Chaplaincy

Since January 2023 I am frequently engaged as an Anglican locum chaplain in age care for Amana Living in Perth.
In 2021 I worked as an Anglican locum chaplain at Hollywood Private Hospital in Nedlands. 
Between July 2018 and February 2020 I have been working as a casual chaplain with Pastoral Care Services in King Edward Memorial Hospital and the Perth Children's Hospital in Perth, West Australia. In this capacity I also gave education to Junior Doctors, Nurses and Midwifes on Spirituality, Grief and Loss and Compassion. 
Since 2020 I am a volunteer Chaplain for the Dutch foundation EPAFRAS. I visit Dutch citizens in prison in Australia.

Research

Between 2015 and 2022 I've been working as a researcher and innovator spiritual care and healthcare at the Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
The Radboudumc is an academic hospital with its origins in the Roman Catholic tradition. I’ve been working for the departments of Human Resources, Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy, Neurology and in close corporation with Reshape Centre for Innovation and the Board of Directors on several projects. These departments have asked me to research, develop and design new ways of working with issues concerning the meaning of life, religion and spirituality (the whole person) within healthcare for patients, healthcare professionals and within the hospital organisation. In particular, they asked me to innovate methods of spiritual counselling to fit within contemporary culture and society - working with images, art, social media and ICT.

This resulted in the following output: 
* writing a report on Spirituality and the Meaning of Life in Shared Decision Making processes; 
* writing a report for the Board of Directors and Human Resources on how to integrate spiritual care and philosophy of life issues into the hospital for healthcare professionals. The aims were (a) to help prevent burn-out and (b) to support one of the current policy aims of the Board of Directors, to improve the awareness to be working within and from the ‘human scale’. The title of the report is: ‘Care for healthcare professionals. The human scale: personal leadership, grounding, meaning of life and spirituality’;
* organising and leading brainstorm sessions for healthcare professionals and hospital chaplains concerning the ‘human scale’ in the hospital;
* being a teammember in constituting the so called Unstitute, a more informal group of freethinkers within the hospital which aims to keep focussed on the heart of care: the people (patients and healthcare professionals). This has now led into the establishment of the OMruimte (space to rethink and change healthcare based on the principles of the artist’s studio, craftsman shed or experimental laboratory);
* being a teammember to design of the Spiritual Landscape for the rebuilding of the hospital which finally resulted in Design Guidelines;
* developing a method for spiritual directors and hospital chaplains to work with art in counselling, especially for younger people;
* co-developing face-talk counselling for polyclinic patients with chronical kidney failure;
* leading two teams creating two small films for the hospital. The first was commissioned by the Identity Committee of the hospital to raise awareness for the existential dimension of healthcare professionals. The second film is to raise awareness for the existential dimension of patients on their individual journey in the hospital. These films will be used for the hospital, the department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy and within education of medical students.

Between 2007 – 2015 I worked as a researcher religion and society at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religion Studies. I was specialized in applied research for churches and faith based organizations from a sociological and policy research point of view. I have conducted many qualitative researches to help organizations with their policy in order to be better equipped for the middle- and long term future. At the research institute I worked for, we did among others the longitude research named ‘God in the Netherlands’. This quantitative research monitors developments within churches, religions and spirituality in the Netherlands since 1966. My tasks in the institute were to do research independently, write research reports and help the organizations to implement the outcomes. I also helped organizations with the innovation of their pastoral work.

Art and Spiritual Counselling

Since 1997 I've been active as a spiritual counsellor and artist under the company name of Artmeaning
In the past twentyfive years, I have given numerous lectures, courses, workshops, retreats and individual counselling within the specific field of Christian spirituality and visual art. 

Social Work
Between 1999 - 2001: My work mainly consisted of helping adults with social and psychological problems within groups and individual counselling. For a period of eight years I worked as a guardian for refugee children without parents. I learned to work with people who are extremely vulnerable, coming from very diverse background, and whom are almost always traumatised. It was my task to look after them and make sure they have all basic needs fulfilled, e.g. housing, education and being able to cope living in a new culture and language.

Relevant secondary functions:

2003 - 2005     member of the workgroup Art at the Radboud University Nijmegen
2005 - 2007     board member of de Mariënburgvereniging, (critical Catholics)
2007 - 2010     board member of the European Society for Women in Theological Research (ESWTR) and contact        woman for The Netherlands
2011 - 2012     board member of the Foundation Seekercity.nl, digital ‘community’ of nationwide pastoral care for students
2021 - 2022    board member of the Mandorla Art Award (an Australian Award for Christian Art)

Articles between 1997 - 2020 (in Dutch)

• Inleiding in de tentoonstellingscatalogus Passie Kruis Hoop. Ordensmuseum Abtei Kamp 1997

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Vrouwen vormen vrouwenvormen. Een tentoonstelling’. In: Fier. Vrouwen en Islam 5/2001

• Sylvia Grevel ‘De geestelijke weg van Edith Stein. Van rationalisme naar het opnemen van het kruis. In: Fier. Geloven: hoezo? 3/2002

• Sylvia Grevel ‘The Hours. Antiheldinnen in de uren tussen leven en dood.’In: Fier. Mystiek 1/2004

