Kelly Arora PhD

Dr. Kelly Arora ([email protected]) is Assistant Professor and Capstone Course Director in the Master of Science in Palliative Care and Interprofessional Palliative Care Certificate programs (MSPC/IPCC). She has PhDs in Religious Studies and Theological studies with a specialization in spirituality and psychology. In addition to developing and overseeing the MSPC Master’s Capstone process in scholarly writing, she has been lead spiritual care faculty since the programs’ inception, developed and taught wellness curriculum for the CU Community Hospice and Palliative Medicine (CHPM) fellowship program, and teaches the psycho-social-spiritual content for the Coursera online courses Palliative Care: It’s not just Hospice Anymore, which equip people around the world to provide primary palliative care.

As the John Wesley Iliff Senior Adjunct Lecturer in Spiritual Care, Arora taught spiritual care and Authentic Engagement® at the Iliff School of Theology. She has also taught interprofessional ethics at the Anschutz Medical Campus and courses on the relationship between spirituality and health at Regis University and the Regis University School of Pharmacy. Arora’s passion for spirituality in health care began when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 30 years ago. In addition to numerous journal publications and book chapters, her book Spirituality and Meaning Making in Chronic Illness: How Spiritual Caregivers Can Help People Navigate Long-term Health Conditions is used in chaplaincy training programs. Arora is past President of the Board for Centus Counseling, Consulting and Education, and was a member of the Porter Adventist Hospital Ethics Committee. In addition to teaching, research, publishing and speaking about health and spirituality, Arora maintains a private practice in spiritual direction. She lives in the south Denver area with her husband and bossy cat. She has two adult kids  and one grandchild who make this world a better place.