Spiritual care is an integral part of hospice palliative care. Everyone longs for connectedness, meaning, purpose, dignity, love, peace, acceptance and hope. You will find in your personal exploration of Spiritual care with our practitioner that it connects to the universal yet unique dimension of every individual. You will look with new eyes at your personal beliefs, values, hopes and yearnings that guide your choices and perspectives.
You can choose to nurture and express your spirituality within the context of a faith in God, a higher-power, or other religious traditions that are meaningful to you. You will discover how your spirituality may be reflected in many other ways, such as in relationships, gardening, music and nature. Spirituality touches on how you make sense of the world, how you connect to yourself, to each other and to the universe.
Our counsellors are committed to respecting your unique spiritual journey, understanding that spiritual needs and expressions differ. Being in touch with your spirituality can offer you inner peace and hope in the midst of life’s unpredictable challenges. During the unexpected times of upheaval and change you may experience anxiety, doubt, questioning, being uprooted, and feelings alone. These are normal feelings that spiritual care can help you explore and process.
Our spiritual care services are offered to palliative individuals and their families and caregivers (who may take responsibility for all aspects of care for their palliative loved one). We journey with individuals and caregivers who are often exhausted and seeking psycho-social and spiritual support to sustain them through the remainder of a progressive illness, eventual death and bereavement. Supports are tailored to help manage their own unique journey. The process involves values clarification, a search for personal meaning in suffering and life, and, for some, a need to connect with a higher power. Most often, support is offered via one-on-one spiritual care, anticipatory grief and bereavement counselling, and increasingly via peer support groups.
Referrals to these spiritual care services are received from but not limited to, Emily’s House and/or the Philip Aziz Centre hospice programs.
Professional spiritual care is available for clients and their loved ones to help process their concerns and includes:
- Conversations that will facilitate, explore and strengthen your spiritual journey
- One-on-one spiritual care visits in home and/or in hospital
- A supportive, non-judgmental and caring presence where positive or difficult emotions and questions can be openly expressed
- Exploring one’s beliefs and values, the meaning of life, death and afterlife
- Spiritual direction and encouraging a sense of wellbeing
- Reflecting on faith, God, sacred texts, music, prayers and rituals
- Connecting with a faith or spiritual tradition that has personal meaning
- Coordination of customized celebrations of life, funerals, religious and cultural rituals / practices
- A women’s HIV Peer Support Group – New peer group program series will be announced shortly.
Questions that may be explored along the spiritual care journey
- What is the meaning and purpose of my life?
- What is important? What do I value?
- Why is this happening to me? What can I hope for?
- Why do I doubt all the things I always believed in?
- What do I believe about God, death and afterlife?
- What unfinished business do I have?
- What will I leave as a memory of myself?
- Will people remember me when I am gone?
Testimonial from a spiritual care client: “You’ve helped me face the reality of my death with such care. I am forever grateful.”
Testimonial from a spiritual care client: “You helped me sort some important things out while I am dying. I am so grateful!”
To request support, please contact our Client Services Department at (416) 363-9196, or email [email protected]