ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of a key concepts discussed in this book. The book aims to guide the reader in exploring how spiritual care is fundamentally relational in nature and inherent in the professional art of providing healthcare. It explores the art of spiritual care by encouraging us to focus on our self-awareness of the core elements of spiritual care: how we understand spirituality, how faith, belief and culture influence our spirituality, how we can develop and use communication skills in spiritual care, and how teamwork can support spiritual care. The book also explores what we think about spirituality, religion, life, health, illness, dying and death. It reflects on the unique role of the chaplain in spiritual care in a healthcare setting – as chaplain to the institution. The role demands the creative gift of recognising significant events in the life of the institution and an ability to assess the spiritual needs of the institution.
