Spirit-body healing II: a nursing intervention model for spiritual/creative healing.

This article describes an advanced intervention for spiritual healing that evolved from spirit-body healing, a hermeneutic phenomenological research study. The research study examined the lived experience of art and healing with cancer patients in the Arts in Medicine program at Shands Hospital, University of Florida. Max Van Manen's method of researching the lived experience was used in 63 patients over a 4-year period. Healing themes that emerged from the research were (1) go into darkness, (2) go elsewhere, (3) art becomes the turning point, (4) slip through the veil, (5) know the truth and trust the process, (6) embody your spirit, (7) feel the healing energy of love and compassion, and (8) experience transcendence. The intervention we offer allows nurses to apply creativity and guided imagery as advanced therapeutics and to continue to provide the leadership needed for integrating spiritual healing into patient care. It is one that personifies the nursing mission formalized by many hospitals: a commitment to treat the bodies, minds, and spirits of patients to the best of our ability as part of our routine care.