A model for nursing & caregiver retreats worldwide...
Twenty-five years ago, before the Didsbury Trust (founded 1989) became the Sacred Space Foundation (same essence, different name) it organised a conference. The theme was a first for the UK: spirituality and health. Three hundred people gathered from across the world at the mighty Durham Castle and ancient sacred site of the Cathedral. In an evening discussion a tearful participant, a therapist in our National Health Service (NHS), cried, “How can I go back when my heart and soul are not welcome there?”
“Across the developed world, we have technically brilliant but spiritually impoverished health care systems.”
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Across the developed world, we have technically brilliant but spiritually impoverished health care systems. Aside from the impact on patients, staff can feel the workplace is soulless and heartless. Production-line concepts of care with their hard-edged measurements are rewarded, at the expense of the soft edges of healing and relating. Patients are short-changed, indeed suffer, when the latter fall off the map of health care — so too do the care staff.
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In the early 1980’s, an American nurse, Jeannie Sayre-Adams, arrived in the UK on a mission. She wasn’t sure what the mission was, but she’d been trained in the healing arts, specifically Therapeutic Touch (TT) under Dolores Krieger. By chance, if chance it be, she bumped into (literally, while shopping) Pat Pilkington. Pat was one of the founders of the cutting-edge Bristol Cancer Help Centre. At the time it was so far out on the margins of acceptable health care that it was under constant attack from conventional medicine. Thus it was a natural home to embrace TT. What the Bristol Centre offered then is now mainstream, and thereby hangs a long tale tangential to this story today. [i]
Jeannie was invited to teach TT in the UK, including at the Bristol Centre. Classes were set up around the country and hundreds of health care staff attended. In ’86, I collided with Jeannie in one of her sessions (collision would not be too strong a word). I’d brought some of my team along from the unit I was leading at the time — a Nursing Development Unit, as it was known, at Tameside near Manchester. The Unit was engaged in a programme of transforming the hitherto very institutional practice of nursing older people and undertook many groundbreaking initiatives in doing so. One of them was to normalise the complementary therapies as part of care; TT fell into that. I was on something of a professional high at the time — getting to be a widely published big-shot speaker and leader in my profession.
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“But my first experience of Therapeutic Touch (despite my cynicism and dubious reasons for joining the class — a few days off work with some boozy mates!) blew my socks off.... it can set off a process of deep inquiry and unleash a rapid acceleration into the heights and depths of the spiritual life.”
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My motives were not always healthy ones then (Oh ambition get thee behind me!). But my first experience of TT (despite my cynicism and dubious reasons for joining the class — a few days off work with some boozy mates!) blew my socks off. It initiated a transformation of my understanding of what it is to be human and a hand-brake turn in self-perception. I’ve documented that in detail elsewhere [ii], suffice to say here that in common with others who explore the given boundaries of nursing, such as with approaches like TT.
Redmire: Our second home
“...in the midst of the pandemic, we’ve walked this talk with practical feet — reserving a local diocesan centre and raising the funds to provide free holidays for nurses and other carers who have gone that extra mile— out to the edge and sometimes over it — in caring for us these last few years.”
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Jeannie and I were among the founders of the Didsbury Trust in ’89 — a UK charity set up to encourage further teaching of TT and the healing arts to carers and, by extension, support for the carers themselves. Rising reports of staff exhaustion and loss from the workforce were alarming government at the time and continue to do so.[iii] [iv] And it soon became clear that many of those attending our courses were in search of healing for themselves. Hence, as the years passed, we began to give more attention to offering residential space — safe sacred space — with counselling for staff support. [v] Inevitably the great majority of these have been nurses as they are the biggest part of the workforce in our NHS. Nowadays people from all walks of life find a way to our doors.
For almost 40 years we have organised retreats, workshops and conferences across the country and internationally. These have all been part of our essential work of caring for the carers. Right now, in the midst of the pandemic, we’ve walked this talk with practical feet — reserving a local diocesan centre and raising the funds to provide free holidays for nurses and other carers who have gone that extra mile — out to the edge and sometimes over it — in caring for us these last few years. Here’s what a few of them have had to say about the experience: |
"The past 18 months have left me demoralised — knowing I have been unable to deliver the care I normally aspire to — combined with a loss of joy in my work... I spent nearly the entire 3 nights/four days on my own. I cannot remember when I last did that, if ever. During the time, I connected with myself and forgave myself for what I perceive are personal failures, including being angry with colleagues. I came to accept I’m ok.”
"It was as if the gift was twice blessed, providing both nurture and a real sense of being appreciated for what I do and have done. If the community does this for someone they do not know, surely I can do the same for myself." "The days have definitely been a turning point in my recovery…. feeling more comfortable in my own skin, and ready to don the mantle of caring once more." “Well what can I say... absolutely enjoyed the break we both felt relaxed and energised, and I can honestly say after your mindfulness and Tia Chi session in the morning I felt calm and de- stressed for the rest of the day. I think the principle was achieved [and] we had beautiful surroundings, numerous activities and the food — well it was delicious — and having a break from TV and phones was an added bonus.” |
Time to be still and be taken care of are often rare for nurses and other carers.
