality. Meanwhile,
in research the focus is on measurement and generalising findings to large samples.
Therefore, the concept needs to be clearly defined and differentiated from other
related concepts, and specific dimensions of the concept under investigation need to
be clearly delineated.
Spirituality can mean different things to different people. Figure 1.2 was devel-
oped by the authors and outlines some of the words used to describe what spiritual-
ity means to different people.
Given the complexity of the concept of spirituality and the difficulties with defin-
ing it, it is often useful to identify what spirituality is not. The RCN have outlined
what spirituality is not [24]. Firstly, spirituality is not something that has no connec-
tion with clinical practice. Spirituality has clinical significance. In order to care for
people, it is crucial to know and be able to recognise what the meaning of the illness
is at the personal level. Secondly, spirituality is not just about religious beliefs and
practices. It applies to people of all faiths and no faith. Spirituality is increasingly
being recognised as something separate to religion but inclusive of religious beliefs
and values depending on a person’s belief system. Thus, people can be spiritual but
not necessarily religious. Thirdly, spirituality is not only important for chaplains.
1 What Is Spirituality? 5
Chaplaincy is central to the delivery of spiritual care. However, chaplaincy is not the
only discipline that benefits from understanding and recognising what spirituality is
and how it functions in the lives of people experiencing illness and distress.
Spirituality is important for all healthcare professionals. However, chaplains should
be recognised as experts in the provision of spiritual care and also provide expertise
and education to other healthcare professionals. Fourthly, spirituality is not only
important for patients – it is important for all persons. Healthcare professionals are
spiritual people, and learning to work with one’s own spirituality within a caring
context is a vital tool for the delivery of holistic care; to care well, one needs to be
cared for well. Finally, spirituality is not about imposing your own beliefs and val-
ues on another. Although the spirituality of carers is important and needs to be
considered, this does not mean that it is in any way appropriate for carers to impose
their values and beliefs on patients in situations where they are clearly vulnerable.
There has been much societal change in recent years in relation to religion and
spirituality. Gray [34] describes a ‘mood of uncertainty’ in modern society which
has been marked by the decline of mainstream religion and the emergence of new
forms of spiritual expression (p. 178). This societal shift has caused a loss of tradi-
tion and shared meanings, resulting in many people raising questions about the
relevance of religion and its importance in people’s lives. Society appears to be
moving away from institutionalised religion towards a more individualised reli-
gion, which involves a personal search for meaning [26, 35]. Also, many people
now draw on Eastern philosophy or New Age thinking to emphasise the impor-
tance of values such as loyalty, respect and responsibility [34]. As a consequence
of these societal changes, the terminology and meaning of the word spirituality
has changed. Historically, spirituality was considered a concept that develops
within a religious context and usually within established institutions designed to
facilitate spirituality [27]. Nowadays, spirituality and religion are considered sep-
arate concepts that can be interrelated for some people, depending on their belief
system [19, 27]. Healthcare professionals need to be aware of this diversity in
meaning when caring for patients, especially given that healthcare professionals
are now caring for more and more people from diverse cultural backgrounds, with
8 E. Weathers
Table 1.1 Strategies for enhancing self-awareness and understanding of one’s own spirituality
Personal Taking time to mentally reflect on experiences in practice is a vital part of
reflection personal and professional development. There are many different models that can
be used to guide a personal reflection. For example, Gibb’s model (1988)
outlines six stages: Description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and
action plan. Other models include John’s model (1994) and Rolfe’s reflective
model (2001)
Reflective Keeping a reflective diary is a written form of reflection that can help healthcare
diary professionals to document their experiences in clinical practice. Any of the
above-mentioned models could be used to guide this process. Or alternatively the
healthcare professional may prefer to use an ad hoc or verbatim process of
documenting their experience. This form of reflection also allows the
professional to gather their thoughts on any given clinical experience and to
make sense of it
Meditation Meditation is a very useful method of enhancing a person’s awareness of self and
their spirituality. Meditation is useful because, like the above methods, it can be
practised alone. Healthcare professionals wishing to adopt this strategy should
try to identify a quiet space where they can sit and meditate. Some people prefer
to have music playing in the background or to have some candles lighting also.
