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The “Sweet Spot”: Ethical Interdisciplinary Spiritual Care–Week 1

Posted by Carla Cheatham on Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 in Spiritual Care Integrity and Excellence

Research indicates patients want to talk to their providers about their religious and spiritual (R/S) concerns, but that they most often do not get to do so (Williams, et al, 2011). The reasons behind why this doesn’t happen are many. The reasons why it is critical that spirituality be included in differential diagnosis and a focus of care for ALL disciplines are even more.

It takes ALL of us to provide competent spiritual care that neither neglects nor abuses patients and families…and it’s easier than you may think!

This series will address that “Sweet Spot”–the perfect middle ground we can walk as we journey with others during medical or emotional crises and help them access their beliefs that help them find meaning, comfort, and peace. All members of the interdisciplinary team can, and must, be engaged in ethical and respectful spiritual and existential care for persons of all faiths, and no particular faith.

Next week, I’ll discuss more of the “Why?”, citing research, best practices, and making the case that quality spiritual care can greatly impact an organization’s financial bottom line. This week, I’ll jump straight into the “How?”.

When I speak, I often joke that when Oprah calls or I win the lottery, I’ll buy copies of Puchalski and Ferrell’s Making Healthcare Whole: Integrating Spirituality Into Patient Care (2010) for every healthcare worker in the country.

It is a terrific overview of the very issue I seek to address as they argue that all disciplines must be equipped to screen for and intervene when patients and families exhibit spiritual distress. Then they must coordinate care with a professional, clinically trained spiritual counselor to assess and treat those sources of distress.

To be clear, Puchalski and Ferrell come largely from the hospital setting, in which the ratio of chaplains to patients is very high. In other settings, such as hospice and palliative care organizations, where those ratios should be much lower (1/40 in hospice, for instance), best practices require the spiritual care counselor (SCC) be involved in the patient’s care from the very first days of admission, introducing spiritual care services and providing the clinical spiritual assessment and coordinating on-going plan of care interventions.

But that is not always the case. Some persons reject spiritual care services because they fear the very idea of a “pastor coming in and preaching” at them, which is NOT what qualified SCC’s do. Others have connections to their own faith community and do not feel the need for an SCC to be involved in their care, which research tells us is actually a dangerous proposition for the outcomes of care–details next week. Other times, an SCC simply isn’t available when spiritual distress is noted.

Regardless of the reasons, having nurses, physicians, social workers, certified nurses aides, etc. all feeling comfortable and competent to respond ethically to needs in the moment, until an SCC can be present, is a critical aspect of quality care.

One quick and easy tool provided by Puchalski (Puchalski and Romer, 2000) to screen for spiritual concerns is known as FICA. It stands for Faith and Belief, Importance, Community, and Address in Care or Action.

There are many ways these questions can be asked. Puchalski’s suggestions for ways of asking the questions may be found on the G-Wish website, here.

Below are ways that I train healthcare staff to ask the FICA questions. Over the years of my practice with patients and families, I’ve found the approach modeled below may increase how comfortable and safe patients feel answering honestly. Not only does it make for a gentler approach to them, it also helps ensure I gain the most accurate information possible, for the benefit of both them and the team navigating their care.

F- Is there any particular faith tradition in which you were raised?

Far better than “What church do you go to?”, which assumes they attend services and assumes they are Christian, the open language indicates acceptance if they answer is “No” or if they are of another faith.

It also can place persons less on guard because, many persons who are sick or have moved to be near family as they age, or are just busy with their every day lives can feel guilty or even ashamed to admit if they do not attend services and fear judgment by the persons providing their care. It’s scary to “disappoint” the people bringing you the good drugs, the therapies, the supplies, the legal and logistical support, etc. Asking if their parents raised them in a tradition can take the pressure off of them, a bit, if they do not attend.

Lastly, what happens when you ask someone the beginning of the story? They will tell you the rest. In this one answer, persons can explain their spiritual journey in 60 second, “I was raised ______, then when I was a teenager all my friends went to _______, then I went to college and, well, you know, that was college, and then I married and he was _______, then we had a falling out with the minister so we went to…”

As they tell us their journey, we’re listening for whether they are spiritual, religious, both, or neither. They may have felt rejected or disillusioned with organized religion and have picked up some spiritual baggage which they may need to address. They may have old images from the faith of their childhood that can return during times of distress and fear, at the end of life for instance.

