WJC12 Session 1 - Reflecting on the Role of Empathy in Effective Chaplaincy Care: Lessons from Dutch Humanist Chaplains

Description:

Overview:
In this session we will explore the role of empathy in chaplaincy care asking: what are empathy’s functions? Is there a downside to empathy in chaplaincy care? Are there limitations to empathy in chaplaincy? These and similar questions were asked to 20 humanist chaplains in the Netherlands, and we will be reading and discussing the resultant paper “‘We need to talk about empathy’: Dutch humanist chaplains’ perspectives on empathy’s functions, downsides, and limitations in chaplaincy care” published in the Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling. The authors of the paper identify seven functions of empathy and further argue that it is vital for chaplains to discuss empathy in professional and academic contexts as it is a critical but often misunderstood aspect of our profession. In this session we will be discussing the qualitative research methods used in the paper and inviting all attendees into a critical reflection of their own use of empathy in their chaplaincy practice.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand the seven major functions of empathy in chaplaincy care according to Dutch Humanist Chaplains
• To invite chaplains to critically reflect upon their own use of empathy in providing care, including empathy’s functions, downsides, and limitations
• To help chaplains develop and maintain research literacy, including the ability to critically read a qualitative paper using grounded-theory methodology and, where appropriate, apply the findings to their professional practice

Reading:
Reading: van Dijke, J., Duyndam, J., van Nistelrooij, I., & Bos, P. (2022). “We need to talk about empathy”: Dutch humanist chaplains’ perspectives on empathy’s functions, downsides, and limitations in chaplaincy care, Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, 76(1), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/15423050221074271

Presenters:
Cate Michelle Desjardins MDiv MPH BCC, is the Executive Director of Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship and convener of the Pediatrics Spiritual Care Research Network. She previously served for five years in various roles at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Her research interests include the role of religion in surrogate decision-making and in coping with caregiving for children with complex medical needs. She completed the Transforming Chaplaincy Research Fellowship in 2019.

Rev. Beth Muehlhausen PhD MDiv BCC LCSW is a spiritual care researcher and instructor with Transforming Chaplaincy. She previously served for four years as the Sr. Researcher for Mission Integration for Ascension. She is a qualitative researcher utilizing hermeneutic phenomenology and mixed methods. She has published several articles on spirituality, chaplaincy, and spiritual care during the pandemic. She has presented several workshops and intensives at the annual APC conference, for NACC and the North American Association of Christians in Social Work.

How It Works:
When you purchase this recording, you will receive a link to access the recording. There will also be a link to access in the My Downloads and Links section of your APC profile.