ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Dr. Nancy Kehoe. Director of Expanding Connections, is a licensed psychologist. She is an Instructor in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Cambridge Health Alliance, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. She is a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart and has held various leadership positions in her religious congregation.

Nancy has worked with staff members in mental health, geriatric and medical settings both locally in Massachusetts and nationally. In mental health settings, such as the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division, she has trained interns and staff members to lead groups on spiritual beliefs and values, using a model she created and has successfully used for 25 years in a psychiatric day treatment program.

In geriatric settings, she has led programs for the staff focused on caring for the caregiver and offered presentations to the residents. In medical settings, she has addressed the importance of taking a religious/spiritual history of patients and developing a reflective practice. Utilizing her religious and psychological background, she has facilitated numerous meetings for religious groups as well as seminars for third year medical students at Harvard Medical School. She has published on the subject of religion and mental health and has presented at both national and international conferences.

Her programs and presentations are tailored to meet the needs of each particular group. These may consist of single presentations or more structured training which may be weekly, monthly or quarterly.

Until recently, healthcare providers have not been trained to ask patients about their religious and spiritual beliefs. Nancy recognized this defect in heath care and developed a comprehensive Religious History Assessment tool. With this instrument, she has educated professionals in private practice, enabling them to explore the client’s religious and spiritual history with greater ease.