Grief That Goes Undercover: Secondary Loss and Moral Distress in Pastoral and Spiritual Care

Fuente: Zenodo
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Main Author: Njoka, Stanley
Format: Recurso digital
Published: Zenodo 2026
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author Njoka, Stanley
author_facet Njoka, Stanley
contents <p>This professional reflection explores secondary grief and moral distress as lived realities within pastoral and spiritual care. Drawing on reflective-practitioner insight from healthcare and parish contexts, it examines how carers absorb loss through sustained presence with sickness, dying, and bereavement, often without the recognition or ritual afforded to primary mourners. The reflection names “undercover grief” as a relational and ethical experience rather than personal weakness, and considers how unacknowledged grief can affect wellbeing, attentiveness, and vocational sustainability. It offers practitioners and organisations a framework for recognising secondary grief and moral distress, and invites the development of reflective, supervisory, and communal practices that support those who care for others.</p>
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_18158179
institution Zenodo
language
publishDate 2026
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle Grief That Goes Undercover: Secondary Loss and Moral Distress in Pastoral and Spiritual Care
Njoka, Stanley
Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care/education
Chaplaincy Service, Hospital
Grief
Prolonged Grief Disorder/complications
moral distress
wellbeing
pastoral care giver
<p>This professional reflection explores secondary grief and moral distress as lived realities within pastoral and spiritual care. Drawing on reflective-practitioner insight from healthcare and parish contexts, it examines how carers absorb loss through sustained presence with sickness, dying, and bereavement, often without the recognition or ritual afforded to primary mourners. The reflection names “undercover grief” as a relational and ethical experience rather than personal weakness, and considers how unacknowledged grief can affect wellbeing, attentiveness, and vocational sustainability. It offers practitioners and organisations a framework for recognising secondary grief and moral distress, and invites the development of reflective, supervisory, and communal practices that support those who care for others.</p>
title Grief That Goes Undercover: Secondary Loss and Moral Distress in Pastoral and Spiritual Care
topic Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care/education
Chaplaincy Service, Hospital
Grief
Prolonged Grief Disorder/complications
moral distress
wellbeing
pastoral care giver
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18158179