Spiritual Care
Need to talk? We’re here to listen! We welcome any conversation, questions, and musings, please email any one of us to find a time to chat. We’re available to meet in-person, zoom or by phone—the choice is yours!
Jigna Shah
Associate Dean & Director of Spiritual Life
Shaundra Cunningham
Associate Dean for Community Life
Tauseef Akbar
Assistant Director & Coordinator for Muslim Life
What Is Available to Me as a Student?
We are here to help you find the best support and resources for you.
Speak with someone in Spiritual Life
We also have a team of diverse Religious & Spiritual Advisors who are here to listen. You do not have to have the same beliefs as us or subscribe to any tradition in particular, we come with many different expertise. If you are not sure who might be a good fit, reach out to Jigna Shah.
Student Counseling Services
Dean on Call
Call 773-702-8181 or Access through UChicago Safe App.
Online Resources
Actively Moving Forward (National Organization)
Avoiding the Cliches
Catholic Resources on Grief and Loss
Grief: The New Normal
Grief and Loss in Islam
Lamentations: Worship in a Minor Key (YouTube Playlist)
Living with Grief
Orthodox Christian Grief Resources
Prayer in Times of Crisis
Reflections on the Book of Lamentations
Supporting Students Coping with Grief
The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
For faculty and staff, please reach out to Maurice Charles, Dean of Rockefeller Chapel.
If you would like to pay tribute to a loved one(s), we are happy to help you plan the best way to honor their life. Email us at spirit@uchicago.edu.
If you would like to plan a memorial, please contact, Matthew Dean, Director of University Chapels.
Grief Resources
Are you feeling out of it, lonely, uncertain, sad, tired, unmotivated, upset, angry?
These are some of the many feelings that can accompany the experiences of grief and loss, which can be triggered by a number of experiences or incidents. Navigating through these feelings and experiences can be confusing and overwhelming. You are not alone.
What is Grief?
Grief comes in many forms, below are a few descriptions of what grief can be and not. This has been adapted from Actively Moving Forward.
Grief is…
…a journey
…messy
…wanting to say your person or pet’s name
…having emotions hit you at the random times
…giving yourself a break now & then
…asking for support
…sometimes putting your needs first
..an individual experience
…finding what feels right for you
…dealing with tough stuff
…something that grows & changes with us
…normal
…feeling foggy somedays
…finding balance
…a judgement free zone
…learning it’s ok not to always feel ok
…adjusting to change
…complicated
…mixed with other feelings
…feeling alone even with people around you
Grief is not…
…a liner set of stages to go through
…moving on and having to forget them
…just getting over your feelings
…having to always do it by yourself
…the same for everyone
…always hard. Somedays might feel more “normal”
…isolating yourself because no one understands
…ignoring it and hoping it will just go away
…something that just ends
…something you should have to hide from others
…judging yourself for feeling that way
…sticking to other people’s expectations
…on anyone else’s timeline
…putting memories on a shelf and walking away
…always putting on a mask of happiness
…avoiding happiness