In late October, a joint publication on the state of the field and importance of chaplaincy appeared from ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education; the Association of Professional Chaplains; the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care / Association canadienne de soins spirituals; the National Association of Catholic Chaplains; and Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Read The Impact of Professional Spiritual Care in full here. Transforming Chaplaincy Fellow Rev. Shelley Varner-Perez offers a response to this significant document here. A brief excerpt highlights the thrust of the document, but we encourage all to consider it closely and how it many inform their practice:

Our spiritual health profoundly impacts our physical health, well-being, and quality of life. Just as medical professionals care for our bodies and minds, spiritual care practitioners care for our spirits. The increasing need for spiritual care makes these practitioners even more crucial. However, many of us have limited access to quality, professional spiritual care. At times of struggle, this lack of spiritual care can have a negative impact on our health and well-being. Investigators and researchers are creating a growing body of evidence for the innumerable benefits of professional spiritual care, yet many people still do not have a lot of accurate information about these practitioners.