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Mystica zonder God. Leven en werk van Georgia O’Keeffe.’ In: Fier. Ik geloof …… waarin eigenlijk? 3/2004

• Sylvia Grevel ‘De plaats waar je staat is heilige grond. Georgia O’Keeffe: een mystieke interpretatie.’In: TGL The Passion of the Christ mei-juni 2004

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Van Ver weg Dichtbij. De seculiere kunst van Georgia O’Keeffe religieus geïnterpreteerd’ In: Desiree Berendsen, Maaike de Haardt, Magda Misset van de Weg, Marijke Verhoeven (red.) Proeven van Vrouwenstudies, deel VII. IIMO Research Publications, Meinema, Zoetermeer 2005

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Moeten wij modern zijn? Het licht van Rembrandt als religieuze ruimte.’ In: TGL nummer 1, 2006

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Antjie Krog schrijft verzoening met een potlood’ In: Inez van der Spek (red.) Vreemde aanrakingen. Over de kracht van het vreemde in religie, kunst en literatuur. Valkhof Pers, Nijmegen 2007

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Geweld, waarheid en verzoening in Zuid-Afrikaans perspectief’ in: Speling 1/2007

• Sylvia Grevel ‘God speelde geen rol – Imre Kertész over Auschwitz en daarna’ in: Speling 4/2007

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Spiritualiteit en de abstracte kunst van Mark Rothko: een tragische en tijdloze betekenis’ in: Volzin, 2015 nr. 1

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Love you till death, and back. Dood en rouw in de beeldende kunst van Marlene Dumas’ in: Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies, 2015 nr. 1

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Mark Rothko’s klassiek abstracte kunst doorboord. Een contemplatieve benadering van abstracte kunst’ in: Speling, 2015 nr. 2

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Verzoeking, verdenking en vertrouwen. De waarheid van Marlene Dumas’ in: Speling, 2015 nr. 3

• Sylvia Grevel ‘Bloeien, of niet bloeien. Dat is de vraag. Over rouw en creativiteit’ in: Speling, 2015 nr. 4

• Sylvia Grevel ‘In dialoog met tragiek en vergankelijkheid. Geestelijke verzorging en het vormgeven aan een rouwdialoog middels kunst’ In: Religie & Samenleving, 2017

Research Reports and Articles as a Researcher at the Radboud University Nijmegen and the Radboud Academic Hospital (in Dutch)

Spiritual Care

• Methodiekontwikkeling: esthetische middelen en creatieve werkvormen in de geestelijke verzorging in ziekenhuizen (2015)
• Zorg voor de zorgprofessional. De menselijke maat: persoonlijk leiderschap, grondhouding, zingeving en spiritualiteit (2017)
• Sylvia Grevel 'Digitale communicatie over existentiele vragen en spiritualiteit in het kader van persoonsgerichte zorg in het ziekenhuis. Een toekomstgericht perspectief.' In: Religie & Samenleving, December 2020 Jrg 15, nr. 3

Church and Faith Based organisations

• Sylvia Grevel Geloven in Klarendal. Diaconale activiteiten van religieuze organisaties in de Arnhems wijk Klarendal. Nijmegen, Kaski-rapport nr. 565, 2007
• Sylvia Grevel Katholieke netwerken in twee steden. Een pilotonderzoek. Nijmegen, Kaski-notitie, 2007
• Erik de Gier, Frank Miedema, Gerrit Vrieze en Sylvia Grevel "Onder druk wordt alles vloeibaar" Onderzoek naar activering van de granieten kern in de bijstand op de stedelijke arbeidsmarkt. Nicis Instituut, Den Haag / Nijmegen, 2008
• Sylvia Grevel Pelgrimerende Parochies. Bouwstenen voor toekomstgericht beleid. Nijmegen, Kaski-rapport 576, 2008
• Sylvia Grevel Ontwerp voor een digitale community voor Arnhemse studenten. Nijmegen, Kaski-notitie, 2009
• Sylvia Grevel Participatie en behoeften van katholieke in de nieuwe Amsterdamse wijk IJburg. Nijmegen, Kaski-rapport 584, 2009
• Sylvia Grevel en Ton Bernts Monitor beleid aartsbisdom Utrecht. Nijmegen, Kaski-rapport 586, 2009
• Sylvia Grevel Diaconie en Wmo. Een beleidsvoorbereidend onderzoek voor parochie Levend Water. Nijmegen, 2010
• Sylvia Grevel Zwakte als kracht. Activiteiten van religieuze organisaties in prachtwijken. Een kwalitatief onderzoek in 6 steden. Nijmegen, 2010
• Sylvia Grevel, Gert de Jong Roerend Religieus Erfgoed. Een inventariserend onderzoek onder Christelijke Kerken en niet-Christelijke religies. Nijmegen, 2011
• Sylvia Grevel, Exodus: een vooronderzoek naar de methodiek zingeving. Nijmegen, 2011
• Sylvia Grevel, Vitaliteit van oud-katholieke parochies in IJmuiden in twee delen (kwalitatief en kwantitatief onderzoek). Nijmegen, 2012
• Ton Bernts, Sylvia Grevel, Joris Kregting, De invloed van de sleutel zingeving in Exodushuizen. Nijmegen, 2012