Robert Klitzman, Gabrielle Di Sapia Natarelli, Stephanie Sinnappan, Elizaveta Garbuzova, Jay Al-Hashimi
Recent research has described broad types of healthcare chaplains' activities, but many questions remain about how these professionals perform these tasks, whether variations occur, and if so, in what ways. Twenty-three chaplains were interviewed in-depth. Chaplains described engaging in highly dynamic processes, involving both verbal and non-verbal interactions. They face challenges and vary in ways of starting interactions, using verbal and non-verbal cues, and communicating through physical appearance. In these processes, when entering patients' rooms, they seek to "read the room," follow patients' leads, look for cues, match the energy/mood in the room, and adjust their body language appropriately, while maintaining open-ended stances...
May 13, 2023: Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy