Pastoral and Spiritual Care for Disaster Impacted Individuals and Communities: Immediate and Long-term Strategies
Tracks
Grand Ballroom 3 - In-Person Only
| Friday, November 7, 2025 |
| 9:20 AM - 9:40 AM |
Overview
Rev Dr Mark Layson, Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network and Rev Dr Stephen Robinson
Presenter
Rev Dr Stephen Robinson
National Disaster Recovery Officer
Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network
Pastoral and Spiritual Care for Disaster Impacted Individuals and Communities: Immediate and Long-Term Strategies
Presentation Overview
Rural communities are disproportionately affected by natural disasters due to heightened infrastructure vulnerability and limited access to recovery services, particularly mental health support. In the context of escalating poly-crises—cascading, recurring, and overlapping disasters—these communities carry growing psychological, social, and spiritual burdens.
Australia’s Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy networks cover every state and territory of Australia and engage over 2,100 trained chaplains and pastoral carers who respond in both the immediate and long-term aftermath of disasters.
These carers operate within a biopsychosocial-spiritual framework of care, which recognises the interconnection between biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. This holistic approach is especially effective in addressing sub-clinical distress—individuals who are profoundly affected but do not meet diagnostic thresholds for clinical care.
This presentation will explore how this holistic and inclusive model supports disaster recovery through compassionate presence, meaning-making, emotional support, and spiritual accompaniment. Drawing on contemporary research, it will outline how pastoral and spiritual care complements clinical and psychosocial interventions in multidisciplinary settings. Particular focus will be placed on the chaplains’ important role in responding to moral injury—a form of trauma arising from events that transgress one’s deeply held values—and how they often serve as a vital link to formal mental health services for those initially hesitant to engage.
Case studies from rural New South Wales will illustrate the practical application of the biopsychosocial-spiritual model, demonstrating its value in enhancing community resilience, supporting recovery, and addressing the complex needs of disaster-affected populations.
Australia’s Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy networks cover every state and territory of Australia and engage over 2,100 trained chaplains and pastoral carers who respond in both the immediate and long-term aftermath of disasters.
These carers operate within a biopsychosocial-spiritual framework of care, which recognises the interconnection between biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. This holistic approach is especially effective in addressing sub-clinical distress—individuals who are profoundly affected but do not meet diagnostic thresholds for clinical care.
This presentation will explore how this holistic and inclusive model supports disaster recovery through compassionate presence, meaning-making, emotional support, and spiritual accompaniment. Drawing on contemporary research, it will outline how pastoral and spiritual care complements clinical and psychosocial interventions in multidisciplinary settings. Particular focus will be placed on the chaplains’ important role in responding to moral injury—a form of trauma arising from events that transgress one’s deeply held values—and how they often serve as a vital link to formal mental health services for those initially hesitant to engage.
Case studies from rural New South Wales will illustrate the practical application of the biopsychosocial-spiritual model, demonstrating its value in enhancing community resilience, supporting recovery, and addressing the complex needs of disaster-affected populations.
Biography
Rev. Dr. Stephen Robinson is the National Disaster Recovery Officer with the Uniting Church in Australia. He has had 30 years of experience in areas of caring for people in trauma. He has been a Rural Fire Service member and chaplain and founder of the NSW Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network. Stephen’s calling is preparing and supporting leaders of faith groups to care for their communities in disaster and crises. Stephen works faith groups and their support services throughout Australia and the Pacific.
In 2022, Stephen fulfilled a Churchill Fellowship “Faith Leaders’ Responses to Violent Attacks on Houses of Worship.”
Rev Dr Mark Layson
Director
Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network
Pastoral and Spiritual Care for Disaster Impacted Individuals and Communities: Immediate and Long-Term Strategies
Presentation Overview
Rural communities are disproportionately affected by natural disasters due to heightened infrastructure vulnerability and limited access to recovery services, particularly mental health support. In the context of escalating poly-crises—cascading, recurring, and overlapping disasters—these communities carry growing psychological, social, and spiritual burdens.
Australia’s Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy networks cover every state and territory of Australia and engage over 2,100 trained chaplains and pastoral carers who respond in both the immediate and long-term aftermath of disasters.
These carers operate within a biopsychosocial-spiritual framework of care, which recognises the interconnection between biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. This holistic approach is especially effective in addressing sub-clinical distress—individuals who are profoundly affected but do not meet diagnostic thresholds for clinical care.
This presentation will explore how this holistic and inclusive model supports disaster recovery through compassionate presence, meaning-making, emotional support, and spiritual accompaniment. Drawing on contemporary research, it will outline how pastoral and spiritual care complements clinical and psychosocial interventions in multidisciplinary settings. Particular focus will be placed on the chaplains’ important role in responding to moral injury—a form of trauma arising from events that transgress one’s deeply held values—and how they often serve as a vital link to formal mental health services for those initially hesitant to engage.
Case studies from rural New South Wales will illustrate the practical application of the biopsychosocial-spiritual model, demonstrating its value in enhancing community resilience, supporting recovery, and addressing the complex needs of disaster-affected populations.
Australia’s Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy networks cover every state and territory of Australia and engage over 2,100 trained chaplains and pastoral carers who respond in both the immediate and long-term aftermath of disasters.
These carers operate within a biopsychosocial-spiritual framework of care, which recognises the interconnection between biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. This holistic approach is especially effective in addressing sub-clinical distress—individuals who are profoundly affected but do not meet diagnostic thresholds for clinical care.
This presentation will explore how this holistic and inclusive model supports disaster recovery through compassionate presence, meaning-making, emotional support, and spiritual accompaniment. Drawing on contemporary research, it will outline how pastoral and spiritual care complements clinical and psychosocial interventions in multidisciplinary settings. Particular focus will be placed on the chaplains’ important role in responding to moral injury—a form of trauma arising from events that transgress one’s deeply held values—and how they often serve as a vital link to formal mental health services for those initially hesitant to engage.
Case studies from rural New South Wales will illustrate the practical application of the biopsychosocial-spiritual model, demonstrating its value in enhancing community resilience, supporting recovery, and addressing the complex needs of disaster-affected populations.
Biography
Mark has extensive disaster and spiritual care experience. He served as a police officer, fire fighter, ambulance chaplain, human research ethics committee member, aged-care chaplain, director of NSW Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network, and is a Certified Emergency Service Manager. He oversees a network 400 chaplains who are deployed into disaster areas to provide support in evacuation and recovery centres.
Mark's research interest is in moral injury and psychosocial risk mitigation. He is a sessional acadmic and research fellow at CSU with a PhD, and qualifications in psychology, theology, policing, and pastoral care. He presents his research across Australia and internationally.
