Professorship of Spiritual Care and Psychosomatic Health
Spirituality (from the Latin “spiritus” meaning soul, breath, wind) is used in health sciences as a broad-based, interdenominational and interfaith concept.
The term spirituality can be understood as personal religiousness within a faith community but also as a world view or philosophy free from institutional connections. Spiritual care is a form of care collectively provided by doctors, nursing staff, psychotherapists and other healthcare professionals for the spirituality of ill individuals, but also for their own spirituality.
Prof. Eckhard Frick SJ
Eckhard Frick has researched and taught on the subject of spiritual care for many years. He is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and Jesuit. Since 2021, he holds the professorship of Spiritual Care and Psychosomatic Health.
Contact: eckhard.frick@tum.de
Research projects
Call for Papers: Spiritual Care for Critical Care Patients & Staff
We are preparing a special issue of Medizinische Klinik – Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin, an internationally respected interdisciplinary and bilingual journal: Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital are confronted with a life-threatening disease or a critical condition, with challenging bodily symptoms such as pain or grave infirmity. Moreover, they must tackle the (temporary) loss of autonomy and self-determination or even a reduced state of consciousness. On the other hand, not only patients in ICUs are confronted with spiritual questions and needs. The staff assigned to ICUs, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and others, face grave diseases and critical conditions each day, as well as the sometimes underlying factors behind the disease. Part of professional understanding is to perceive the person of the patient as a whole, and to provide treatment on a holistic level, including the spiritual needs of the patient. Qualitative and quantitative papers are welcome! Please contact us: spiritualcare.psychosomatik@mh.tum.de
Publications in English
Große, G., Frick, E. & Schütte-Nütgen, K. (2022) Does spirituality mitigate critical carers’ moral distress and strengthen their resilience? A scoping review protocol (registration DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/UYV9G). Spir Care 11(2): 192-198.
Hinzmann, D., Schütte-Nütgen, K., Büssing, A., Boenisch, O., Busch, H.-J., Dodt, C., Friederich, P., Kochanek, M., Michels, G. & Frick, E. (2023) Critical care providers' moral distress: Frequency, burden, and potential resources. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20(1): 333. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/333
Huperz, C., Sturm, N., Frick, E., Mächler, R., Stolz, R., Schalhorn, F., Valentini, J., Joos, S. & Straßner, C. (2022) Experiences of German health care professionals with spiritual history taking in primary care: a mixed-methods process evaluation of the HoPES3 intervention. Family Practice.
Kubitza, J., Große, G., Schütte-Nütgen, K. & Frick, E. (2023) Influence of spirituality on moral distress and resilience among critical care staff in the era of the Covid 19 pandemic: A scoping review Intensive & Critical Care Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2022.103377
Kunsmann-Leutiger, E., Loetz, C., Frick, E., Petersen, Y. & Müller, J. J. (2018) Attachment style and spiritual coping in palliative patients. J Hospice Pall Nurs 20(4): 385-391.
Kunsmann-Leutiger, E., Straßner, C., Schalhorn, F., Stolz, R., Stotz-Ingenlath, G., Buhlinger-Göpfarth, N., Bentner, M., Joos, S., Valentini, J. & Frick, E. (2021) Training general practitioners and medical assistants within the framework of HoPES3, a holistic care program for elderly patients to integrate spiritual needs, social activity, and self-care into disease management in primary care. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare 14: 1853.
Mächler, R., Frick, E., Sturm, N., Stolz, R., Valentini, J. & Straßner, C. (2023) Evaluation of an intervention in general practices to strengthen social activities in older patients–A qualitative study of patients’ experiences in the project HoPES3. Patient Educ Couns 107: 107571.
Maidl, L., Seemann, A.-K., Frick, E., Gündel, H. & Paal, P. (2022) Leveraging spirituality and religion in European for profit organizations: a systematic review. Humanistic Management Journal 7: 23–53.
Sohail, M. M., Frick, E. & Büssing, A. (2022) Spiritual care competences among health care professionals in Pakistan: Findings from a cross-sectional survey. Religions 13(4): 370.
Sturm, N., Stolz, R., Schalhorn, F., Valentini, J., Krisam, J., Frick, E., Mächler, R., Szecsenyi, J. & Straßner, C. (2021) Self-efficacy, social activity, and spirituality in the care of elderly patients with polypharmacy in Germany—A multicentric cross-sectional study within the HoPES3 trial. Healthcare 9(10): 1312.
Videos
- How do health professionals' religious / spiritual convictions influence therapeutic decisions?
- Spiritual Care: Dialogue with medical students
- Spiritual Care: Dialogue with medical students - What is the best spiritual care model?
- Spiritual Care: Dialogue with medical students - When is a suitable moment for taking a spiritual history?
- Spiritual Care: Dialogue with medical students - Welcoming traditional health & disease beliefs?
- Training general practitioniers and medical assistands to integrate spiritual needs
- Critical care providers' moral distress
https://www.mutaspir.net/Partners
Josef and Luise Kraft Foundation
The Josef and Luise Kraft Foundation is a sponsor of the Chair. The topic of “healthy aging” creates strong scientific connections between the Chair and the Foundation. The Foundation’s purpose is to “support destitute elderly people worthy of assistance” and generally promote aid and care for the elderly.
My Home Life
The My Home Life program was launched in 2006 by the National Care Forum. This program, which has integrated scientific input from the outset, operates successfully in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Australia – and was also launched in Germany several years ago.
MUTASPIR
How can nursing and healthcare institutions integrate spiritual care as a resource? The MUTASPIR network, a project at Munich School of Philosophy, develops tailored organizational and staff development strategies to support the implementation of spiritual care in healthcare settings.