Hello, I’m Vicki
— and this is A Fresh View, a
donation-based program offering professional spiritual and emotional care
About Me
I had lived all over the U.S. with my husband and four children by the time I was in my 40s. I had many friends of multiple religious traditions and lived a blessed life with my fair share of highs and lows, serious illnesses and injuries, and hard and great times.
And then my world exploded. My two oldest children were far away serving church missions when my father died completely unexpectedly, and a few weeks later my husband, mother, two younger daughters, and I were in a devastating car accident. My neck was broken, my newly widowed mother suffered severe shoulder injuries, and our 17-year-old daughter died in our arms.
I was totally unprepared for the depth of grief and pain or the long physical, emotional, and spiritual recovery that was ahead.
Friends and even strangers supported us, strengthened us, and helped us find meaning and create many significant memorials. Love and my faith in God carried me through, but I was left with a grief that lingered and that I yearned to understand.
Fast forward ten years later to when catastrophic financial losses hit in 2008 and it was time for me to find a career and go to work full time. On my way to becoming a social worker, I happened to meet a chaplain and knew I had found my calling to be with people on the front lines of life and faith.
A chaplain is there to listen, to help sort through the emotional and spiritual distress of a personal disaster, and to help draw upon a person’s own beliefs to find courage and strength.
In the course of chaplaincy training at a VA Medical Center, I realized I had never truly addressed my own unrecognized PTSD and collateral losses of what had died in me that day of the accident. Those “feelings buried alive” needed a voice, and I was learning how to name and process them. I realized I had minimized much of my own suffering to be strong for others and because I was so grateful to not be paralyzed. I had wept buckets of tears for my daughter, but I hadn’t really cried about the screws in my own head or what I was going through physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This realization impressed upon me the importance of my role to go with people through their pain — not to dismiss the important journey of grief to cheer up and move on too soon.
There is significance in the suffering and messages in all the emotions of grief.
Since then, I have walked with hundreds of people of all faiths and many cultures through the pain and uncertainties of whatever they were facing to find meaning and strength in their experience. I have learned firsthand that post-traumatic growth is not only possible but even more dynamic and powerful than I ever imagined.
People sometimes ask me, “Isn’t it a downer to be around so much pain?” I find it to be quite the opposite. To be with people who are hurting and see them connect to their own thoughts, to other people, and especially to their own spiritual truths is an exhilarating experience. I love to watch someone own their feelings and open up to their pain or sorrow and see how it helps them better understand life and death and being human. I feel honored and energized by the miracles of great love and healing that are all around us.
About A Fresh View
I offer a unique blend of professional chaplaincy, personal coaching, and experience with grace and pain to help you find a fresh view of the challenges that are weighing you down.
Since retiring, I’m noticing that lots of people are facing significant pain and heavy challenges in everyday living, and they don’t have anyone knocking on their door to offer affordable professional help, as I once did as a chaplain in hospice and hospital settings. I’ve been able to be there for many of these people, and I see that the need is big and only growing bigger with the mental and spiritual distress of our times.
Maybe you don’t know who you can trust and talk to.
Maybe you don’t have insurance or extra funds in your budget to pay for expensive counseling. I’m ready to provide a fresh view with the emotional and spiritual support you need right now to meet your circumstances with faith — so you can re-enter life with deeper hope and strategies to take you to a new level.
A Fresh View is a new, donation-based program that offers professional spiritual and emotional care outside of the healthcare systems that normally cover those costs. I provide chaplain services at no charge so when you’re in crisis and could really use a chaplain, we don’t even have to talk about money.
We can also be creative about how to finance coaching or subsequent grief services. My vision is to be an affordable resource that will be so worth it that you’ll feel great about the price, and you’ll be able to receive the one-on-one personal coaching you want and need.
Need someone to talk to?
My Background
Experience
Light and Refuge Spiritual Care, LLC – Private Practice Chaplain and Life Coach, 2020-present
Caring Connections: A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program, Advisory Board Member and Grief Group Facilitator, Research Assistant, University of Utah College of Nursing, 2009-2018
Primary Children’s Hospital – Hospital Chaplain 2012-2018
Intermountain Medical Center – Volunteer and PRN Chaplain 2012-2014
Hospice Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator, 2012-2014
VA Medical Center – Chaplain Resident, 4 units CPE, 2011-2012
Education and Certification
Certified Professional Life Coach, CPLC, Christian Coach Institute, 2021
Spiritual Care Association, BCC, Board Certified Clinical Chaplain, 2019
College of Psychotherapy and Pastoral Supervision, BCC Board Certified Clinical Chaplain 2013
Clinical Fellow of Hospice and Palliative Care, CPSP, 2015
Clinical Pastoral Education, 2011- 2012 Chaplain Resident at VA Medical Center
Additional Training
Compassion and Self-compassion
Grief and Loss
Forgiveness narrative
Hospice and Palliative Care
Life transitions and decisions
Personal growth
Post traumatic growth and resiliency
Religion and spirituality
Stress and overwhelm
Trauma and PTSD
“Compassionate and competent guide”
“Vicki was my supervisor when I was a spiritual care volunteer at a local hospital with patients and families from a wide range of cultures and faith traditions. She approached each interaction from a place of deep respect and humility, walking with those who were struggling and assisting them as they navigated their journey. Along with her wealth of experience and knowledge, Vicki is a compassionate and competent chaplain and spiritual guide.”
-Keri, hospital chaplain