Being a Crisis Chaplain: Delivering Help and Healing in Critical Scenarios

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Sidney Dekker (Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Queensland, Australia) Lance Mergard (ChaplainWatch, Queensland, Australia.)

Being a Crisis Chaplain

Delivering Help and Healing in Critical Scenarios

Sidney Dekker (Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Queensland, Australia), Lance Mergard (ChaplainWatch, Queensland, Australia.)

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English

Routledge
23 June 2025

Counselling & advice services; Psychotherapy; Engineering: general; Ergonomics

Series: Routledge Focus on Mental Health

Being a Crisis Chaplain delivers the essential elements of crisis chaplaincy, outlining the process of responding to crises with clarity and compassion. Drawing from real‑world experiences and research, this is a concise but comprehensive toolkit for navigating the delicate aftermath of crises.

Chapters explore ways to triage emotional, cognitive, and spiritual needs, from the raw shock and grief to complex feelings of guilt and helplessness. With practical guidance for recognizing and mitigating long‑term mental health issues such as post‑traumatic stress disorder, this book also emphasizes the importance of self‑care for chaplains, ensuring they can sustain their vital work without succumbing to secondary trauma. The reader will develop an understanding of what a crisis chaplain does and how to act in a safe, compassionate, and humane manner in any type of crisis or disaster.

This book is for professionals on the front line of natural and human disasters and crises, including emergency responders, safety practitioners, chaplains, pastoral carers, religious leaders, and counsellors.

By: Sidney Dekker (Griffith University Nathan Campus Queensland Australia), Lance Mergard (ChaplainWatch, Queensland, Australia.)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm,
Weight: 350g
ISBN: 9781032961811
ISBN 10: 1032961813
Series: Routledge Focus on Mental Health
Pages: 82
Publication Date: 23 June 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Sidney Dekker, MA, MSc, PhD, is a professor and the director of the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. Lance Mergard, OAM, is the founder and chief chaplain of ChaplainWatch in Brisbane, Australia.

Reviews for Being a Crisis Chaplain: Delivering Help and Healing in Critical Scenarios

""A valuable combination of academic perspectives, pragmatic advice, and personal insights into a specialised aspect of chaplaincy. For too long chaplaincy has been thought of as a generic component of ministry. This book shatters this myth, outlining the core elements of crisis chaplaincy and calling for a rethink of approach and actions. The authors make a compelling case for the relationship between a critical crisis and spiritual issues that might arise out of a crisis. This book should be mandatory reading for all chaplains and the authors are to be commended for their pioneering work."" Reverend Mark Vincent, St Paul’s Anglican Church, East Brisbane, and author of Social Media Is Not Enough