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Since Corona, there has been an increased need for church and psychological services
bad homburg – Churches are losing members, parishes are being merged everywhere, and pastor positions are being eliminated. The “pastoral care” seems out of date, conjuring up images of older spa guests in the 1900s who did not want to do without the sacraments but could not make their way to the church. But this is misleading in several respects: the pastoral care was only established in Bad Homburg in 1987 on the initiative of the then spa director Peter Bruckmaier.
And, as the current spa director Holger Reuter explains, there is greater demand for it than there was a few years ago. “Especially since the Corona period, we have noticed that spa guests have an increased need – both for church-based pastoral care and for psychological services.” This is certainly due to the changed framework conditions – uncertainty, pandemics and war are stressful. In the past, the rule of thumb was that one in five patients was arranged to speak to a psychologist; today it is one in three, sometimes one in two.
The spa industry has also changed over the decades. “In the past, the motto was often: mud baths in the morning, tango in the evening; today we often have to deal with multimorbid patients who are limited by several illnesses. “And those who are in orthopedic rehabilitation don’t necessarily go to St. Marien.”
At the same time, the stays last three to four weeks, plenty of time to think, which gives rise to a need for discussion. A rehabilitation process can change people. Today’s holistic approach also places greater emphasis on the psychological component. Reuter sees the offer of hospital pastoral care as an “important building block in the rehabilitation process.”
The hospital chaplaincy staff do not force themselves on anyone. “The offers are posted on the noticeboard in the hospitals and are discussed during admission interviews,” says Reuter. Anyone who needs them gets in touch.
Patients at the Wingertsberg Clinic and the Wicker Clinic can also contact Sister Christa Andrich. She can be reached at 01 62-4 32 50 68 or by email at christa-andrich@web.de. Pastor Beatrice Fontanive is available for the Protestant Church – 01 60-8 45 56 83; beatrice.fontanive@evangelisch-hochtaunus.de. The services are open to everyone, regardless of denominational or religious beliefs. hko
