Self-reflections of health care chaplain fellows
Development in self-attunement and compassion during engagement with Compassion-Centered Spiritual Health (CCSH)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22310664 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rachel Lee (0000-0002-4438-2237, Emory University), Maureen Shelton (Emory University), George H Grant (0000-0002-4517-7286, Emory University), Jennifer S Mascaro (0000-0002-6199-8455, Emory University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0885-4726 • E-ISSN: 1528-6916 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/08854726.2026.2644796 |
| PMID | 41935376 |
| OpenAlex | W7149936581 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 76 |
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) prepares health care chaplains to address the spiritual and emotional needs of diverse patients and staff by cultivating self-awareness, interpersonal and clinical skills, and resilient compassion. Some health care chaplains engage in structured fellowship activities after CPE to expand and improve their expertise in clinical spiritual care. We conducted a retrospective investigation of recurring consult case reflections from chaplain fellows (n = 10) enrolled in a 2-year Compassion-Centered Spiritual Health (CCSH) fellowship program. We compared the fellows’ first and last 10 reflections to identify changes in the fellows’ reported activities and in the language that they used to reflect on their attunement during the consults. In the last 10 reflections, fellows attributed patient distress to a wider array of sources and were more likely to report using mindful grounding and cultivating a warmhearted presence with patients. When reflecting on their self-attunement, fellows used fewer discrepancy words (e.g., would) and more positive emotion language in the final 10 reflections. These results suggest that fellows diversified their activities with patients and used less dichotomous thinking to discuss their attunement as they became more experienced. This research provides insight into the cultivation of interpersonal and intrapersonal skills essential for high-quality chaplaincy care
Attunement · Compassion · Health care · Interpersonal communication · Intrapersonal communication · Pastoral care · Spiritual care · Spiritual Health · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Workplace Spirituality and Leadership
Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare
Defining Spirituality in Healthcare
Association of Perceived Medical Errors With Resident Distress and Empathy
Putting stress into words
Short-Term Compassion Training Increases Prosocial Behavior in a Newly Developed Prosocial Game
Attention to Inpatients’ Religious and Spiritual Concerns
Loving-kindness and compassion meditation
Effect of compassion meditation on neuroendocrine, innate immune and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress
Understanding the burnout experience
The perceived impact of being a chaplain-researcher on professional practice
Change in Pastoral Skills, Emotional Intelligence, Self-reflection, and Social Desirability Across a Unit of CPE
Ethics education in clinical pastoral education
Supporting staff
Essential competencies for healthcare chaplains
A mixed-method evaluation of implementation determinants for chaplain intervention in a hospital setting
Compassion Meditation Training for Hospital Chaplain Residents
A Qualitative Study of Patient and Family Perceptions of Chaplain Presence During Post-Trauma Care
A Survey of Chaplains' Roles in Pediatric Palliative Care
Education for professional chaplaincy in the US
Chaplain Documentation and the Electronic Medical Record
Relationship Between Chaplain Visits and Patient Satisfaction
What Does Patient-Centered Communication Look Like
Exploring the relationship between clout and cognitive processing in Mooc discussion forums
“Let Me Show You How Nice I Am”
Perceptions of Chaplains’ Value and Impact Within Hospital Care Teams
Defining and Operationalizing Chaplain Presence
Relationships Between Perceived Importance of Chaplain Presence and Health Professionals’ Emotional Well-Being in the United States
Spiritual Caregiving and Assessments for America’s Religious ‘Nones’
Hospital Chaplain Burnout, Depression, and Well-Being during the Covid-19 Pandemic
A model for cognitively-based compassion training
The Words of Violence
Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Social Support
What good are positive emotions in crisis? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001
The Psychological Meaning of Words
Negotiating Religious Differences
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |