Who am I with Parkinson's disease? a psychologist response to chaplain intervention in the context of identity theory.

Parkinson's disease can rob an individual of their most prized roles, and symptoms of the disease itself can make finding new ways to enact existing roles or developing new roles very challenging. The chaplain's case study is reviewed from the perspective of a clinical geropsychologist through the lens of identity theory. The line between chaplain intervention and psychotherapy is addressed. The patient's significant improvement in depression symptoms over the course of his participation in the BRIGHTEN program and with the chaplain are presented to suggest that chaplain intervention can be a central and effective part of an interdisciplinary treatment approach. The need for utilization of existing measures and development of new measures of chaplain intervention are discussed.