The aim is to create a space in which the healthcare professional can dissociate
from the experience in clinical practice and truly reflect on it
As described in the former section, there has been a societal shift that has led to dif-
ficulties and challenges in relation to the terminology to describe spirituality. This
evolution has also led to a differentiation between the concepts of spirituality and
religion. The word ‘religion’ was derived from the Latin word meaning that which
‘binds together’ inferring connections to a deity or Supreme Being, to other persons
and to one’s beliefs and values [27]. In light of the earlier described evolution, the
word religion now increasingly refers to institutional, social, doctrinal and denomi-
national practices or experiences [27]. Meanwhile, the word spirituality is considered
to denote a broader search for meaning and purpose and connection with self, others
and the transcendent [19]. From a clinical practice perspective, it is important to not
assume anything in relation to a person’s spiritual or religious beliefs or practices.
Implementing reflective techniques as described earlier can be useful to enhance a
person’s ability to remain non-judgemental and to avoid making any assumptions.
Of all the healthcare professions, nursing has the strongest spiritual and religious
heritage [36–38]. Spirituality has been embedded within the nursing profession dat-
ing back to the pre-Christian era [38, 39]. In pre-Christian times, nursing was con-
sidered a noble act, and nursing care was concerned with nourishment of the human
spirit including prayer to the Gods during illness [38, 39]. In ancient Celtic writings,
a nurse was referred to as an ‘anam cara’ or a soul friend illustrating the embodi-
ment of spirituality within nursing from a very early stage [40]. During the Christian
era, nurses continued to nourish the human spirit but in accordance with a religious
(Christian) framework. The mission of these Christian groups (e.g. the Béguines
and the Sisters of Charity) was to care for the sick in the same manner that Jesus had
cared for the sick [38, 39]. ‘Compassionate accompaniment’ was the driving force
of nursing at the time [41, 42].
During the twentieth century, the rise of modern science resulted in the introduc-
tion of university-affiliated nursing programmes, which focused on the profession-
alisation of nursing, striving to establish a universal system of nursing education
and regulation of nursing practice [37, 42–44]. Nursing curricula reduced the con-
tent on spirituality and spiritual care to knowledge of major religions and associated
dietary practices or rituals [45, 46]. The nursing profession was said to be inadver-
tently led into adopting the biological, reductionist approach to healthcare [47].
However, from the 1970s onwards, the concept of holistic nursing began to re-
emerge, and with it came lots of literature on the meaning of spirituality and the
spiritual needs of patients [3, 43, 48–51]. The scientific biomedical model that had
encapsulated nursing was no longer sufficient and left many questions unanswered
[45]. Timmins and McSherry [38] (p. 951) suggest that nursing had become ‘dis-
connected from the spiritual dimension’ with too much focus on the technical, sci-
entific, medical and physiological aspects.
10 E. Weathers
The predominance of the biomedical model of care with a focus on the physical
dimension has impeded the provision of spiritual care in healthcare delivery [37, 39,
43, 52, 53]. The biomedical model has been criticised for not acknowledging the
spiritual dimension even though healing traditions began with care of the spirit [54–
56]. Nonetheless, according to Watson [51], nursing models and theories have
extended beyond this limited view of physical care opting for a holistic approach to
health. Nursing theories and models have conceptualised health as more than merely
the absence of physical disease to include the psychological and spiritual dimensions
of man [57]. There is a recent spiritual re-emergence in society, and the paternalistic,
biomedical model is no longer considered adequate to address the diverse health-
associated needs of human beings [51, 58]. Consequently, there has been an increase
in the number of published research studies exploring the concept of spirituality.
• What samples were included in this prior research (e.g. people with cancer,
chronic pain, people with dementia, etc.)?
• Were other types of spiritual needs identified? If so, what were they?
• What about individuals who are cognitively impaired—how might you
address their spiritual needs?
