Published: February 13, 2023
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Within the hospice care setting, spirituality is typically not defined within a specific religion or belief system. Instead, care providers understand spirituality as an awareness of someone’s relationship with the world and their sense of what their life ultimately has meant to it. To help people in hospice care cope with these ideas and find peace during the last days of their lives, many hospice care providers keep spiritual counselors on staff as part of patient care teams. Spiritual counselors can provide spiritual support for patients, family members, and caregivers, making them important members of the hospice team.
The Role of a Hospice Spiritual Counselor
The services of a hospice spiritual counselor are entirely optional. If a patient chooses to work with a spiritual counselor, they may find the spiritual counselor acts as a valuable and compassionate support person. A spiritual counselor can help your loved one see the value of their lives and the positive impact they have had on the world. If nothing else, sometimes having the chance to talk to someone about their concerns or fears is enough for patients to begin healing.
Studies have shown that a healthy spiritual outlook can improve a person’s sense of well-being, positivity, and comfort while reducing pain levels. Spiritual counselors help ensure a loved one’s comfort up until the very end of their lives. They can also be critical in ensuring that your loved one has regular access to friends, family members, hospice care team members, or volunteers, ensuring that they are surrounded with compassion and care during this major transition point.
In addition to ensuring comfort, spiritual counselors can provide rituals, prayers, and other spiritually based coping skills that help your loved one find peace during an often confusing and difficult time. Thanks to their understanding of how religion, spirituality, and culture influence each other, spiritual counselors are better equipped to help hospice care patients find coping methods that work best for them. These methods can help ground them in the present moment and provide reassurance and comfort.
Support for Families and Caregivers
Spiritual counselors also provide spiritual support for families. Families may be strongly affected by their loved one’s diagnosis and the realities of their day-to-day care. Just like their loved ones, they may experience feelings of anger, guilt, or uncertainty. Spiritual counselors can act as compassionate listeners and offer spiritual guidance to help navigate these emotions.
Family caregivers are often most impacted by their loved one’s deteriorating health. They may feel emotionally and spiritually drained when their loved one passes away, and a spiritual counselor can be instrumental in helping them recover while processing their emotions. This processing occurs throughout the months of care preceding death as well. When caregivers feel powerless to stop their loved one’s decline, a spiritual counselor can help them understand what is happening, find spiritually-based ways to cope and provide much-needed comfort during this period.
As a member of the hospice care team, spiritual counselors can also help maintain clear communication. They may work to help families understand their loved one’s needs and stay informed about upcoming changes to their care plan, helping the families become stronger partners with the hospice care team. The spiritual counselor can also communicate the family’s wishes and concerns with medical professionals to ensure that their loved one is receiving the best possible care with minimal conflict or stress.
Working with Traditions Health Hospice
Our spiritual counselors work with medical professionals to help them understand the spiritual and cultural beliefs of a patient and their loved ones while providing each patient with spiritual guidance of their own. This allows for more compassionate, comprehensive care and support for everyone as your loved one transitions. Traditions Health care teams will also create customized support plans that address your loved one’s emotional and physical needs, ensuring that they feel comfortable and cared for throughout the final chapter of their life.