Spiritual care model in the Pain Treatment Clinic. How to understand non-religious aspects of spirituality?

Chronic pain affects all aspects of a patient’s life: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual. Religiosity is a common, but not the only, way to fulfil spiritual needs and engage in spiritual activities. Based on the analysis of the definition of spirituality provided by the Polish Society for Spiritual Care in Medicine, and by comparing it with statements from patients at the Pain Treatment Clinic, conclusions were drawn about 4 non-religious aspects of spirituality. Chronic conditions often influence how a patient interprets the meaning and purpose of their life and how they experience relationships with other people. Morality, understood as a system of beliefs about the surrounding world and the values and goals that stem from them, can also change through the experience of chronic pain. Reference to what transcends a person and the ability to go beyond one’s limitations may enable the acceptance of adverse events, even those such as the loss of physical ability. In Poland, where an increasing number of patients do not identify with any specific religion, there is a need to develop a model of spiritual care that physicians can provide in a non-religious manner.