So we listen for landmines. We listen for spiritual strengths. We listen for the beliefs of other family members that may either support or be in conflict with the patient’s views. We listen for the language that they use to discuss their faith. We are open to hearing if they are non-theists (atheists, agnostics, humanists, etc.) and switch our language to more existential (meaning, love, connection, etc.) rather than religious words to meet them where they are.

Not bad for one question!

I- Which of your current beliefs/ideologies are most valuable or helpful to you right now? What brings you the most comfort?

Asking someone how important their faith is to them can leave persons feeling judged even before they answer if their religion isn’t of particular importance. But asking what is helping them can open up the possibilities to include a favorite rock song that keeps them going or art that speaks to them of peace or a pet that gives them connection. These all can be used to support their spiritual/existential well-being. It doesn’t always have to be a prayer or ritual. We are multi-dimensional creatures, so it’s no surprise if we connect with a deity in multiple ways.

C- If there is a crisis at 2 a.m., whom do you want me to call to come be with you and your family?

For some people, their clergy may be their primary source of support. But for others, it may be another member of their faith community, or a best friend or neighbor. We mustn’t assume.

For one woman who was a conservative Catholic, the answer was her Jewish accountant. He had started as a young, wet-behind the ears CPA when she and her husband started business 30 years before. She trusted him completely and he always watched out for her best interests. They had a spiritual bond that ran very deep. So when I DID need to call on him at 2am, he came and said prayers in Hebrew and English, went through the Rosary with her, and sang Amazing Grace while I sat in humbled silence in the corner and witnessed a beautiful moment of spiritual care unfold.

A- What do we need to know about how your particular culture and beliefs/ideologies will influence your decisions, or to which we should be respectful?

We do not want to offend. We want to provide ethical and respectful care. But if we do not directly ask, we may never know what that looks like for them. Merely asking the question can indicate to them how deeply we wish to honor them, their culture, their faith, their needs, and that they will not be judged by us for whatever they need. Asking ahead of time has saved my kiester on more than one occasion and, more importantly, allowed me to provide competent care.

I’ll tell you a story about that in the midst of this series, when a young CNA knew to ask a question that completely changed the outcome, and quality, of a case.

For now, I hope something of this has been helpful. I look forward to sharing more ideas for ways that all of us can be involved in spiritual care that is respectful, ethical, and makes a difference, and is far easier than you might imagine!

Peace…

Williams, J., Meltzer, D., Arora, V., Chung, G., & Curlin, F. (2011). Attention to Inpatients’ Religious and Spiritual Concerns: Predictors and Association with Patient Satisfaction. Journal of General Internal Medicine. DOI:10.1007/s11606-011-1781-y

About Rev. Dr. Carla Cheatham:

After a career in social services, with an MA in Psychology and certification in crisis counseling, Carla received her MDiv. and PhD. in Health & Kinesiology and began serving faith communities. For almost a decade, she has worked as a spiritual counselor in healthcare, primarily for hospice.

After realizing many lacked supportive education in multi-faith spiritual care, Carla and her colleagues created the SCIE (“sky”) curriculum, which expanded to include boundary training and presentations in a multitude of areas.

Carla has taken stories from the curriculum and published them as a book of stories called Hospice Whispers: Stories of Life, available here or through Amazon. The Grief Companion Guide to Hospice Whispers designed for both individuals and groups, is set to publish later this Spring. She is also writing her second book on the art of presence with those who are suffering.

Follow Carla’s writings on her blog at http://carlacheatham.com/CCCG_SiteRevamp/carlas-blog/ and through Hospice Times at http://www.hospicetimes.com/index.php/category/guest-articles/carla-cheatham/

What CAN I Say?: Day 7 of BE-ing with Suffering

Posted by Carla Cheatham on Thursday, January 1st, 2015 in Spiritual Care Integrity and Excellence

The following is the final in a 7-part series of posts to help all of us be there for those we love who are grieving, especially during the holiday season. The content is taken from my presentation, “How Not to (Unintentionally) Say Something Stupid: BE-ing With Those Who Are Suffering” © 2013. All rights reserved. Feel free to share/re-post, but please don’t swipe or present it without my permission.

We made it! We’ve covered some of the top barriers to BE-ing with others’ pain:

Fear saying the wrong thing
Feel the need to fix it
Uncomfortable with pain and tears
Uncomfortable with silence

Now we can cover the last:

Fear not knowing what to say

I spend much of this presentation telling folks what NOT to say, encouraging them to say nothing but to just BE present. I talk about how to find a logical, theological, philosophical, emotional, and physical sense of grounding that will help them let go of the need to DO so they can simply BE.

