Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in Mental Health Settings

Introduction - Jean Fletcher. Foreword - John Swinton. PART I. Trends and Themes of the wider scene. 1. What is a Mental Health Chaplain for? Simon Harrison. 2. The clinician's view of spirituality in mental health care. Chris Cook and Lucy Grimwade. 3. Seeking an authentic Christian voice on mental health. Ben Ryan. 4. Bridging the gap: the interface between NHS care and faith communities. Neil Bunker. 5. Has professionalism gone too far? The place of volunteers in mental health chaplaincy. Richard Allen. 6. Entering by another door... Cameron Langlands. 7. Religion and Spirituality in chaplaincy in mental health care. Ruth Bierbaum. PART II. Good practice in Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care. 8. Responsive, inclusive, diverse. Emma Louis and Feroza Isakjee. 9. Exploring spirituality in recovery: models of partnership. Charlotte Collins, Rianna Jeffrey and Sarah Boyle. 10. Spiritual Care in the presence of dementia. Peter Kevern and Dawn Brooker. 11. A companioning presence in the city, chaplaincy in Seattle USA. Kae Eaton. 12. A Muslim perspective on living well with good mental health. Monawar Hussain. 13. Through a glass darkly - the world of forensic mental health care. Sally Horner. PART III. Case studies. 14. Creating liturgies of sanctuary in a mental health inpatient setting. Rachel Allen. 15. Psychosis and spirituality. Jeremy Law. 16. Deep Talk - finding the story in our life. Judith Gilbert. 17. Resilience in mental health in living with a learning disability: Cathol Sutherland of L'Arche, Inverness. Jim Cargin. 18. 'The visiting moon', a memorable pastoral encounter in a mental health setting. Jean Fletcher. Afterword - Margaret Whipp. Contributor biographies.

This impressive and international set of chapters, mostly practice-oriented with pertinent academic background (Cook, Ryan and Bierbaum), ranges through the changing and contested landscape of mental well-being and spiritual care. Underlain by the impact of the NHS Chaplaincy Guidelines 2015 and the UK Equality Act 2010, the work embraces both professional identity, volunteer and service user deployment (Harrison, Allen and Eaton), and Recovery College and 'Exploring Your Spiritual Side' models, including vital coverage of learning disability, dementia and the community (Louis and Isakjee, Collins et al; Kevern and Brooker; Bunker). Fletcher brings together a compelling compendium which offers, in her words, a sustaining 'cycle of pastoral support'. The chapters evidence admirable scope and local colour to create a bright meaning-rich rainbow of experience and learning. The book breaks new ground in showcasing what is best in the diverse practice of NHS mental health chaplaincy today.