Spiritual Health and Multi-Faith Services

Related topics: Hospital care

Find this service near you

Giving you comfort and support, spiritual care practitioners can help address the profound thoughts and feelings that can poignantly arise at times of significant illness or trauma.

What to expect

Spirituality as a dimension of care

Spirituality encompasses how we feel, think, and perceive our lives as human beings. Spiritual health practitioners consider the whole human experience when someone is experiencing a crisis of illness and related suffering.

For many people, feeling connected to one’s spiritual source at such a time of upheaval and finding meaning and purpose gives them comfort. Each person’s need may take different forms, such as a patient’s anxiety over an upcoming major surgery or someone coming to terms with the news of a life-altering condition. For patients and families in the most challenging circumstances, the crisis may involve anticipatory grief at the prospect of a life-ending illness and facing death itself.

Spiritual health is available to acute care patients, care home residents, families and staff, irrespective of religious or spiritual affiliation. Professional spiritual health practitioners hold a master’s degree with extensive academic and clinical education, equipping them to work in multi-faith environments. The provincial government recognizes the profession, which has provided an official framework to guide its practice in health authority governed facilities.

Resources

Access this service

Spiritual health practitioners visit most hospital units regularly and are available by referral to all units. Hospital staff may refer by telephone. Once the referral is made, the practitioner will follow up directly with the patient for their spiritual needs. 

Spiritual health practitioners are available by referral to any Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) location.

Types of spiritual health services

Spiritual health practitioners visit most hospital units regularly and are available by referral to all units. Hospital staff may refer by telephone. 

Learn more about the types of spiritual health services

Professional education opportunities

Leadership team

Doug Longstaffe

Regional Director
Vancouver General Hospital
Office: (604) 875-4643
doug.longstaffe@vch.ca

Philip Murray

Profession Leader
Spiritual Care & Multi-Faith Services Program
Office: (604) 875-4111 ext. 69139
philip.murray@vch.ca
 

Arun Chatterjee

Spiritual Health Education Leader and Certified CPE Supervisor
Vancouver General Hospital
Office: (604) 875-5050
arun.chatterjee@vch.ca
 

Beth Burton

Spiritual Health Education Leader
Vancouver General Hospital
beth.burton@vch.ca

Administration Office

Spiritual Care & Multi-Faith Services Program
Vancouver General Hospital - Doctor's Residence
206 - 2775 Heather Street
Vancouver, BC  V5Z 1M9
Office: (604) 875-4151
spiritualcare@vch.ca

Find this service near you

OR
  • Long term care homes

    Spiritual Health at Dogwood Care Home

    7405 Paulson St Vancouver
  • Long term care homes

    Spiritual Health at Evergreen House

    231 East 15th Street North Vancouver
  • Spiritual Health at G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre

    4255 Laurel Street Vancouver
  • Long term care homes

    Spiritual Health at George Pearson Centre

    700 West 57th Avenue Vancouver
  • Spiritual Health at Lions Gate Hospital

    231 East 15th Street North Vancouver
  • Hospices

    Spiritual Health at North Shore Hospice

    319 East 14th Street North Vancouver
  • Spiritual Health at Richmond Hospital

    7000 Westminster Highway Richmond
  • Spiritual Health at UBC Hospital

    2211 Wesbrook Mall Vancouver
  • Spiritual Health at Vancouver General Hospital

    899 West 12th Avenue Vancouver