The Wounded Healer The Pain And Joy Of Caregiving

Finding meaning in trauma work, as a traumatized healer yourself. The act of caregiving is physically exhausting and emotionally draining, yet caregivers describe it as rewarding and gratifying. Prolonged exposure to human suffering, however, is not without risks?caregivers report high rates of burnout and poor quality of life. Many care providers believe that their feelings do not matter; that they should ignore their pain, brush off their trauma, wipe away their tears, and just “suck it up.” Here, Omar Reda a Libyan-born American psychiatrist who, as an emergency physician and trauma counselor provided care for medical staff caring for victims of trauma, calls upon other healers to break free from cycles of secrecy, toxic stress, and silent suffering so they can continue to empower and inspire those in their care. Filled with poignant first-person stories and clinical case studies, this book is an impassioned plea for psychosocial trauma care that prioritizes the health of both client and healer.

"This book offers recommendations of how to set norms that will help readers manage anxiety, hesitance, and over excitement about re-entering an interactive world post-pandemic"--

Drawing on the real-life stories of twenty exemplary caregivers, Dr. Charles Garfield explains the widely used Shanti caregivers model he originated--and shows how to set limits, avoid burnout, accept gratitude, and grapple with issues of life and death when caring for people with HIV/AIDS.--Amazon.com.

Hospital-based pastoral care is a privileged yet complex area of ministry. It involves spiritual journeying to the heights and depths of human experience, often in brief and transient pastoral encounters. Illness and fear lay bare life’s realities and there is often need for reconciliation as well as healing. Chaplains, visiting clergy and the growing number of lay volunteers need to be able to interpret pained silences or body language – and often in a matter of minutes. This warm-hearted and practical handbook explores the pastoral sensitivities surrounding patient encounters and the challenges of current socio-political pressures. Through stories and examples it explores key biblical themes of love, loss, hope, grace and forgiveness, and worldly themes of dignity, discrimination, identity and choice. It explores the essential skills needed for this kind of ministry: the importance of ritual, difficult pastoral tasks, deflecting anger, caring for the carers, working in multi-faith contexts and more. It also provides a useful section of prayers, readings and other resources for a wide range of pastoral needs.