This chapter will discuss the importance of spirituality and religiosity for well-being of stakeholders in higher education, particularly of students. It will be argued that young adults are at a crucial juncture in their lives where old certainties are falling away with the individual attempt to forge a new path for themselves. This journey is fraught with uncertainty, particularly under the conditions of late/post-modernity where the seeker has to navigate competing truths and the ever-looming threat of absurdity, for example, the disconnection between the urgency of making good use of our limited lifespan and the apparent arbitrariness of every possible path. A group meditation and encounter format will be outlined that aims at giving students (or other stakeholders) a safe framework to explore their own meaning-making processes and grounds them in an existential attitude called faith.
Tobias A. Kroll, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, TX. His research interestsi nclude integrative processes in typical and disordered readers, as well as developmental, sociopsychological and spiritual aspects of interpersonal communication. Dr. Kroll is a Fellow of TTUHSC’s Center for Ethics, Humanities, and Spirituality, and he is currently pursuing certification in interreligious chaplaincy at the Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley, CA).
Amy Faltinek is the Senior Director of Technical Services at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Preston Smith Library, Lubbock. She has a MLS degree from Texas Woman’s University, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Health Informatics from the University of North Texas and a Bachelor’s degree in Community,Family, and Addiction Sciences from Texas Tech University.She is aDistinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP). She specializes in substance use disorder and addiction research,
Regina Baronia, MD, M.Ed., is Research Director for the Department of Psychiatry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX. She is also the Editor for the peer-reviewed journal, Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. She completed her Masters in Special Education at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. She completed her medical degree and residency in Psychiatry at the University of the East RMMMC in Quezon City, Philippines. She had her fellowship training in Developmental Disabilities at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.
Rosalinda Jimenez is an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Nursing. She is dual certified as an FNP & PMHNP and is certified in TF-CBT. She teaches and mentors students in Graduate Nursing and APRN Studies in both family and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner programs. Her teaching philosophy is one of mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration, and holistic patient care. Her research focus is on interdisciplinary research, spirituality, and qualitative phenomenology
Michael Gomez, PhD, TF-CBT is a psychologist with Bradley Hospital Outpatient Services. Dr. Gomez has served as director of the Adversity and Resilience Community Center in Texas and as director of clinical services for the Center for Superheroes at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He provides services for the Bradley Wave Clinic, mindful teen group, crisis clinic, and general outpatient clinic.