Center creates atmosphere for spiritual growth
Center creates atmosphere for spiritual growth
Complement religious programs and outlets
Patients who visit the Place of Wellness at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston discover a site for respite and rejuvenation. The center is designed to be peaceful and inviting. There is a giant aquarium, plants, and pictures that create a relaxed atmosphere.
The Place of Wellness provides an escape from sterile clinic stations, long hallways, and cold waiting rooms. "It is a place where patients and family members can come and refresh themselves, gather the energy and stamina they need to keep going," says Judy Gerner, LPT, director of the Anderson Network, including the Place of Wellness, which opened in September 1998.
In addition to being a place to retreat, the center offers several complementary therapies such as yoga, t’ai chi, guided imagery, biofeedback, meditation, art therapy, and support groups. The therapies that are offered complement traditional medical care. The Place of Wellness does not serve as an alternative care center, however.
It is meant to treat people holistically, focusing on the healing processes of the mind, body, and spirit, explains Gerner. "For many people, it is the first time they have experienced complementary therapy as a way of healing," she says.
When designing the center, the program committee tried to determine which programs to offer that would be body-oriented, which would be mind-oriented, and which would be spiritual in orientation. This was an impossible task, however, because patients and family members often report that a complementary therapy provides some connection to all three of the areas.
For example, yoga is a type of exercise, but it also can have a mental and spiritual orientation. "There wasn’t a concrete way to separate spirituality, but we do have sessions or presentations on spiritual issues," says Laura Baynham, MA, program coordinator for the Place of Wellness.
People come to the Place of Wellness for information and to be educated about what is going on during their treatment and how to cope with the difficult situation, says Baynham. Others come to get in touch with their feelings and emotions and express themselves. They can discuss their feelings in a support group or express them in art therapy. Still others are simply looking for a safe haven.
Patients’ first priority when they come to MD Anderson is to go to their physician and find out if there is a treatment for their cancer. They want some hope for either a cure or remission. However, after the physician appointments, they realize there are other issues related to the whole recovery process. These include the psychosocial and psychological aspects, explains Gerner. "It is the other part of healing and it is pulling it all together in some homeostasis or some harmony, where they are relating one to the other so there is a sense of wholeness," she says.
The Place of Wellness helps patients who may lack quantity of life have quality of life. It helps patients take steps to continue living in a healthy way even though they may be facing death. It also helps them to answer questions that are spiritually based, such as "Where is God in all this?"
The center complements a very strong chaplaincy department that is able to address just about every faith at this international cancer center. Chaplains have a list of patients they see during the day, depending on the religion of each patient. At this time, many chaplains conduct a spiritual assessment to determine what resources might be beneficial for the patient and/or the family.
"We have chaplains that work with us, and they are thrilled at having a place and opportunity to expand their ministry and create new programs and new efforts that more fully address the religious and spiritual questions that people are dealing with," says Gerner.
The Place of Wellness provides an opportunity to approach spirituality differently from the way the chaplaincy program does. It helps people come to a point in their own spiritual life where they can address some of the larger questions such as how they perceive God or a higher power. Meditation, guided imagery, and many of the expressive therapies help in the quest.
MD Anderson has a lot of international patients with different types of religions and religious attitudes. The medical center strives to meet the needs of this varied group through specially designed prayer rooms, a chapel that encompasses several denominations, and different types of services. "At the Place of Wellness, we are more focused on the universal aspect of spirituality and how that plays out in a person’s life and their recovery process," says Gerner.
Sources
For more information on the connection between spirituality and physical well-being, contact:
• George Fitchett, DMin, Associate Professor and Director of Research, Department of Religion, Health, and Human Values, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, 1653 West Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60612. Telephone: (312) 942-5571. Fax: (312) 942-2987.
• Gregory A. Plotnikoff, MD, MTS, Medical Director, University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing, Academic Health center, 6-101 Weaver-Densford Hall, 308 Harvard St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Telephone: (612) 626-3817. Fax: (612) 624-3174. E-mail: [email protected].
• Arlin Roy, MSW, CSW, Reverend, North East Counseling Center, 70 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570. Telephone: (914) 769-2483.
For more information about Church Partnerships, contact:
• Linda L. Pape, MSN, RN, Parish Nurse Coordinator, Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospitals of Ohio Health, Whetstone Center, Suite 3726A, Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH 43214. Telephone: (614) 566-4023 or (614) 566-5980. Fax: (614) 566-6768. E-mail: [email protected].
For more information about the Place of Wellness, contact:
• Laura Baynham, MA, Program Coordinator, Place of Wellness, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Box 16, Houston, TX 77030. Telephone: (713) 794-4700. Fax: (713) 794-4728. E-mail: [email protected].
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