Bridging the gap between clinical and religious professionals, this book examines how both can understand the spiritual needs of the individual, and the importance of this spirituality in bringing about health and wholeness.

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Bridging the gap between clinical and religious professionals, this book examines how both can understand the spiritual needs of the individual, and the importance of this spirituality in bringing about health and wholeness.

With an emphasis on mental health, the author explores spirituality in the context of the individual and of society, and discusses how those practicing pastoral or health care can deal with the issues raised outside of any specific religious ideas or practice. Taking an ecological approach to understanding the needs of the individual, Ray S. Anderson shows how professionals can help people move towards a more positive state in the face of pain, distress and illness.

Moving religious professionals away from the pursuit of simple edification, and those in health from purely medicalized approaches, Spiritual Caregiving as Secular Sacrament brings together professionals' roles in the context of spirituality to enable them to bring the greatest benefit to those in their care.

2003, 234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 192pp

Foreword, John Swinton, University of Aberdeen. Acknowledgements. Preface. 1. The Spiritual Praxis of Practical Theology. 2. The Integrative Gestalt of the Human Self. 3. The Ecological Matrix of the Human Person. 4. The Social Ecology of Human Spirituality. 5. The Life Continuum and the Formation of Self-identity. 6. Self-care: A Guide to Spiritual Fitness. 7. Recovering from Moral Injuries to the Self. 8. Casting Light on the Dark Side of Human Spirituality. 9. The Spiritual Power of Hope in Living with Disability. 10. The Human Ecology of Death and Dying. References. Subject Index. Author Index.