Episode 45: A Conversation with The Rev. Dr. Andrew Goodhead on Memorialization and Free Writing.
In this first episode of the second season of the Hospice Chaplaincy Show, Saul and Joe talk with The Rev Dr Andrew Goodhead, Chaplain St. Christopher’s Hospice in London, England. Andrew Goodhead joined St Christopher’s as Chaplain in January 2005, completing his doctoral research in 2007.
Dr. Goodhead is a Methodist Minister with 14 years Church based experience gained in several localities throughout the UK, both urban and rural. In his role at St Christopher’s Andrew is concerned to ensure that all End-of-Life Care professionals have the skills and confidence to offer spiritual assessment and ongoing support to all patients and their families.
He has a particular interest in the concept of spiritual pain as a way of understanding spiritual need. For patients with faith needs Andrew is developing the pastoral and religious role of the Spiritual Care Lead. Andrew graduated in 2014 with the King’s College, London, MSc in Palliative Care. His dissertation explored the experiences and attitudes of community clergy in caring for dying people.
Andrew has published his thesis with Wipf & Stock (USA) under the title A Crown and a Cross; the Origins, Development and Decline of the Methodist Class Meeting in Eighteenth Century England.
In November 2010, Mortality published the results of Andrew’s research into memorialization: A textual analysis of memorials written by bereaved individuals and families in a hospice context. In July 2011, The European Journal of Palliative Care published Physiotherapy in Palliative care: the interface between function and meaning, this is a philosophical examination of how physical ability affects the way in which meaning can be made.
His most recent paper, (accepted by Palliative Medicine) based on his MSc dissertation study is ‘I think you just learnt as you went along’ – Community clergy’s experiences of and attitudes towards caring for dying people: a pilot study [in process of publication]. Andrew is a co facilitator for the Spirituality Education Group on the European Association of Palliative Care and a member of the Spirituality Taskforce of the EAPC.