The aim of this project which was undertaken by Dr. Harriet Mowat, Revd Jim Simpson and Fran Faulkes was focused on the spiritual needs of people with dementia and their carers. Spiritual needs include religious needs and they adopted the definition of spiritual care used by the multi faith NHS working group.
Spiritual needs may not always be expressed within a religious framework. It is important to be aware that all human beings are spiritual beings who have spiritual needs at different times of their lives.
Although spiritual care is not necessarily religious care, religious care, at its best, should
always be spiritual (Association of Hospice and Palliative Care Chaplains, 2003).
The following are brief extracts from the full report of the project which was part of the Mental Well Being in Later Life Programme supported by NHS Health. The project is important to Faith in Older People as it influenced our current project within care home settings on ‘Voicing the Spiritual’. We have deliberately chosen to use the same title in order to show progression and the fact that the collaborators in the current project include those from the previous project.
“It is important to note at the outset that we have taken the position that we are all on a spiritual journey, we are all ageing and we are all vulnerable to cognitive impairment. This means that carers, cared for, professional health and social care staff are all involved in the same human processes. This project and the spiritual care agenda generally is not concerned to “do” spiritual care to others, more it is concerned to share spiritual journeys and learn from each other. It was in this spirit that we embarked on the project. This approach was welcomed and supported by all involved.”
“People do not generally embark on discussions about the meaning in their lives, or their understanding of the spiritual as a discrete and identifiable process. Instead spiritual matters, insights and anxieties “pop up” as a consequence of other discussion. The spiritual carer needs to be mindful of the sporadic, fragmented nature of spiritual discussion, its apparently ad hoc and surprising appearance and the presence of serendipity. This is not unique to people with dementia. Indeed it is possible that people with dementia are better able to speak about spiritual matters as they set aside some of the more restraining forms of social control and manners. The framework suggested here takes into account this typical presentation of spiritual matters. The framework is not faith specific. It works for those of any faith, and for those of no faith. It assumes we are all spiritual beings.”
A copy of the full report can be obtained from Mowat Research or from the Faith in Older People website.