1 What Is Spirituality? 11
Abstract
This chapter explores psychological aspects of spirituality. After an introduction
to the psychology of spirituality and religion, the evolutionary psychological
basis of transcendent belief is explored. A novel model is proposed based on the
idea that ‘believing’ information from trusted sources was advantageous and
possibly adaptive in our evolutionary history, which has facilitated the develop-
ment of spirituality within the human species across the globe. The essential
elements of this model are (a) believing as knowledge transmission, (b) believing
as motivation or drive and (c) spiritual and religious beliefs as the basis for com-
munity (beyond kinship). These factors are further examined in relation to their
benefits in health care today.
2.1 Introduction
Spirituality and religion have been shown to have health benefits. In fact, the rela-
tionship between spirituality/religion and health and well-being has become a grow-
ing area of interest [1–3]. A positive relationship has been established between
spirituality and well-being in the general population [4], in patients with chronic
illness [5, 6], with mental health problems [7], in ageing [8] and in palliative care
[9]. Research in health psychology has established that, regardless of whether a
transcendent element is included, belief and search for meaning are salubrious
aspects in health and illness [10]; most notably there are signs that a spiritual or
religious element may be particularly supportive in stress management and avoiding
burnout [11, 12].
J. M. A. de Vries (*)
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
e-mail: jan.devries@tcd.ie
En los días sucesivos tuvo don Patricio los mismos deseos de salir
si bien, a excepción de una vez, no fueron tan ardientes; pero hubo
gritos, amenazas, volvió a funcionar el inocente palo y la carcelera a
desplegar las armas de su convincente piedad, de la graciosa entereza
que tan buenos efectos produjera el primer día. Horas enteras pasaba
el vagabundo patriota, corriendo de un ángulo a otro de la sala, como
enjaulada bestia, deteniéndose a veces para oír los ruidos de la calle
que a él le sonaban siempre como discursos, proclamas o himnos, y
poniéndose a cada rato el sombrero como para salir. Este acto de
cubrirse primero y descubrirse después, al caer en la cuenta de su
encierro, era gracioso, y excitaba la risa de su amable guardiana. En la
comida y cena mostrábase más manso, y se ponía con cierto orgullo
las prendas de vestir que Sola le arreglara. Desde la cabeza a los pies
cubríase con lo perteneciente al antiguo dueño de la casa, de cuya
adaptación no resultaba gran elegancia, a causa de la diferencia de
talle y estatura.
Por las noches daba a Soledad lección de escritura, poniendo en
ella tanto cuidado la discípula como el maestro. Él, particularmente
mostraba una prolijidad desusada, esmerándose en transmitir a su
alumna sus altos principios caligráficos, la primorosa maestría de
ejecución que poseía y de que estaba tan orgulloso.
—Desde que el mundo es mundo —decía observando los trazos
hechos por Soledad sobre el papel pautado—, no se han dado
lecciones con tanto esmero. Hanse reunido, para producir colosales
efectos, la disposición innata de la discípula y la destreza del maestro
Ahora bien, señora y carcelera mía: la justicia y el agradecimiento
piden que en pago de este beneficio me conceda usted la libertad, que
es mi elemento, mi vida, mi atmósfera.
—Bueno —respondió Sola—, cuando sepa escribir te abriré la
puerta, viejecillo bobo.
En los primeros días de noviembre estuvo muy tranquilo, apenas
dio señales de persistir en su diabólica manía, y se le vio reír y aun
modular entre dientes alegres cancioncillas; pero el 7 del mismo mes
llegaron a su encierro, no se sabe cómo (sin duda por el aguador o la
indiscreta criada), nuevas del suplicio de Riego, y entonces la
imaginación mal contenida de don Patricio perdió los estribos. Furioso
y desatinado, corría por toda la casa gritando:
—¡Esperad, verdugos, que allá voy yo también! No será él solo..
Esperad, hacedme un puesto en esa horca gloriosa... ¡Maldito sea e
que quiera arrancarme mis legítimos laureles!
