BEYOND THE TEXTBOOKS
NUTURING THE SPIRIT Spirituality also is part of truly comprehensive holistic health care. “Our emotional health is tied to our physical health, which is tied to our spiritual health, which is tied to our relational health,” says the counseling program’s King. “When our relationships are impaired, it can affect our mood and our thinking. When we are physically ill, it can affect our emotional self. When we are depressed, it has an effect on our physical body.” This is why self-care is covered in the graduate counseling program curriculum. “We talk to our graduate students about self-care — taking care of themselves emotionally, physically and spiritually so they can do their jobs well,” says King. But not all counseling programs emphasize the spiritual aspect for patients or for professional selfcare. King says Mount Mary’s counseling program is unique because when the whole person is discussed, it includes the spiritual component. “Counseling is a very secular profession. But we at Mount Mary acknowledge that 77 percent of Americans believe in a higher power, and so for many of our clients we need to consider their spiritual self, too,” she says. In other health care professions, like dietetics, a person’s religious and cultural background plays an important role in treatment approaches. For example, Stark says a dietitian needs to consider and respect religious and cultural practices related to dietary needs (like requirements for Kosher eating or avoiding certain meats) when they treat patients. The move to holistic health care has been embraced by practitioners and patients alike. As Mount Mary educates more students for work in health-related fields, addressing the mind-body-spirit connection and providing experiences that reinforce it is key to their successful professional preparation.
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