But many miss the point, or aren’t quite ready for it, yet. They appear somewhat frustrated as they continue to insist I tell them what they CAN say. And I get it.

Pain can be terrifying. Being emotionally available with another’s vulnerability can bring out our biggest “oh crap!” fears. I’d rather do fractions that, since I missed the first 3 days on fractions in 3^rd grade and never caught up, still gives me the hives!

They still can’t quite get it that saying nothing verbally can be done with a sense of presence and grace and compassion that says far more than words ever could. In fact, presence alone can say far more since words aren’t there to get in the way!

But I used training wheels as I learned to ride a bike. I used inflatable bumpers in the gutter when I was five. I learned under the supervision of more experienced professionals as a therapist, pastor, and chaplain until I was a little less green and a little more competent.

To protect myself and others from my novice skills, I find and use support. I got back up on my roller blades not long ago, at the tennis court where I could grab the fence rather than face plant until I get my strength and sense of balance beefed up a bit. And, I pay an accountant not only so I won’t have to take Benadryl for my math hives but also so I won’t make an innocent mistake and go to jail!

My main concern, and why I spend so little time on this part of the series, is that verbal training wheels run the risk of becoming addictive. They give us an out so that we feel we never have to learn this whole presence thing and, instead, hide under our verbal security blankets and leave those hurting out in the cold, untouched by true connection.

And then I find that all I’ve done is given folks a whole new list of pat phrases that will become just as damaging as those old, used-up, dry-as-dirt clichés that do nothing to touch someone’s pain.

So please, if you find yourself REALLY wanting to know what TO say, I ask that you stop for a moment and ask yourself why…what scares you? The answer may help you go a bit deeper in your ability with the art of BE-ing.

No number of slick, skilled, “perfect” words will be of any use if you aren’t settled within, and are using them to distance yourself from the other rather than convey that you are with them and they are not alone.

But again, I know that when we are first learning, some supports are helpful. So here are some phrases to consider if they would be helpful. Whatever you use, find what works for your voice and your personality. Pulling someone else’s words out can sound canned and fail to let someone else feel seen and heard. Find you, and share that. That is always the best gift you have to bring.

What TO Say:

I hear you. (Can be quietly repeated as they talk as much as they need, and they’ll likely talk more if not interrupted by anything you feel the need to say.)

Would you like to tell me about him/her?

Would you like to talk about it?

I wish I had answers. I’m sorry I don’t.

I can only imagine how hard this is.

You’re not alone. We’re with you, as much as you would like.

I love/care about you.

I trust you to make it through this, even when it feels like you can’t.

I am so sorry. (Why not, “…for your loss”?—A loved one who has died did not “pass” like gas; they are not “lost” so we don’t need to put their faces on milk cartons. Euphemisms can be another way of distancing from their pain. Don’t use them!)

Can I please __(mow the yard, do the *laundry, pick up the kids)__ for you? (*ALWAYS ASK FIRST so you do not accidentally mow down the wildflowers she planted that look like weeds or launder his smell out of his favorite shirt.)

I’m here.

That’s it. There may be others, but I think long and hard about using them. Even some of the above, I’m hesitant to suggest, because they can be used in a way that drives disconnection rather than fuel connection, as I once heard Brene’ Brown share. So please, use these carefully. Think them through. Talk about them with a friend and see what feels natural and helpful for you, from your mouth and heart.

And please, if you do just HAVE to offer them a Kleenex, make sure you tell them this isn’t code for “please stop crying”, but support for them to feel free to continue crying as long as they need without being distracted by snot and tears!

When we can extend the gift of true presence to another, it is priceless, and has absolutely NOTHING to do with our words. It is a very rare gift. But I’m hoping to change that. With your help, we can help each other learn how to BE with suffering in a way that brings comfort and healing, rather than isolation and more pain.

To close this series, I’ll leave you with the words of a talented colleague who shared the following. They are words of challenge for us all, professional and lay person alike. I give thanks to Karl Knox, Director of Bereavement at Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care, for his words and the permission to share them:

“As much as it might be helpful for some professionals to have a few key phrases in their back pocket, I would tend look more closely at what drives us – in this profession – to want to try and ‘fix things‘ or ‘make things better.‘ I would look at what makes US uncomfortable personally.

