What Do I Say? : Talking with Patients about Spirituality

Elizabeth Johnston Taylor, an internationally recognized expert in spiritual caregiving, has identified communication techniques that help healthcare professionals provide patients answers to questions like these-questions laced with pain and confusion. In What Do I Say? she provides a practical workbook with guidelines for detecting, understanding, and responding to the spiritual needs embedded in patients' conversations. The lessons, tips, and exercises integrate psychology, psychiatry, pastoral counseling, nursing, chaplaincy, and spiritual direction for whole-person care. An FAQ section answers questions such as "What do I say to a patient who believes a miracle will happen to cure them?" and "What if I'm not religious? How can I talk about spirituality?" While wanting to help patients is one motivation for learning these skills, there are also evidence-based reasons: helping patients express their innermost feelings promotes spiritual healing; spiritual health is related to physical and emotional health; spiritual coping helps patients accept and deal with their illness; and patients tend to want their healthcare professionals to know about their spirituality. By practicing and using these healing techniques, healthcare professionals will be able to feel more secure in their responses to their patients' spiritual needs. Book jacket.