Knowledge Centre for Home-based Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care 3: Learning Together and Developing Professionalism
- Principal investigator:
- Gaby C. Jacobs
- Period:
- January 2025 - December 2028
- Status:
- ongoing
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Meaning making and chaplaincy
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Care, welfare and flourishing
Through the continuation of the Knowledge Centre for Home-based Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care, we aim to provide high-quality spiritual care and support for finding meaning to people in their home environment. We are developing and strengthening this through collaboration between practice, education and research, with the active participation of clients, their loved ones and volunteers.
The project is a continuation of two previous large-scale collaborative initiatives and focuses on cross-sectoral collaboration between primary care, the social sector and the Centra voor Levensvragen (‘Centres for Life Questions’), with an emphasis on people who find it difficult to come to terms with their life questions independently and who receive little or no support.
What is the Knowledge Centre working on?
The Kenniswerkplaats Zingeving (Knowledge Centre for Home-based Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care) brings together people and organisations from the fields of practice, education and research around a shared objective: to ensure that everyone who needs support with life’s big questions receives proper care in their home environment.
Within the knowledge centre, we investigate what people need, develop knowledge and working methods, and work to enhance the expertise of professionals. In doing so, we look not only at spiritual care in the home, but also at collaboration with other professionals in the care and welfare sectors, and at the role of meaning-making within training programmes.
The centres activities are focused on three interrelated objectives.
A strong position for spiritual care at home
We are working to strengthen the position of spiritual care at home and to foster effective collaboration within the region. In doing so, we support the ‘Centra voor Levensvragen’ (Centres for Life Questions) in their regional role.
Together with the relevant stakeholders, we are working to establish a clear profile for the Centra voor Levensvragen and to strengthen collaboration between spiritual care, healthcare and social care. We are also gaining a clearer understanding of the benefits that spiritual care at home brings to clients and society. In this way, we are continuing to build a strong and recognisable position for spiritual care in the home setting.
Equipping professionals to provide care that gives meaning
Questions about life are not only addressed in conversations with spiritual counsellors. Other professionals in the health and social care sectors also encounter them. That is why we are working to ensure that they are better able to recognise, discuss and provide support in relation to these questions.
Within the knowledge centre, our activities include developing basic training courses and continuing professional development programmes in the field of finding meaning. Spiritual carers are given opportunities to further develop their professional skills, for example through training and peer supervision. In addition, we are exploring how finding meaning can be given a permanent and recognisable place within training programmes for professionals in the care and welfare sectors.
Appropriate support with life’s big questions
Not everyone has the same questions about life or needs the same kind of support. That is why we investigate what people in different situations need and which approaches are best suited to their needs.
We identify the life issues that are relevant to different groups, how people experience the support they receive, and which approach is most suitable for them. This is done, amongst other things, through learning communities and regional projects in which researchers, professionals and other stakeholders work together to develop knowledge.
By linking practical experience with research, we gain a better understanding of what works, for whom and under what circumstances. We then use that knowledge to further improve the support we provide for life’s big questions.
Bridging the gap between practice, education and research
These three objectives are not separate from one another. Knowledge gained from research is used to better equip professionals and improve working practices in the field. At the same time, the experiences of clients and professionals give rise to new questions for research and education.
In this way, the knowledge centre works towards the sustainable development of knowledge relating to the search for meaning and spiritual care, with the ultimate aim of ensuring that people who are grappling with life’s big questions at home can find appropriate and expert support.
Partners
This knowledge centre is a continuation of two previous large-scale collaborative projects: the ‘Knowledge Centre on Home-based chaplaincy and Spiritual Care’ (1) and ‘Care for Meaning’ (2), which ran from 2021 to 2024. This time, the core group consists of a collaboration between six organisations, supplemented by a broad network of professionals, researchers and organisations.
- VGVZ – professional association of spiritual counsellors
- VSCL – association of collaborating Centra voor Levensvragen (CvL) – comprising 15 regional CvLs
- UCGV – University Centre for Spiritual Care – comprising 6 universities
- HBO LOO Theology – National Theology Education Consultative Body – comprising 4 universities of applied sciences
- Viaa University of Applied Sciences – including representatives from the care and welfare sectors
- University of Humanistic Studies – coordinator of the Knowledge Centre
(Co-)financiing
ZonMw Zingeving en Geestelijke Verzorging programme
Also see
Kennisplein Zingeving
The knowledge and outcomes from the knowledge centre are shared and further developed via the Kennisplein Zingeving (Knowledge Hub Meaning Making). This is the digital development platform for professionals from the fields of practice, education and research in the area of meaning-making and spiritual care in the home setting. Here you will find, amongst other things, knowledge and resources, practical examples, current developments and events. Professionals can also ask questions, share experiences and collaborate with one another. In this way, the centre contributes to ensuring the long-term availability, sharing and further development of knowledge relating to meaning and spiritual care.