Providing pastoral care service in aged mental health settings: A literature review

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) specifies that attention to the spiritual needs of the elderly with mental health problems is essential to good patient care, yet little evidence-based practice is documented in this field. This paper reviews the literature on the provision of pastoral care services (PCS) to elderly people with mental impairment. Integration of Pastoral Care Practitioners (PCPs) into the multidisciplinary team is rare. Research into mental health clinicians' attitudes to addressing patients' spiritual needs, and the integration of PCPs into multidisciplinary teams in aged mental health are reported and discussed. The contextual needs of PCPs in aged mental health, and opti..