I work as a clinically trained, professional hospital chaplain, helping people discern what is most important to them at the most challenging moments of their lives, and advocating for the supreme dignity of all those who find themselves within the medical system.

father zoch (photo by Mallory Rubin)

As a highly sensitive person who is also autistic, early in my ministerial formation I experienced a powerful desire to accompany others in their suffering, regardless of background or faith. This is how I discerned my way into hospital chaplaincy.

My chaplaincy formation process (Clinical Pastoral Education) began in Norwalk, Connecticut, under the guidance of the Rev. Debra Slade.

sinai residents 2020.jpeg

My first of two postgraduate chaplaincy residencies in New York was at Mount Sinai Hospital, under the Rev. David Fleenor. There I learned about systems-centered theory (SCT), a key lens for my current foray into autism advocacy. At right, behold, my wonderful first residency cohort.

My second residency was at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Under the direction of Rabbi Mychal Springer, I came closer than ever to discovering my autism, and the nature of its concealment to myself and others, through the lenses of family systems theory and Inter-Personal Relations seminar (IPR), a mainstay of chaplaincy education.