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SickKids

Spiritual & Religious Care

Location:
555 University Ave., Room 1119, Burton Wing, 1st Floor
Phone:
416-813-7022

The Spiritual & Religious Care Department at SickKids is an inter-faith support to patients, families and staff, whether they are religious or not. SickKids Professional Health-care Chaplains offer spiritual and religious care through counsel, connection, companionship as well as a support for religious rites and culture.

Contact us

On call (evenings and weekends)

Our team is here to support SickKids patients and families. You may reach us through our on-call pager. We are available on evenings and weekends. Dial 207500 using any internal SickKids phone and ask for the on-call chaplain.

Contact information (regular business hours)

Spiritual & Religious Care Department
Room 1119, Burton Wing, 1st Floor 
555 University Ave.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M5G 1X8

Indigenous Health Navigation
Indigenous Health Navigator and Patient Experience Specialist
Email indigenous.navigator@sickkids.ca or call 416-813-6181.
The Indigenous Health Navigator and Patient Experience Specialist helps support Indigenous patients and families in navigating health-care services at SickKids through Indigenous ways of knowing and healing.

Sacred spaces

These spaces are open 24/7 for quiet prayer and meditation.

Meditation & Contemplation Room: 2nd floor, Atrium, Room 2713
This is a multi-faith space and houses a supply of battery operated candles for observance of the Sabbath.

Muslim Prayer Room: 1st Floor, Atrium, Room 1730

Chapel: 1st Floor, Atrium, Room 1731

Who we are

In sharing a common humanity, we assist patients and families to be at peace with the challenges and circumstances they may experience while in hospital. We have a deep respect for the experience of patients, their families, and the staff who serve them, and promote the values of kindness, compassion, respect, integrity, and inclusion. In order to better serve the diversity within our patient population and staff, we are committed to diversity within our department by providing both Inter-Faith and Faith based Service. 

While in hospital patients, their families, and staff may experience existential stress, moral distress, and a sense of futility and loss in the face of ongoing health challenges.  One-on-one counselling with a member of our team has the potential to be a very supportive and effective resource for patients, their families, and staff to be at peace with their circumstances and nurture the healing process of body, mind, and spirit. 


What we do

The Spiritual & Religious Care Team provides: 

  • Healing, compassionate and comforting presence through bedside visits and private counsel by request 
  • Mindfulness and loving kindness meditation which supports wellbeing while in hospital 
  • Support for smudging 
  • Prayers at bedside 
  • Baptism 
  • Kosher food and Sabbath supplies 
  • Counseling 
  • Ethical questions related to faith 
  • Deep listening, and attending at bedside 
  • Journeying with families through the dying process 
  • A liaison to bereavement and palliative care services 
  • Assistance to patents and families to maintain connection to one’s faith while in hospital 
  • Chaplains On-Call as needed 
  • Chaplains accommodating specific faith (limited availability):Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Christian 
  • By request, a liaison to faith communities protecting families from solicitation during times of vulnerability 
  • Acting as a bridge or advocate with the clinical care team 
  • An advocate for cultural customs, language (interpreter services) and beliefs. 

The Mindfulness Project

We provide mindfulness and self-care sessions at bedside, education in Mindfulness skills, private consultation, and education on mindful self-care. We support patients, families and staff in improving resilience, and create an environment which leads to sustainable wellness and supports the reduction of physical and emotional stresses and discomfort.

Our vision is "Compassionate Care, Mindful Culture."  

Contact The Mindfulness Project

Mindfulness resources

Teen with eyes closed practicing mindfulness while relaxed on a chair

Mindfulness resources for teens

Visit the Mental Health Hub on AboutKidsHealth for a series of videos and animations to help teens and youth connect with and understand their thoughts and emotions, find a moment of peace, or with falling asleep.

Teen with eyes closed practicing mindfulness while relaxed on a chair
Mom and child looking at each other relaxedon a couch

Mindfulness groups for patients and families

For more on mindfulness groups for patients, teens, parents and caregivers please contact: mindfulness.groups@sickkids.ca.

Mom and child looking at each other relaxedon a couch

We are committed to providing accessible formats to our visitors as part of our commitment to Accessibility. Captions are available on this video through YouTube.

Request alternative format for this video

Featured publications and reading

  • Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Adolescents: Time to Consider Telehealth (JACM)
    Nicholas Chadi, MD, MPH,1 Elli Weisbaum, MES,2 Dzung X. Vo, MD,3 and Sara Ahola Kohut, PhD4
  • In-Person Versus eHealth Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Adolescents With Chronic Illness: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (JMIR)Nicholas Chadi1,2, MDCM; Miriam Kaufman1, BSN, MD; Elli Weisbaum3, MES; Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise 4,5,PhD; Sara Ahola Kohut6,7, PhD; Christine Viner1,8, MD; Jake Locke9, MD; Dzung X Vo10, MD 
  • A Mindfulness Program Adapted for Adolescents With Chronic Pain Feasibility, Acceptability, and Initial Outcomes Danielle A. Ruskin, PhD, CPsych,* Michelle M. Gagnon, PhD,* Sara A. Kohut, PhD, CPsych,*Jennifer N. Stinson, PhD,*  and Kathryn S. Walker, PhD, CPsych* 

  • The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind & No-Drama Discipline by Dan Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson 
  • Brainstorm: The Power & Purpose of the Adolescent Brain by Dan Siegel   
  • Everyday blessings: The inner work of mindful parenting by Jon & Myla Kabat-Zinn  
  • The Mindful Child by Susan Kaiser-Greenland  
  • Sitting Still like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (& their Parents) by Eline Snel 
  • Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyous Kids & Happier Parents by Christine Carter 
  • The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens by Gina Biegel 
  • The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook for Kids by Lawrence Shapiro & Robin Sprague 
  • Building Emotional Intelligence: Techniques to Cultivate Inner Strength in Children by Linda Lantieri 
  • The Mindful Teen by Dzung Vo 
  • 10 Mindful Minutes: Giving Our Children & Ourselves the Social & Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress by Goldie Hawn 

  • No Ordinary Apple: A Story about Eating Mindfully & My New Best Friend by Sara Marlowe 
  • Charlotte and the Quiet Place by Deborah Sosin  
  • Silence by Lemniscates 
  • The Three Questions, Stone Soup, Zen Ties & Zen Shorts by Jon J Muth 
  • Visiting Feelings by Lauren Rubenstein & Shelly Hehenberger 
  • My Many Coloured Days & Oh the Places You’ll Go, by Dr. Seuss 
  • Ahn’s Anger & Steps and Stones: An Ahn’s Anger Story by Gail Silver & Christiane Kromer 
  • Peaceful Piggy Meditation & Moody Cow Meditates by Kerry Lee MacLean 
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