For example, if someone is sobbing uncontrollably, are we tempted to try and ‘fix that’ because we’re personally uncomfortable with deep grief? Do we hand them a tissue and say ‘it’s going to be OK’ even when we know, in our hearts, that at this moment that’s not at all a certain thing?

Sitting with someone’s pain, without trying to intellectualize it with pat phrases, is an art….and a big part of that art is knowing yourself well enough to recognize when you’re actually trying to ‘get something’ from the person you’re working with (praise, thank you’s, a pat on the back). I believe people know when we’re being genuinely present with them, and when we’re trying to get them to make us feel better about our role as a professional.”

Peace,

Carla

More of What NOT to Say: Day 6 of BE-ing with Suffering

Posted by Carla Cheatham on Wednesday, December 31st, 2014 in Spiritual Care Integrity and Excellence

The following is the 6^th in a series of 7 posts to help all of us be there for those we love who are grieving, especially during the holiday season. The content is taken from my presentation, “How Not to (Unintentionally) Say Something Stupid: BE-ing With Those Who Are Suffering” © 2013. All rights reserved. Feel free to share/re-post, but please don’t swipe or present it without my permission.

So far in this series, I’ve covered these barriers to being with others’ pain:

Feel the need to fix it
Uncomfortable with pain and tears
Uncomfortable with silence

Yesterday I started covering one of our greatest fears:

Fear saying the wrong thing

I’ll finish covering this topic today and tomorrow will end the series with what TO say!

Last July, I posted some of the following information under the presentation title “How Not to (Unintentionally) Say Something Stupid: BE-ing With Those Who Are Suffering”. I’ll expand on that content today.

LA Times April 2013, Susan Silk and Barry Goldman

I came across the “Ring Theory” in the LA Times April 7, 2013. Written by Susan Silk and Barry Goldman, it stems from their professional practice and personal experience. (CLICK on image for a clearer view).

It has become one of the most effective tools I use in helping others “get it” that tough times are NOT about us. It helps us to visualize where we need to take our own fears, frustrations, and other forms of processing when someone around is ill.

In the fall of 2012, when I had my own medical scare (I’m fine now) and started making my own list of “The well-intended but stupid things we say when someone is hurting”, I was amazed by the flood of people who needed to tell me their story or their friend’s or sister’s or dog’s story.

I was often too tired and fuzzy-headed from stress to be able to realize what was happening in time to set a boundary, and then I was being emotionally vomited upon…at least, that’s what it often felt like.

Once, a person realized too late into her tale that the young woman she was describing died shortly after surgery. Her face fell in horror as she realized her gaffe. As horrified as I was at her mis-step, I also felt for her. She meant no harm.

But in our jumble of thoughts and words and awkwardness, we stumble—horribly at times. I wanted to help. That’s where my presentation came from, and from which this series is taken.

Yesterday, I discussed the various clichés and theologizing we often use, that distances ourselves from the pain or hopelessness someone else is feeling. I wrote of how such words can minimize or invalidate others’ feelings, essentially telling them to “Trust God and get over it”. I talked about the damage that does as it shuts down the normal grief process that is so necessary for healing.

Today, I’m re-sharing the Ring Theory as a way of helping us know what else NOT to say. In short, is says that the person who is suffering, say a person with cancer, is in the center of the circle. Around them are concentric circles, with their closest loved ones in the first circle, then other friends in the next circle out, then co-workers and acquaintances in the next, etc.

Silk and Goldman suggest that you “comfort in” by speaking only supportive and encouraging words to those who are closer in toward the patient than yourself and, if you feel the need to process your own feelings, you “dump out” by speaking those words only to someone who is in a circle further out from the patient than you.

The patient in the center can vent and gripe anywhere because in that circumstance it really IS all about them. It is a simple and easy tool to visualize where we are in another’s process and how to gauge to whom we can speak of how “awful this is” or process our own story of “my Aunt Maureen had the same thing…”.

Those who are stressed have no space to hear our stories. They’re living their own! They have little energy to set boundaries with well-intentioned but worn out and damaging clichés, unsolicited advice, theological preaching, or the processing of our feelings or old stories.

As I’ve said before, as much as we want to, nothing we say can ever “make it all better.” But our being fully present with them in their pain may help. That means letting go of our stories, our nervously blurted words, our need to talk about how sad or scared we are for them WITH them, or their spouse, etc. We find other places to dump our feelings.

