Chaplains do stuff. We have a taxonomy that tells us so. We call what we do interventions. We purposefully help careseekers approach their religious and existential concerns to help them find meaning, purpose and balance. These specific acts, for many of us, include: spiritual histories, spiritual pain assessments, connectedness with the sacred or profane, guided imagery, psycho//social modalities, prayer, deep active listening, feedback loops, nature and energy work. Each setting for chaplaincy utilizes different assessment tools, and some do not use any. This Forest Find is designed for members to critically explore assessment tools in the hope that you will develop and refine tools to share in the community.
How to capture meaningful moments.
Discover a new tool to help careseekers explore and engage with their journey.
As chaplains, we are always doing life review interviews. This tool provides some interesting themes, approaches, and questions to assist careseekers in exploring new paths in their journey and in capturing meaningful moments in their narratives.
Efficacy of Short-Term Life-Review Interviews on the Spiritual Well-Being of Terminally Ill Cancer Patients
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
The conclusions of this research in a single ICU unit challenge the movement in recent years to create more universality in patient charting and documentation. Instead, the researchers’ make the case for more storytelling.
Communicating Chaplains’ Care: Narrative Documentation – Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
Consider
What Is working or not working in your assessments? What are you looking for when you assess someone? Create a new assessment tool.