Depression and the Spirit: Half-day educational opportunity

Do you often come across depressed persons in your work as a chaplain? Would you like a place to think and learn about the relationship between depression and spirituality? Are you a bit stumped as to what there is to do to care for a depressed person?

Bishop Anderson House, host of a successful lay chaplain training program each spring (see earlier blog), annually holds a continuing education venue in the fall for its graduates and other interested persons. They have found in the course of their experience in training lay chaplains that a certain degree of psychological knowledge and training is essential to a chaplain's work. What follows here is the text of their brochure about their autumn event this year that goes some of the distance in providing that training. There's still time to get in on the second offering of this interesting, highly relevant topic. If you are in the Chicago area or will be passing through next weekend, check it out:

Depression and the Spirit…
The Lay Parish Chaplains’Training Program
Continuing Education Fall Seminars

Understanding depression is important for providing pastoral care for persons
who suffer from depression’s symptoms. Even more important is developing an
appreciation for their needs and how to respond. Often patients explain that they
know they need their doctor’s help, but more important to them is to have some-
one who can listen to their religious concerns. How does pastoral care provide
hope for patients with depression? What special skills are required?

Often patients’ religious concerns are directly related to and probably caused by
the symptoms of their illness. This session will look at some of those symptoms spe-
cifically, with suggestions for responding. It will also address the spiritual preparation necessary for this kind of pastoral care.

The seminar will weave together research and ten years of Sr. Pat Murphy’s clinical
experience. It will include a discussion of descriptions of spiritual darkness found in the scriptures and in the Christian mystical tradition. The goals of the session are to increase a sense of your own comfort in this work as well as to learn how to trust in the patient’s resources and the presence of God in providing pastoral care to this population.

Patricia E. Murphy, RSCJ, Ph.D., BCC is a Chaplain and Assistant Professor with dual
appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Religion, Health and Human
Values at Rush University Medical Center. Pat is a respected researcher in the field of spirituality and medicine and is a master teacher who has earned respect for her integration of psychiatry and pastoral counseling in her clinical work as a chaplain. Her research and clinical experience give her unique tools to share with us in the pastoral care of people with depression- whether in our work in congregations, in hospitals and nursing homes, or with those we love in our families, friendships and professional associations.

Join Chaplains, Clergy, Eucharistic Ministers and others in a morning of increasing our knowledge about depression and spirituality while adding to our skills as a pastoral visitor.

Each Seminar starts at 8:30 am, ends at 11:00 am, and is offered at two locations:

Saturday, October 13, 2007
at Bishop Anderson House
Located at: 707 South Wood Street
Rush University Medical Center Chicago, IL 60612-3833

Saturday, October 27, 2007
at St. Michael's Episcopal Church Library
647 Dundee Ave.
Barrington, IL 60010

For more information or to register, call

Bishop Anderson House
Rush University Medical Center
1735 West Harrison Street
Chicago, IL. 60612-3833
Phone: 312-563-4825


Let me know, if you go, if you find it helpful. And thanks in advance for patronizing our pastoral training venues.

Faithfully submitted,
Maggie Izutsu