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Most people who seek us out are ‘townies’. Thus we have deliberately sought out places of beauty in nature to do the work. After various locations down the years, we now have two idyllic locations in the English Lake District where resident retreatants can be nurtured by the well recognised benefits of being in nature, as well as 1-1 attention from myself and Jeannie in spiritual direction and the support of our team of Trustees (more details can be found on our website >>>).
Offering places of beauty, where people can step off the treadmill for a while and take stock, is an intentional part of our hospitality and healing ministry. Many carers do not have a good track record of taking care of themselves, so it can be life changing for them to come to place where somebody is there for them for a change. Hospitality alone can be transformative. To retreat and reflect and reenergise for a while is all that some carers and others desire before returning to the fray. But really, that’s not only what we are about, in fact it is not the main thing we are about. The latter embraces nothing less than a ministry of assisted transformation, a deep spiritual inquiry through a variety of optional spiritual practices, and accompaniment through spiritual direction — all seeking |
to challenge and change perceptions of self and cultivate answers to those classic spiritual questions — Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? How do I get there? Out of this invariably emerges a deeper sense of self, of Self, and our part in the scheme of things — and an enhancement of our path of service with greater equanimity.
“Some people arrived lost and exhausted; just needing a rest. But some are ripe for depth of exploration and overtly looking to be different in the world.”
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Some people arrived lost and exhausted; just needing a rest. But some are ripe for depth of exploration and overtly looking to be different in the world. Sometimes this has been provoked by a crisis — bereavement, divorce, impending death, loss of job, facing prison — that throws us into thus questions of meaning and purpose and the hunger for answers
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Which brings me to that specific crisis known as burnout. Right now in the UK, and for the past couple of years of this pandemic, the media commentariat have been full of reports of burnout among nurses and other carers. It is seen entirely a result of the pressure of work and the extremes of physical and psychological stress. [vi] [vii] [viii] This general view of burnout as a purely stress-based phenomenon is supported by others who have written about and/or experienced it for themselves. [ix] [x] [xi] [xii] [xiii] [xiv]
This perspective is culturally reinforced by the dominant humanist paradigm, wherein to be human is to end at our skin. [xv] [xvi] [xvii] In our work with TT long ago (to us) and the responses of the ‘students’ it was clear that the crisis nurses and others were getting into was rooted in far more than psychological or physical failings. Stress was present and often indeed the agent provocateur, but it was not the cause. Burnout is clearly a crisis of meaning and purposes when someone can no longer bear to live the inauthentic life; where heart and soul cannot be true to themselves in work and relationships. [xviii] Burnout as a deep spiritual crisis is a view shared by many other early thinkers on this theme. [xix] [xx] [xxi] [xxii] [xxiii] [xxiv] [xxv] And a wider perspective seems at last to be being embraced by many authorities, although the word spiritual still seems still to be a bridge too far. [xxvi] |
“Burnout is clearly a crisis of meaning and purposes when someone can no longer bear to live the inauthentic life; where heart and soul cannot be true to themselves in work and relationships.
Burnout as a deep spiritual crisis is a view shared by many other early thinkers on this theme. And a wider perspective seems at last to be being embraced by many authorities, although the word spiritual still seems still to be a bridge too far.” |
Burnout is one of many ways in which we humans can present when we just can’t take it any more. Not everyone hits that crisis and many who work with us have engaged in slow and deliberate spiritual awakening (we’re strictly non-denominational in this aspect of our work). Others just have the break they need to restore their hearts and souls in their work so that they can return less stressed; more able to be conduits for compassion rather than having to work at it. Either goal is worthy, but arguably at some point, everybody needs to wake up.
