A Spiritual Pathway for Prior Grief

Abstract

Twelve spiritual pathways for problems commonly encountered by health care chaplains have been developed at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash.1 One of these, the spiritual pathway for prior grief is an approach to pastoral care for patients who have unresolved grief from a loss that precedes and may be unrelated to their present treatment. The author describes indicators of the elements of spiritual care for prior grief as well as the implications of this pathway for the training of chaplains. Effective spiritual care for patients with prior grief may promote integration of their loss and possibly reduce unnecessary utilization of health care resources.