Identifying Ingrained Historical Cognitive Biases Influencing Contemporary Pastoral Responses Depriving Suicide-Bereaved People of Essential Protective Factors
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2017, Vol 8, Issue 12
Abstract
Background: Historically and collectively, the Church has not responded to suicide-bereaved people with compassion, denying pastoral care in the form of spiritual, emotional, and practical support, considered key protective factors along with community support in facilitating funeral rite for their loved one in their deepest, darkest, hour of need, thereby placing them at risk to disenfranchised grief. (2) Aims: The study explores the presence of historical ingrained cognitive biases in contemporary pastoral responses from caregivers within Evangelical and Pentecostal streams. (3) Methods: Caregivers were provided with training offering greater understanding of the multifarious issues involved in the life of a person who has died by suicide and challenges faced by the bereaved. Responses to pre-workshop self-contemplating surveys based on workshop objectives were then compared to post-workshop survey responses of participant’s subjective evaluation of knowledge and skills gained through information presented. (4) Results: Post-workshop survey data revealed healthy shifts in historically ingrained cognitive biases; (5) Conclusions: These shifts provide the foundation for future pastoral encounters to offer spiritual, emotional, and practical support, considered key protective factors for those bereaved by suicide.
Authors and Affiliations
Astrid Staley
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25858
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8120267
- Views 320
- Downloads 9
Moving Forward in Their Journey: Participants’ Experience of Taste & See, A Church-Based Programme to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Food
Quantitative evidence is beginning to document the successful outcomes achieved from holistic interventions that include a spiritual element as an approach to self-manage obesity in the community. However, qualitative...
Religionization of Public Space: Symbolic Struggles and Beyond—The Case of Ex-Yugoslav Societies
The relationship between religious communities and states in the former Yugoslavia is burdened with socialist heritage, but also with conflicts that ensued after the downfall of the socialist regimes. Although the majo...
Religious Affiliations of the Chinese Community in Australia: Findings from 2016 Census Data
Through a systematic investigation—the first attempt of this kind—into the recently released 2016 Australian census data, this article presents a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the religious identity of the C...
How to Constitute a Field of Merit: Structure and Flexibility in a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery’s Curriculum
The written curriculum of Tibet’s prestigious Mindrölling monastery, composed in 1689, marries a firm pedagogical structure with flexibility for individual students. This reflects the monastery’s balance of institution...
Spirituality and Dignity of Thai Adolescents Living with HIV
Background: Adolescents are a key asset and resource for the social and economic development of any country, with the potential to make a significant contribution to their families, communities and countries. Healthy a...