Saturday, May 01, 2004
New brand of comfort
He's the only one who comes into a patient's room to do nothing.
As part of the health care team at The Monroe Clinic, Chaplain Thomas Chopp has no particular agenda when he sees a patient. Instead, he is there to provide support for patients and their families on their terms -- not his.
"I do not bring a religious or personal agenda into the room. I allow the patient to set her or his own agenda to meet their own spiritual or emotional needs," he said.
Typically, Chaplain Tom said, he enters a patient's room for the first time and introduces himself. Unlike other medical professionals who walk through a patient's door, Chaplain Tom is not there to "do" anything -- he simply comes to visit. Many expect him to want to pray with them and often there is an awkward period of silence as the patients realize the chaplain is there to stay awhile.
"Then they'll start to open up," he said. It's particularly rewarding when older patients, who often are dealing with a variety of losses, recall their youth. "They go back to green pastures. They've left their moment of suffering," he said.
What he doesn't do, Chaplain Tom stressed, is preach to patients. He is however happy to accompany patients who wish to journey spiritually.
"We call that 'sacred ground' when a patient allows a chaplain to journey with them," Chaplain Tom said. "When a patient wants to journey, wants to talk, I'm there for them."
He promises not to try to change a patient's faith.
"I don't go in there to try to change their faith -- I'm there to support their faith," he said.
"It's really not about religion," he said. Rather, it is about spirituality and helping the patient's physical and mental well-being.
In their training, clinical chaplains study different faiths and cultures so they can help patients from different backgrounds and honor those traditions.
Still, in faith there's more similarities than differences. "Spirituality has so much in common," he said. "It's rewarding to see what faiths have in common. Each has its doctrinal strength."
Chaplain Tom said it's important for patients to be able to express their guilt or anger without being told they "shouldn't feel that way." Acknowledging their feelings helps the healing process.
"Being honest with your feelings is very freeing," he said.
Regardless of who he is ministering to, one thing is constant: As a chaplain, he is there to provide support and a listening ear. He can't make a person's problems go away -- but he can accompany them on their journey to better health.
"I can't fix them," he said. "Only the Spirit can do that."
Permalink