Instead, walk their dog, do a few loads of laundry (but ALWAYS ask first—you don’t want to wash the scent out of a deceased loved one’s clothes if it’s one of the last shirts with “his” smell on it!), take their kids to the park to play for a while, or provide any other sort of practical support. By doing so, we communicate so much more care than most words can convey.

And if we can find it in ourselves to do so, we can sit quietly and calmly with them while they process or feel their feelings, whatever they may be.

We can remember that we need not say ANYthing except, if we feel we just have to say something, “I hear you”, “I wish I had answers”, “I’m so sorry”, and other simple, short, sincere statements that acknowledge their pain while not shutting it down or running from it. I’ll talk about those options more, tomorrow.

For now, please tattoo that picture inside your brain and heart. When someone around you is hurting, find where you are in the diagram. Dump whatever you need to OUT to someone further away from the patient/crisis than you. Then, when you show up, you can really show up WITH and FOR them, with what they need and provide comfort IN to those interior circles.

Such visuals can work for us. One friend called me from up north yesterday afternoon and thanked me for sharing a picture of a dog hugging a woman with the words “We fear silence will indicate apathy…but we can exude presence without making a sound”. She said it was timely, as she received a call that afternoon from a friend in extreme crisis.

“Carla, I was able to just sit and listen for 30 straight minutes without jumping in, because I kept seeing that picture in my head and could remind myself, ‘No. Wait. Just listen.’ It was such a gift.”

THAT is why I do this. I hope you’re finding some helpful information in this series, sharing it with others, and will share feedback with me so that together we can all find a better way to be with pain, our own and each others’!

Peace,

Carla

Sitting with Pain: Day 2 of BE-ing with Suffering

Posted by Carla Cheatham on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2014 in Spiritual Care Integrity and Excellence

The following is the 2^nd in a series of 7 brief posts to help all of us be there for those we love who are grieving, especially during the holiday season. The content is taken from my presentation, “How Not to (Unintentionally) Say Something Stupid: BE-ing With Those Who Are Suffering” © 2013. All rights reserved. Feel free to share/re-post, but please don’t swipe or present it without my permission.

I most frequently hear these barriers to BE-ing with others’ pain:

Fear not knowing what to say
Fear saying the wrong thing
Feel the need to fix it
Uncomfortable with pain and tears
Uncomfortable with silence

Hopefully yesterday’s post helped us move a bit further away from needing to “fix” others’ pain, since that understandable desire of ours can actually lead us to harm them with ill-chosen words or abandon them by saying nothing.

Today, I’ll quickly cover some of the Dos and Don’tsto help us find more comfort with discomfort and provide the caring presence we WANT to be when others are hurting.

I joke that this is the guardian angel in charge of monitoring my mouth. None of us wants to do harm, so here are some simple tools:

Provide Presence

Follow Their Lead

Normalize vs. Minimize

Avoid “Reason”

Provide Presence—When computers first came into the workplace, co-workers thought I was a tech guru. I’m far from it! All I did, was stand beside their desk with a gentle hand on their shoulder as I peered at the screen with them. I breathed slowly and spoke calmly as I got them to talk through the issue.

As they relaxed, they found the solution they needed with whatever program they were working on. They just needed to know they weren’t alone and to have the comfort of someone with them while they found quiet space inside themselves to discover exactly what they needed.

I did nothing more than just BE with them and help create safe space as they go through the journey they need to make to find their way through.

Follow their Lead—A friend recently reminded me that in the Jewish tradition of sitting Shiva, the period of mourning and prayers following the death of a loved one, those coming to “sit” with the bereaved are not to initiate conversation.

They simply sit, and if the mourners wish to talk about the deceased or the weather or football or nothing the visitors follow their conversational lead wherever they do or don’t want to go.

By the picture I do not mean to infantilize those suffering, but I do mean to challenge us to be willing to be a little uncomfortable, feel a little foolish, in order to be with them exactly where they are. This is THEIR process (remember the Lao Tzu midwife quote?) and not ours to impose our own ideas or needs upon.

Normalize vs Minimize—This is one of my favorite movie shots of all time as the T-Rex in Jurassic Park is bearing down on the SUV. My fears get much bigger when I’m in pain. Everything feels scarier to me and greatly out of proportion.

The temptation is to try to make people feel better by minimizing their pain. The trouble is, it’s not our pain to categorize, size, frame, or try to tamp down. Any hint that their pain isn’t warranted will only shut others down (or piss them off!) It’s an understandable defense mechanism we humans have, but it leaves grievers feeling not seen, not heard, and even more isolated and alone than before.

