Seeing Anew: Using Art in Virtual Sessions to Facilitate Reflection and Foster Community among Healthcare Workers
Rev. James Adams, MA, MDiv, BCC, Sr. Chaplain, Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center
Burnout and moral distress remain defining challenges in healthcare. Clinicians, administrators, and support staff experience competing demands that can narrow their focus to efficiency and compliance, often at the expense of reflection and meaning. Bureaucratic pressures not only exhaust individuals but also weaken the shared moral imagination that underpins compassionate care. This workshop explores how collective creative reflection can help restore medicine’s moral imagination, the shared capacity to see meaning, compassion, and purpose in healthcare work
This workshop introduces a structured, low-cost approach to strengthening moral imagination across diverse professional roles through Visio Divina (Latin for “divine seeing”). This model uses brief virtual gatherings where participants reflect on selected images through guided questions. Each 15-minute session invites participants to pause, practice mindful breathing, observe, and explore how an image speaks to their emotional experiences and sense of meaning as a healthcare worker. Through this practice, employees across clinical and non-clinical departments engage in a shared reflective experience oriented towards exploring stressors and a sense of meaning in their work. The approach draws on established evidence that art-based and contemplative practices support spiritual wellbeing. Visual art serves as a neutral and evocative medium that allows participants to explore complex emotions or ethical tensions indirectly, without the need for personal disclosure. These sessions foster collective reflection that transcends professional silos and emphasizes the moral and spiritual dimensions of healthcare.
The model’s virtual format makes it particularly suited for large health systems where face-to-face reflection is limited by geography or scheduling. It can be facilitated by chaplains, counselors, or wellness leaders, and requires minimal resources beyond digital access and selected artwork. The framework can also be adapted to departmental meetings, debriefings, or leadership development sessions focused on meaning and purpose. During the workshop, participants will learn about the conceptual foundation, implementation process, and logistical consideration. They will participate in a live Visio Divina exercise, reflecting on a selected artwork and discussing practical strategies for integrating this or similar methods into their institutional contexts.
By the end of the session, participants will understand how collective creative reflection can help reawaken moral imagination, build community, and counteract the fragmentation that characterizes much of contemporary healthcare. In doing so, the model offers a replicable way for institutions to sustain the inner life of medicine alongside its operational demands.
This workshop introduces a structured, low-cost approach to strengthening moral imagination across diverse professional roles through Visio Divina (Latin for “divine seeing”). This model uses brief virtual gatherings where participants reflect on selected images through guided questions. Each 15-minute session invites participants to pause, practice mindful breathing, observe, and explore how an image speaks to their emotional experiences and sense of meaning as a healthcare worker. Through this practice, employees across clinical and non-clinical departments engage in a shared reflective experience oriented towards exploring stressors and a sense of meaning in their work. The approach draws on established evidence that art-based and contemplative practices support spiritual wellbeing. Visual art serves as a neutral and evocative medium that allows participants to explore complex emotions or ethical tensions indirectly, without the need for personal disclosure. These sessions foster collective reflection that transcends professional silos and emphasizes the moral and spiritual dimensions of healthcare.
The model’s virtual format makes it particularly suited for large health systems where face-to-face reflection is limited by geography or scheduling. It can be facilitated by chaplains, counselors, or wellness leaders, and requires minimal resources beyond digital access and selected artwork. The framework can also be adapted to departmental meetings, debriefings, or leadership development sessions focused on meaning and purpose. During the workshop, participants will learn about the conceptual foundation, implementation process, and logistical consideration. They will participate in a live Visio Divina exercise, reflecting on a selected artwork and discussing practical strategies for integrating this or similar methods into their institutional contexts.
By the end of the session, participants will understand how collective creative reflection can help reawaken moral imagination, build community, and counteract the fragmentation that characterizes much of contemporary healthcare. In doing so, the model offers a replicable way for institutions to sustain the inner life of medicine alongside its operational demands.