Spiritual Pain: In Search of a Medical Definition
Marta Illueca, The Episcopal Diocese of Delaware
The areas of Pastoral Care as well as Palliative and End-of-Life Care are in the midst of a knowledge revolution. Health care teams, as inter-professional patient centered units, are expanding while the biopsychosocial model of care is shrinking when applied to the many dimensions that make up a human being. This evolving paradigm values a closer look into the existential aspects of life and death. At the forefront of this new trend is the spiritual dimension of life and at its core is a concept that frequently takes center stage in the care of the suffering patient: spiritual pain.
This paper explores the medical literature around the experiential dimension of spiritual pain and investigates whether and how it differs from physical and psychological pain. In this review, it is important to ponder the question of whether spiritual pain is a component of other types of pain or rather a discrete entity with physical and psychological repercussions, that is, an entity in search of a medical definition. In exploring these questions, various ways are proposed in which individuals may experience spiritual pain and may be amenable to therapeutic strategies to address it in the setting of the inter-professional health care team. In addition, ideas are presented for future research centering on spiritual interventions within the continuum of chronic pain and suffering.
This paper explores the medical literature around the experiential dimension of spiritual pain and investigates whether and how it differs from physical and psychological pain. In this review, it is important to ponder the question of whether spiritual pain is a component of other types of pain or rather a discrete entity with physical and psychological repercussions, that is, an entity in search of a medical definition. In exploring these questions, various ways are proposed in which individuals may experience spiritual pain and may be amenable to therapeutic strategies to address it in the setting of the inter-professional health care team. In addition, ideas are presented for future research centering on spiritual interventions within the continuum of chronic pain and suffering.