So we accept that their pain makes sense. We validate their feelings. Of COURSE they feel the way that feel! It’s normal! Their grief is THEIR grief and NO ONE should tell them how they should be feeling or responding.

And never start a sentence with “Well at least…” As one bereavement counselor I know said, “No matter what follows that opening line, you are minimizing the griever’s feelings.”

Avoid “Reason”—One of my greatest default defenses is intellectualizing. My close friends know there are times when I launch into logic to avoid uncomfortable feelings, and lovingly call me out on it!

Sometimes, logic isn’t readily available to us. When we are under extreme duress, our pre-fontal cortex, the area that controls executive function and decision-making, can get flooded with stress hormones that leave us not thinking clearly. Trying to get someone to “reason” through their feelings is impractical and doesn’t honor their process. So we, again, acknowledge and validate their feelings, giving them plenty of space to feel safe being exactly where they are.

We also are best served to not expect them to be able to answer, “How can I help?” The brain gets fuzzy and it’s hard to know what to even ask for. Questions can feel overwhelming.

So think of some concrete and practical ways you can be of support and then ask their permission to do it. Part of the asking is about respect and allowing them to maintain some sense of control in the chaos.

The other part of asking is to make certain you don’t wash “his shirt” that still had his scent on it or mow down “her wildflowers” that she planted the last time she could garden and loved looking at each morning from the kitchen window over coffee. It may seem like a good idea to get the kids out of the house to go play, but their laughter may be the one thread holding the mourner together in that house. So always ask permission.

After all, we are here to sit WITH them on their journey, and though it may not seem like enough, I assure you it is more than enough.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about a topic many may choose to skip, because it often scares the snot out of us! (Hint: It’s the opposite of “noise”)

Peace…

SCIE (“sky”) national launch and “The Art of Asking” by Amanda Palmer

Posted by Carla Cheatham on Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 in Uncategorized

A dear friend who is also a business coach told me of this TED Talk by alt-rock icon, Amanda Palmer, who surprised everyone when she asked for $100,000 on Kickstarter, but broke all records when her fans quickly raised $1.2 million. In her TED talk, Amanda discusses the discomfort, beauty, and vulnerability of “asking” as a way of reciprocal giving, because in the exchange we let ourselves see one another and participate in something!

It reminded me of one of my favorite reads, “Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion” by Sara Miles. As a journalist, she was curious and walked one day into an Episcopal Church where she experienced an “open” communion table for the first time. In that moment, she felt something radically changed. (For her, it happened to take place within the Christian tradition.) She went on to become the director of that church’s food pantry, which was one heck of a ride!

Sara found that, whether in the sharing of bread and wine at communion or in the work of the food pantry, we engage in a reciprocal act of reaching toward one another in giving and receiving. In these acts, we are all transformed because our hunger is about more than needing to be fed, but also about a “hunger to give”.

So I have long been increasing my comfort with “the ask”, letting myself be seen, and acknowledging a need. Amanda Palmer’s TED talk finally helped call me over the edge when she stated “Don’t make people pay for music. Let them.” And so I’m asking…

My Carla Cheatham Consulting Group, made up of members of the Texas New Mexico Hospice Organization’s Chaplain Development Committee, is officially launching nationally the training we have researched and developed for over 3 1/2 years, under the umbrella term of SCIE (“sky”) Spiritual Care Integrity Excellence: Training and Support for Healthcare Workers.

The flier may also be downloaded from our website carlacheatham.com (The “pro” version of the site should be up within the week).

So here’s the ask…Please forward this to others you know who work in healthcare or spiritual care or have an interest in either! We need as much momentum and “branding” as possible to help persons know about this rich and affordable resource available, and we’d love to bring a training to your area.

We rolled out the 2-Day version of our training in Austin last week with not only chaplains but also social workers and nurses from hospitals, hospices, and palliative care programs from across Texas, West Virginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and California. So far, the evals have been glowing. One participant said, “I’ve been a social worker for 20 years and we do lots of conferences. This has been by far the best thing I have ever been to. Thank you!” One nurse came to me at lunch and said, “I can’t believe I’m actually getting CEUs for this!! It’s amazing and I’m enjoying it so much.”

So please forward this to at least 5 others, even now. I won’t promise your wishes will be granted if you do or that you’ll grow a uni-brow over night if you don’t! But maybe, just maybe, by seeing my open-hearted ask and meeting it with your own, we’ll all experience the gift and healthcare will be just a little more transformed.

Peace…