Cheryl A. Giles

Francis Greenwood Peabody Senior Lecturer on Pastoral Care and Counseling

Education

BA with honors, Boston College
MDiv, Harvard Divinity School
PsyD, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

Profile

Cheryl Giles is the Francis Greenwood Peabody Senior Lecturer on Pastoral Care and Counseling. She has extensive experience in the treatment of children and adolescents with significant mental illness, high-risk behaviors, and traumatic stress. Prior to coming to HDS, she was director of the Lighthouse Program, a residential facility in Brighton, Massachusetts that treated adolescents who were discharged from psychiatric hospitals and needed time for stabilization before returning home. Her primary research interests are identifying the role of risk and resilience in developing healthy adolescents, exploring the impact of contemplative care for the dying, and increasing awareness of healthcare disparities of African-Americans and the queer community.

A core faculty member of the Buddhist Ministry Initiative, Professor Giles received training and certification in end-of-life care from the Being with Dying program and GRACE: Training in Compassion-Based Interactions in the Clinical/Patient Encounter at Upaya Institute and Zen Center. She teaches courses on spiritual care and counseling, contemplative care of the dying, and trauma and resilience for caregivers. She enjoys mentoring students who are preparing for chaplaincy, social justice advocacy, and those interested in research on trauma and the psychology of contemplative care.

Professor Giles is the co-editor of The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (Wisdom Press, 2012). She has authored articles on contemplative care of the dying and preparing clinicians to become compassionate caregivers.