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Talking About Spirituality in Health Care Practice: A Resource for the Multi-disciplinary Health Care Team
Gillian White, Jessica Kingsley
ISBN 139781843103059, £18.99

STAR RATING: 4/5

This is a worthy addition to Jessica Kingsley’s range of books that make an important contribution to the burgeoning
debate about spirituality, writes Bernard Moss.

Two themes are interwoven throughout: an exploration of what is meant by holistic care, and the implications for a multi-disciplinary approach in health care.

To ask questions about spirituality is to delve into the heart of what it means to be human. What marks this book out from
many others is the way it charts, and comments upon, the journey taken by a multi-professional health care team which took the risk of exploring this rich theme in a structured, disciplined way.

Its members realised well that this journey was likely to change their opinions about each other, and about those whom they seek to help and support.

In the end they discovered that spirituality was not just a missing ingredient in what they had previously thought was holistic care; it was also the key to a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other and their professional and personal roles.


Spirituality is not an easy concept to define or to explore, but this book makes a strong case for taking the risk. White offers suggestions for other professionals who wish to make a similar journey. It promises to be equally rewarding.

Bernard Moss is professor of social work education and spirituality at Staffordshire University and is author of Religion and Spirituality