The spiritual dimension of healthcare, while recognised as important, is often based upon intuition and conventional religion. The lack of a clear conceptual framework, general uncertainty and limited training opportunities,have resulted in a neglect of this aspect of care. This book arises from a highly successful annual national conference staged by the editors, but it is not a set of conference proceedings. written for nurses and other professionals who value the human relationship side of care and who want to deal with those dimensions of people which cannot be accounted for empirically. Drawing from a number of traditions, it argues that medicine must be both science and art, because science by itself is inadequate to the task.