Date of Award

4-2024

Document Type

Project Portfolio

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Dominic Abaria, DMin

Second Advisor

Holley Clough, DMin

Third Advisor

Van Vliet, DMin

Abstract

This doctoral project, Reframing Addiction and Spiritual Care through the Johari Window, is a continuing education webinar for chaplains and spiritual care providers. It was created and developed in response to patient reports of previous negative experiences with chaplains that directly impacts the NPO: Considering adults with chemical dependency, we have noticed that they decline spiritual services, preferring relational isolation, which may be caused by a fear of vulnerability. During the discovery phase, stakeholders—patients in recovery, individuals with history of chemical dependency, and family members—expressed emphatically a belief that “Normies cannot understand, be helpful, or even really care!” while simultaneously wanting the chaplain to continue to check in. This webinar’s aim was to increase awareness, improve confidence, reduce reactivity, and improve care of patients by chaplains and spiritual care providers. A second was to create space for chaplain and spiritual care providers, who often work in isolation, to acknowledge the cost of caring for and working with antagonistic patients, improve self-esteem, increase vitality, prevent burnout, empower through group process, while imparting groundbreaking research. The ultimate goal was improved patient care as a quality improvement initiative. This doctoral project was well received by participants. Of particular interest were the areas of neuroscience of the addicted brain, neuroplasticity, the limbic system, and limbic resonance as it applies to chaplaincy and spiritual care. This supported the need for chaplaincy training to go beyond the scope of spirituality and into the realms of science, technology, and leadership. Female participants identified conversations around gender, space, and power as meaningful and impactful. It was observed how differently the conversation was experienced coming from a female presenter. A robust and contentious conversation followed on gender and power, exposing a hot topic often avoided in the realm of chaplaincy that merits further exploration and conversations.

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