Chaplains invited to participate in research

We know your work as a helping professional involves unique stressors. Whether listening to others’ burdens, accompanying people through crisis, or helping others process grief, this job you chose, even on the best of days, asks a lot of you mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. We  know more needs to be done to provide adequate care to you, the caregiver, at individual, relational, and organizational levels, but first we need to understand your experiences better: what keeps you motivated and what deflates you, what challenges you and what supports you, who you can talk to and where are the obstacles?  

We, at Boston University’s Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute Center for the Study of Religion and Psychology, invite you to take a survey about your experience as a helping professional. The survey will take about 30-45 minutes to complete. Your participation is voluntary and confidential. Participants who are in a romantic relationship will have the option to include their partners in this study, too. For the purposes of this initial survey, participants must

• Work in the United States, AND 
• Be 18 years of age or older, AND 
• Be comfortable with English, AND 
• Consider your helping work to be your primary profession, even if it is not full-time, AND 
• Have been employed for pay for at least one year as a helping professional, AND 

• Meet your industry-specific requirement: 
  • Chaplains/spiritual care providers must have completed at least one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) from any accredited CPE training institute. 
  • Clergy/religious leaders must be ordained or have an equivalent credential from your tradition. 
  • Mental health clinicians must be licensed at any level (i.e., associate license, independent license) in a mental health discipline (e.g., psychology, marriage and family therapy, clinical social work, mental health counseling).