Saint Luke Institute (SLI) Director of Spiritual Care, Kathleen Hope Brown, D.Min. was recently interviewed in an article on Catholic chaplaincy and pastoral care in mental health contexts. The article, “Quiet Conversations, Lifeline Moments,” appears in the digital magazine of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) called Works of Hope. In the article, penned by Board-certified Chaplain (BCC) Richard Hadley, Dr. Brown highlighted the importance SLI places on integrated spiritual care within the psychological, therapeutic healing process.
“Spiritual is a different lens on their care. Spiritual integration is something that clergy and religious have been doing for decades. Their faith is such a part of who they are,” she said. She also noted how it is often easy to forget the mental health needs of clergy, religious and ministers who are often responsibile for the support of others in their work. “Trauma in their past continues to affect their spirit and emotions,” she added. This also includes secondary trauma carried because of empathy for others challenging experiences over many years of ministry. “Our treatment here doesn’t approach [ministers] as a collection of parts, but as a whole — and we are at work here to make them whole again.”
To read the article in PDF format, click here (courtesy of NACC). To view the entire magazine issue, visit the NACC website here.