The Foundation is one such place, generated by nurses, now held by many, that offers such safe sacred space for that exploration. |
Learn more from and about Stephen on our Stories link >>>
References
[i] Pilkington P 2015 The golden thread: a quiet revolution in holistic cancer care. Kingsley. London
[ii] Wright S 2019 Coming Home. SSP. Penrith
[iii] Health Education Authority 1991 More than brown bread and aerobics. HEA. London
[iv] NHS Employers 2019 Stress and its impact on the workplace. NHS Employers. London
[v] Wright S & Sayre-Adams J 2012 Sacred space: right relationship and spirituality in healthcare. SSP. Penrith
[vi] Campbell D 2022 More than half of the NHS paramedics suffering from burnout. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/06/more-than-half-of-nhs-paramedics-suffering-from-burnout-study-finds (accessed February 14th 2022)
[vii] Quinn B 2020 Survey of female NHS staff raises concerns over burnout in pandemic. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/25/survey-of-female-nhs-staff-raises-concerns-over-burnout-in-covid-pandemic (Accessed February 14th 2022)
[viii] Weaver M 2021 NHS staff face burnout as Covid hospital admissions rise.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/01/nhs-staff-face-burnout-covid-hospital-admissions-rise?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other (Accessed February 14th 2022)
[ix] Todaro-Franchesci V 2013 Compassion fatigue and burnout in nursing. Springer. New York
[x] Maslach C 1982 Burnout: the cost of caring. Prentice-Hall. New York
[xi] International Classification of Diseases 2019. World Health Organisation. New York
[xii] Weaver M 2021 NHS staff face burnout as covid hospital admissions rise.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/01/nhs-staff-face-burnout-covid-hospital-admissions-rise?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other (Accessed February 14th 2021)
[xiii] Spencer L 2015 Rise and shine: recover from burnout and get back to your best. Rethink. London
[xiv] Cannon J 2019 Breaking & mending. Profile. London
[xv] Hari J 2018 Lost connections. Bloomsbury. London
[xvi] Harari Y 2015 Homo deus. Secker. London
[xvii] Oliver T 2020 The self delusion. Weidenfeld & Nicholson. London
[xviii] Wright S 2021 Burnout: a spiritual crisis. SSP. Penrith
[xix] Watson J 2018 Unitary caring science. UPC. Colorado
[xx] Dossey B, Kegan L and Guzzetta C 2005 Holistic Nursing: a handbook for practice. Aspen. Gaithersburg
[xxi] Vaughan F 1996 Shadows of the Sacred. Quest. Wheaton
[xxii] Glouberman D 2002 The joy of burnout. Skyros. London
[xxiii] Grof S & Grof C 1989 Spiritual emergency: when personal transformation becomes a crisis. Tarcher. New York
[xxiv] Snow C and Willard P 1989 I’m dying to take care of you. Professional counsellor books. Redmond
[xxv] Borysenko J 2012 Fried: Why you burn out and how to revive. Hay House. New York
[xxvi] Ferras I (& over 3000 other signatories) 2020 Humans are not resources. Coronavirus shows why we must democratise work. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/15/humans-resources-coronavirusSdemocratise-work-health-lives-market (Accessed February 14th 2022)
[i] Pilkington P 2015 The golden thread: a quiet revolution in holistic cancer care. Kingsley. London
[ii] Wright S 2019 Coming Home. SSP. Penrith
[iii] Health Education Authority 1991 More than brown bread and aerobics. HEA. London
[iv] NHS Employers 2019 Stress and its impact on the workplace. NHS Employers. London
[v] Wright S & Sayre-Adams J 2012 Sacred space: right relationship and spirituality in healthcare. SSP. Penrith
[vi] Campbell D 2022 More than half of the NHS paramedics suffering from burnout. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/06/more-than-half-of-nhs-paramedics-suffering-from-burnout-study-finds (accessed February 14th 2022)
[vii] Quinn B 2020 Survey of female NHS staff raises concerns over burnout in pandemic. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/25/survey-of-female-nhs-staff-raises-concerns-over-burnout-in-covid-pandemic (Accessed February 14th 2022)
[viii] Weaver M 2021 NHS staff face burnout as Covid hospital admissions rise.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/01/nhs-staff-face-burnout-covid-hospital-admissions-rise?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other (Accessed February 14th 2022)
[ix] Todaro-Franchesci V 2013 Compassion fatigue and burnout in nursing. Springer. New York
[x] Maslach C 1982 Burnout: the cost of caring. Prentice-Hall. New York
[xi] International Classification of Diseases 2019. World Health Organisation. New York
[xii] Weaver M 2021 NHS staff face burnout as covid hospital admissions rise.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/01/nhs-staff-face-burnout-covid-hospital-admissions-rise?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other (Accessed February 14th 2021)
[xiii] Spencer L 2015 Rise and shine: recover from burnout and get back to your best. Rethink. London
[xiv] Cannon J 2019 Breaking & mending. Profile. London
[xv] Hari J 2018 Lost connections. Bloomsbury. London
[xvi] Harari Y 2015 Homo deus. Secker. London
[xvii] Oliver T 2020 The self delusion. Weidenfeld & Nicholson. London
[xviii] Wright S 2021 Burnout: a spiritual crisis. SSP. Penrith
[xix] Watson J 2018 Unitary caring science. UPC. Colorado
[xx] Dossey B, Kegan L and Guzzetta C 2005 Holistic Nursing: a handbook for practice. Aspen. Gaithersburg
[xxi] Vaughan F 1996 Shadows of the Sacred. Quest. Wheaton
[xxii] Glouberman D 2002 The joy of burnout. Skyros. London
[xxiii] Grof S & Grof C 1989 Spiritual emergency: when personal transformation becomes a crisis. Tarcher. New York
[xxiv] Snow C and Willard P 1989 I’m dying to take care of you. Professional counsellor books. Redmond
[xxv] Borysenko J 2012 Fried: Why you burn out and how to revive. Hay House. New York
[xxvi] Ferras I (& over 3000 other signatories) 2020 Humans are not resources. Coronavirus shows why we must democratise work. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/15/humans-resources-coronavirusSdemocratise-work-health-lives-market (Accessed February 14th 2022)