Chaplain Allison Kestenbaum, BCC, is a leading researcher in Jewish spiritual care and reflects on her career and significant contributions in the field.
About Our Guest
Allison Kestenbaum, BCC, ACPE, is the Supervisor of Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education at UC San Diego Health. She is a Board Certified Chaplain (NAJC and APC) with Advanced Certification in Hospice and Palliative Care. She is also a Certified Pastoral Educator (ACPE). Allison conducts research about spiritual palliative care and education and is founding faculty at SpiritualAIM.org. She has worked at UC San Francisco Health, Jewish Theological Seminary and UJA-Federation of New York. She was the first chaplain to receive a Sojourns Scholar Award for palliative care leaders. Her two kids bring her daily joy, challenge and keep her on her toes.
Here are links to websites and articles referenced in interview:
Based in Israel and the U.S., Life’s Door engages health care professionals, patients, elderly, family members, caregivers, clergy, community members, lay leaders, and policy makers to promote hopefulness, wellbeing, dignity, and compassion within healthcare, social service and community settings.
Kestenbaum A, McEniry KA, Friedman S, Kent J, Ma JD, Roeland EJ. Spiritual AIM: assessment and documentation of spiritual needs in patients with cancer. J Health Care Chaplain. 2022 Oct-Dec;28(4):566-577. doi: 10.1080/08854726.2021.2008170. Epub 2021 Dec 5. PMID: 34866556.
Kestenbaum A, Shields M, James J, Hocker W, Morgan S, Karve S, Rabow MW, Dunn LB. What Impact Do Chaplains Have? A Pilot Study of Spiritual AIM for Advanced Cancer Patients in Outpatient Palliative Care. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017 Nov;54(5):707-714. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.07.027. Epub 2017 Jul 21. PMID: 28736103; PMCID: PMC5650916.
Kestenbaum A, Fleischman CA, Dabis M, Birnbaum B, Dunn LB. Examination of Spiritual Needs in Hurricane Sandy Disaster Recovery Through Clinical Pastoral Education Verbatims. J Pastoral Care Counsel. 2018 Mar;72(1):8-21. doi: 10.1177/1542305017748663. PMID: 29623794.
NeshamaCast is starting to produce transcripts of our episodes.
Here is a transcript of Episode 1 with Rabbi Joe Ozarowski, BCC.
Here is a transcript to our Bonus Episode with Rabbi Valerie Stessin, BCC, of Israel.
Here is a transcript of Episode 2 with Rabbi Shira Stern.
Check NeshamaCast Home Page for more transcripts as they become available.
About our host:
Rabbi Edward Bernstein, PBCC, is the producer and host of NeshamaCast. He serves as Chaplain at Boca Raton Regional Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida. He is a member of the Board of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Prior to his chaplain career, he served as a pulpit rabbi in congregations in New Rochelle, NY; Beachwood, OH; and Boynton Beach, FL. He is also the host and producer of My Teacher Podcast: A Celebration of the People Who Shape Our Lives.