Soledad tuvo miedo; mas sobreponiéndose a todo, logró contenerle
con no poco trabajo y riesgo, porque Sarmiento no cedía como antes a
la virtud del palo, ni oía razones, ni respetaba a la que había logrado
con su paciencia y dulzura tan gran dominio sobre él. Pero al fin
triunfaron las buenas artes de la celestial joven, y Sarmiento
acorralado en la sala, sin esperanzas de lograr su intento, hubo de
contentarse con desahogar su espíritu poniéndose de rodillas y
diciendo con voz sonora:
—¡Oh tú, el héroe más grande que han visto los siglos, patriarca de
la libertad, contempla desde el cielo donde moras esta alma atribulada
que no puede romper las ligaduras que le impiden seguirte! Preso
contra todo fuero y razón; víctima de una intriga, me veo imposibilitado
de compartir tu martirio, y con tu martirio tu galardón eterno. Y
vosotros, asesinos, venid aquí por mí si queréis. Gritaré hasta que mis
voces lleguen hasta vuestros perversos oídos. Soy Sarmiento, el digno
compañero de Riego, el único digno de morir con él; soy aque
Sarmiento cuya tonante elocuencia os ha confundido tantas veces; e
que no os ha ametrallado con balas, sino con razones; el que ha
destruido todos vuestros sofismas con la artillería resonante de su
palabra. Aquí estoy, matad la lengua de la libertad, así como habéis
matado el brazo. Vuestra obra no está completa mientras yo viva
porque mientras yo aliente se oirá mi voz por todas partes diciendo lo
que sois... Venid por mí. La horca está manca: falta en ella un cuerpo
No será efectivo el sacrificio sin mí. ¿No me conocéis, ciegos? Soy
Sarmiento, el famoso Sarmiento, el dueño de esa lengua de acero que
tanto os ha hecho rabiar... ¿No daríais algo por taparle la boca? Pues
aquí le tenéis... Venid pronto... El hombre terrible, la voz destructora de
tiranías, callará para siempre.
Todo aquel día estuvo insufrible en tal manera, que otra persona de
menos paciencia y sufrimiento que Solita le habría puesto en la calle
dejándole que siguiera su glorioso destino; pero se fue calmando, y un
sueño profundo durante la noche le puso en regular estado de
despejo. Habíale traído Soledad tabaco picado y librillos de papel para
que se entretuviese haciendo cigarrillos, y con esto y con limpiar la
jaula de un jilguero pasaba parte de la mañana. Sentándose después
junto a la huérfana mientras esta cosía, hablablan largo rato y
agradablemente de cosas diversas. Uno y otro contaban cosas
pasadas: Sarmiento sus bodas, la muerte de Refugio y la niñez de
Lucas; Sola su desgraciado viaje al reino de Valencia.
Continuaban las lecciones de escritura por las noches, y después
leía el anciano un libro de comedias antiguas que de la casa de
Cordero trajo Sola. Cuidaba esta de que en la vivienda no entrase
papel ninguno de política, y siempre que el anciano pedía noticias de
los sucesos públicos, se le contestaba con una amonestación
acompañada a veces de un ligero pellizco. Poco a poco iba
acomodándose el buen viejo a tal género de vida, y sus accesos de
tristeza o de rabia eran menos frecuentes cada día. Su carácter se
suavizaba por grados, desapareciendo de él lentamente las asperezas
ocasionadas por un fanatismo brutal, y la irritación y acritud que en é
produjera la gran enfermedad de la vida, que es la miseria. A las
ocupaciones no muy trabajosas de hacer cigarrillos y cuidar el pájaro
añadió Soledad otras que entretenían más a Sarmiento. Como no
carecía de habilidad de manos y había herramientas en la casa, todos
los muebles que tenían desperfectos y todas las sillas que claudicaban
recibieron compostura. En la cocina se pusieron vasares nuevos de
tablas; después nunca faltaba una percha que asegurar, una cortina
que suspender, lámpara que colgar, lámina que mudar de sitio o
madeja de algodón que devanar.
Llegó el invierno, y la sala se abrigaba todas las noches con
hermoso brasero de cisco bien pasado, en cuya tarima ponía los pies
el vagabundo, inclinándose sobre el rescoldo sin soltar de la mano la
badila. Era notable don Patricio en el arte de arreglar el brasero, y de
ello se preciaba. Su conocimiento de la temperatura teníale muy
orgulloso, y cuando el brasero empezaba a desempeñar sus