Spiritual Health News
SHLEAC Committee Member, Maria Dimopoulos offers a reflection to us this month.
Paul Ryan, Spiritual Care Coordinator, and Simone Noelker, Wellness Centre and Pastoral Care Manager at Grampians Health Ballarat, remark that “it has been great to have a framework to help us benchmark and this will help us drive our quality improvement of years to come.”
Wendy Elson, Spiritual Care Coordinator at Bass Coast Health, shares “We are delighted to be able to join with SHA in the pilot model as we seek to rebuild our program and offer the highest possible quality of care.”
By recognising the spiritual dimension of human experience, policymakers and practitioners can create more compassionate, resilient, and inclusive solutions that align with the complex challenges and opportunities facing Australia's future. This is what is needed for the health and wellbeing of the nation.
SHA's Response to the State of the Nation Report on Loneliness and Connection.
SHA’s CEO Cheryl Holmes chats with Ian Campbell at PCA about the fundamental significance of spiritual care in delivering holistic health care, right to the very end of life.
The beginning of July marked the commencement of a new financial year, and for SHA that means a new strategic plan! At the heart of our strategic plan is our commitment to co-creating a fundamental change in how spiritual care is understood, valued and integrated into healthcare.
SHA's CEO Cheryl Holmes was guest speaker recently on the Opening Up Chaplaincy podcast.
Spiritually inclusive healthcare for all.
SHA warmly welcomes Joey Goh to the team as our Administration Assistant.
This month we farewelled one of our treasured colleagues Cuong La, Research & Policy Leader, who has worked with SHA since August 2020. Moreover, a number of the team from SHA attended the Spiritual Care Australia conference here in Melbourne last week. There is much to read about this month as we come to the end of the financial year, that also marks the end of SHA’s current strategic plan 2021-2023.
It is with mixed feelings that we say goodbye to our vibrant, insightful and knowledgeable Research Leader, Cuong La after three years with SHA. Cuong shares his reflections here.
May has been a great month of education and advocacy activity.
Spiritual Health Association urges the government to explore and invest in initiatives that promote multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) inclusive of Spiritual Care Practitioners, harnessing their expertise to enhance mental health services and support the healthcare workforce.
This thought-provoking poetry exhibition offers deeply moving insights into the bereavement experiences of older people, using research poems, videos and illustrations.
SHA’s Mental Health Leader Jenny Greenham presents the reflective practice project ‘Spirituality & Diversity Discussions' the INSS conference.
We sincerely appreciate the government's commitment to improving healthcare services, and we stand ready to contribute our expertise and resources to support the implementation of these initiatives.
Together, the Board and staff at Spiritual Health Association accept the invitation contained in the Uluru Statement to walk together towards a better future. Driven by our values, we are deeply committed to all paths that lead to reconciliation, healing and connection at all levels of society.
In April SHLEAC hosted an online Meet & Greet evening for their Spiritual Health Lived Experience Network members.
Mental healthcare is not just about diagnosing illnesses and prescribing treatments, it is also about understanding the social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual needs of patients.
Taking risks may just be essential for the spiritual journey.
Almost eight months after commencing the co-design of a national model for spiritual care in health, the project team met for the last time on 20th March 2023. Read more about the progress of the project and plans for next steps.
We asked SHA's new Quality and Advocacy Leader about his experiences working in spiritual care, what he hopes to bring to SHA, and some of the things that bring joy and inspiration to his life.
There has been much in the media over the past months about the need for reform in the health sector. Much of the focus has been on the Medicare system, which last month was described by the Minister for Health, Mark Butler, as ‘no longer fit for purpose.'
The central argument of this submission is that a robust measure of Australia's economic, social, and environmental progress and wellbeing should include a Spiritual Wellbeing dimension.
Health leaders, researchers, educators and people with lived experience of spiritual care gather to discuss the proposed draft model designed to improve the quality of spiritual care for people in hospital in Australia.
Cheryl Holmes, SHA CEO and Richard Egan, Associate Professor Dunedin School of Medicine give an overview of SHA's recent literature review.
Find out what's on in 2023.
3pm, Thursday 9th February 2023.
The four-member Spiritual Health Lived Experience Advisory Committee (SHLEAC) wrap up a busy year and reflect on the ways their leadership has continued to advocate for the inclusion of spiritual care in mental health care.
A joint initiative with our valued partners Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH)
What matters to you? The answer to that question may not always be the things that can easily be seen and measured.
After 13 years as part of the SHA team, Christine will work her final day on 1st December 2022.
SHA together with Spiritual Care in Aotearoa New Zealand Healthcare Co-design Rōpū is excited to announce that our comprehensive literature review is now available.
Acknowledging spirituality
Testimonial from Jo Baker, Specialist Bereavement Counsellor, Clinical Supervisor and Trainer, Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (ACGB)
We may be less religious, but is there more to the story?
Spirituality, spiritual care, and mental health: What’s the correlation?
An opportunity to offer some spiritual care to an exhausted workforce.
Mental Health, Spirituality, and Spiritual Care.
SHA is in active conversation with several universities to establish a spirituality and mental health translational research lab, known as the Spirituality Lab.
A national study conducted by McCrindle on spirituality, wellbeing and spiritual care in hospitals
Members of the Spiritual Health Lived Experience Advisory Committee (SHLEAC) presented on the topic of Spirituality, Spiritual Care and Mental Health
Contemporary spiritual care, as practiced in health care contexts, is very different from the way many healthcare professionals and patients perceive it. The Transforming CHAPLAINCY series aims to thoughtfully address strategic gaps in the literature about contemporary spiritual care.
Spiritual Health Association welcomes the release of the final report from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System and the commitment of the Victorian Government to implement all the recommendations.