Spirituality and Mental Health with Dori Gorman

In this episode of the Searching Inward Podcast, Seth Abram and Anna Bryant speak with Dori Gorman, a chaplain for the YMCA in Nashville, about mental health and spirituality. Dori discusses her proactive approach to educate and destigmatize mental health through her role. She also shares her path towards becoming a chaplain and the people who influenced her along the way. Content warnings: Mentions of death and suicide

“As the chaplain ministry has grown, it has been what if we really that clean the inside of the cup first and we provide really intentional, thoughtful care for the 2,000 staff. And if they’re healthy and growing in spirit, mind and body, then they’re going to be better equip to care for that 180,000 members.” -Dori [13:24]

“I love just listening to you talk about how proactive the Y is being in really serving their people… but recognizing that people coming through your doors are complex humans with needs that are not just physical, but they are spiritual and emotional as well.” -Anna [20:50]

“I’m also really grateful that a lot of the work you’re doing is educating and destigmatizing, it sounds, which is so, so needed, especially as mental health became–I would say, not that it maybe even rose–we became more aware of it coming out of the pandemic.” -Seth [21:42]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:06] Intro

[01:22] About this week’s guest

[05:13] Being a chaplain for the YMCA

[11:03] Spiritual and mental health

[14:53] A typical day of a YMCA chaplain

[22:15] Dori’s influences

[31:49] Challenges in her role as chaplain

[37:10] The role of inclusivity

[41:34] The role of spirituality and mental health

[45:01] A takeaway from Dori

[47:31] Outro

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