Abstract

: Spiritual counselling and guidance is carried out by benefitting from sources of religion and spirituality. It is a professional psychological help relationship in which the approaches, methods, and techniques of psychological counselling and guidance are used. In the world, the field of health is one of the most common application areas of spiritual counselling and guidance connecting the approaches of psychology and psychology of religion to each other together with theology. Researches have clearly demonstrated the positive association of piety with human health. If religious beliefs help the patient to cope with the disease, the assistance of a spiritual consultant is needed to meet his/her spiritual needs. In the present article, the topics of spiritual counselling and guidance in general; and, in specific, what the spiritual counselling is in the field of health, proficiencies of the spiritual counsellors, the need for spiritual counselling in the hospitals together with the topics of how, to whom and by whom the spiritual consultancy can be performed were investigated. Summary: It is a very natural case that an individual takes support from religion and spirituality in solution of the problems of life. In coping with the problems, everybody may not always manage on their own to benefit from religion as a supplementary aid and to reveal the potential of spirituality within themselves. In this regard, individuals may need professional assistance. The purpose of the current study is to analyse the qualifications of spiritual advisors theoretically, whether there is any need for spiritual counselling in hospital and its scope, and by whom, to whom, and how it can be applied by starting from what spiritual counselling is. In the Western literature, spiritual counselling and guidance is used either together as “pastoral care and counselling” or separately as “pastoral care” and “pastoral counselling” The title “Spiritual counselling and guidance” has been frequently encountered in recent years in Turkey. As a discipline combining theology and human sciences, spiritual counselling and guidance interconnects the theological approaches and approaches of psychology of religion. Assisting the maturation of an individual in any sense together with healing, guidance, reconciliation, supporting and developing the individuals having problems are among the aims of the field. Since spiritual counselling is a field requiring specialization, the qualifications of spiritual advisors is a vital issue. It is apparent that clinical psychology and similar educations are necessary when it is considered that a specialist of spiritual counselling and guidance also provides psychological assistance. In various countries, it is seen that there are courses of clinical psychology and similar ones in the programs prepared for educating specialists under the name of "pastoral counselling". Together with the knowledge level about the religion and spirituality, the knowledge and experience level of psychological guidance are also important for the individuals who will perform spiritual counselling. When the world literature has been analysed, it is observed that the most widespread services in this field are the spiritual and psychological ones. Spirituality enables a patient to heal in health services; if this is not possible, it maintains them to acknowledge this situation, get on with his current condition, or continue his attachment to life. For this reason, “spiritual support” in the hospitals is accepted as a part of an integrated approach in health, and it takes a part in the Article 38 of the patient’s rights legislation. The medical science also accepts that it is necessary to assist the patients’ morale during their treatments for helping them heal physically and psychologically. As a result of this need being realized in Turkey, a protocol was signed between the Ministry of Health and Directorate of Religious Affairs in recent years. However, this service provided in the pilot hospitals has not become systematized yet. In the cases of existential crisis and deep-scaled desperation, an individual inclines towards his/her religious beliefs. The situations that an individual needs the solutions offered by the religion at most are the difficulties of the life such as illness and death. However, it should not be forgotten that spiritual counselling can be beneficial for not only the people in the hospital who describe themselves as piety or prone to spirituality, but also the ones who do not have any or have poor religious believes on the condition that they wish to have counselling. There is a possibility that patient may use religious instruments in order to overcome his/her problems, and taking this possibility into consideration means to support the treatment. Activation of the sources for religious coping by providing spiritual counselling to the patient can relieve the patient psychologically and increase the perseverance of struggling with the disease physically. On the condition that the patients accept their diseases and pray and they are optimistic, grateful, and patient; it will be possible that their positive feelings may increase and healing period may reduce, and they may unexpectedly and miraculously recover from illness. In the scope of the holistic care, health staff also has some responsibilities related to providing spiritual counselling. It should not be forgotten that doctors can also have a part in this service in addition to nurses. On the condition that the doctors ask clearly whether their patients incline religion in order to overcome their health problems, and the patient wants the doctor to pray for him/her; it is stated that the doctor needs to realize this request, and it is indicated that this can have a positive influence on the health by increasing hope of the patient. Although spiritual counselling is a supra-religious humanistic support and help activity; religious, cultural, moralistic, and traditional varieties in the consultancy services provided to the patients should be taken into consideration. It should not be forgotten that local factors are crucial in counselling in addition to the universal ones. Three methods are mentioned related to the spiritual counselling services to be provided in the hospitals, as follows: Advice and Irsad Model: This is a classical advice method that the advisors are at the centre during the consultancy period where there is not a mutual dialogue. Therapy Model: It is a psychotherapy model carried out by means of moving the patient to the centre and with reference to the needs of the patient. The pioneers of this approach are Rogers and Maslow. Consolation-Interpretation Model: This method that is formed as the combination of two models is based on understanding, explaining, interpreting, and making sense by talking mutually. Consolation method consists of listening to the history of an individual and interpreting it and consoling. In spiritual counselling, there are also things that should not be carried out in addition to the ones that should be done. At the base of the spiritual counselling and guidance services, there is not an understanding of treating to the patient with humane sentiment and solving his/her problem on behalf of the patient. During the period of consultation, it is aimed to provide the patient to solve his/her own problem with spiritual counselling.