Critically ill patients and their families are finding comfort from a new source - counselors who offer spiritual guidance and prayers as a complementary therapy.The Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİB) signed a protocol with the Ministry of Health earlier this month for the appointment of DİB officials at hospitals across the country as spiritual counselors.

At a hospital in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, clerics appointed as counselors offer sermons in Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic, as well as religious advice and prayers for patients and their families.

A male and a female counselor in Gazi Yaşargil Hospital's Spiritual Support Unit help to boost the morale of both patients and families. They are chosen from among DİB officials who have studied patient communications.Hospital Director Hikmet İyem said that the unit primarily serves patients who undergo risky surgery at an advanced stage of their illnesses. "The World Health Organization regards religious counseling as a universal patient right. This service gives psychological comfort for patients and their next of kin. It is a complementary practice added to regular medical services for patients," he said. İyem says spiritual support is among the significant elements of successful treatment.Rukiye Güloğlu is one of the counselors. She said that they offer spiritual support at the request of patients or their families. "We recite prayers if they want, or simply converse with them. Patients open up to us and feel relieved when they speak about their problems," Güloğlu said. "We try to make them smile and lift their spirits," she added."We stay close to them until their treatment is completed," her colleague Mustafa Baran said. Baran, an imam, said they tell stories about the Prophet Muhammad and how he overcame difficulties, and how he acted in the face of challenges. "We try to comfort them either through parables or a simple conversation," he said.Vecdi Alıcı accompanies his father, who is being treated at the Diyarbakır hospital. He is one of the recipients of the spiritual support service. "The condition of the patient affects his or her loved ones as well. It is important to keep our morale high," he said.Gülseren Amuran, who stays with her sick mother at the hospital, said she was surprised to see spiritual counselors at the hospital, and expressed her appreciation for the service. "They recite prayers for my mother, and we feel better when hearing them," she said.Spiritual counseling is currently limited to several hospitals, but the DİB plans to introduce it in all hospitals in the country.The DİB recently expanded religious services and counseling to prisons, nursing homes and orphanages.