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Spirituality

Interview, Assessment, Client Development

Stacey Story

Purdue University Global

HW420 Models of Health & Wellness

Dorette Nysewander, EdD

October 4, 2022
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Spiritual Interview/Questionnaire

1. What does spirituality mean to you?

2. Do you currently have any spiritual goals and/or practices? (meditation, prayer, keeping a

journal etc.) If yes, please list any goals/practices you have.

3. Do you think that your physical health and your spiritual health are connected or are they

independent from one another? Why?

4. Do you believe that spirituality and spirituality practices are an effective way to manage

or reduce stress?

5. Do you believe that harmful relationships can negatively impact your spirituality?

6. Do you feel that you have a purpose in life and if so, what is your purpose?

7. What is your most rewarding act of servantry that you practice regularly?

8. Do you think your acts of servantry help you in your spiritual journey?

9. Do you feel that it is important to everyone to find their spirituality?

10. What is your main goal in your spiritual journey?

Question Value

Asking questions to people about anything can often lead to anxiety as the person wants

to give the right answer. The great thing about spirituality questions is that there is no right or

wrong answer, therefore an interviewee can feel comfortable to answer honestly as it is about

them and there is no expected answer. These questions will allow for a better understanding of

both the interviewee’s spirituality as well as the interviewer. Asking questions not only helps the

person answering but also the person asking. (Portland Seminary, n.d.). The questions developed

for this interview were done so with the goal of getting a deeper understanding of what

spirituality means to the interviewee, how they currently view their spirituality, and what goals
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they would like to accomplish with their spirituality and spiritual journey. This will help with

developing an appropriate Spirituality Development Plan that is individualized for the

interviewee.

Interview Findings

Brianne Lancaster (Personal communication, 2022) indicates that she does not view

spirituality, the word, as a thing with a definition. Instead, she measures spirituality by a code of

action that she aligns herself, her morals, and her beliefs with. Some of her current spiritual

practices include praying, journaling, participating in devotional sessions, and attending church

regularly. She does believe that her spiritual health and her physical health are connected. She

notices that when she is exhausted but has not done anything physical to exhaust her, it is usually

because she has not been keeping up with her normal spirituality regimen, says as journaling and

praying. This lets her know that they influence one another. She does believe that spirituality

practices can reduce stress but also believes that there are other factors that go with that as well

such as exercise therapy. She believes that maintaining healthy relationships with people is also

imperative to her spiritual health. She recognizes that unhealthy relationships cannot have a

negative affect on her spiritual journey. Brianne testifies that she believes she serves to main

purposes in this world, to serve God, and to nurture and lead others. She views nurturing others

as her most rewarding servantry act and that this helps her progress in her spiritual journey. She

expresses that she does not believe that everyone views spirituality as something that they need.

However, she knows that it is something that everyone needs to live a balanced and meaningful

life. She finds her spirituality through her servantry acts, and through serving God. Her main

spiritual goal is to have a better relationship with God, one that she does not hide from. (Personal

Communication, 2022).
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Development Plan

Spiritual health and psychological health go together. When one advances spiritually, it

increases psychological health as well. People tend to think that if there is a psychological

problem then fixing that problem will increase psychological health. While this can be true in

some cases where the psychological factors are things like environment or genetics, in most

cases the root of the problem is much bigger and can be linked to spiritual health. There needs to

be a sense of purpose and feeling of being needed for spiritual growth. Those who have purpose

and work to grow spiritually are psychologically healthier and happier people. (Steenbarger,

2021). Brianne is in a great position to grow spiritually because can identify her purpose and her

main goals with her spirituality. She should continue to practice her devotions, praying,

journaling, and attending church. This will help her continue to progress spiritually into the

future. Along with her current practices, it would benefit Brianne to consider adding other forms

of spirituality practices as well, such as self-renewal and meditation to further advance her

spiritual growth.

Ethical Considerations

One ethical consideration to take note of in the case of Brianne Lancaster is ensuring

cultural competence is being met. It is important to note that she does have a Christian affiliation

and God is an important part of her spirituality. It is important that this is not overlooked or

devalued, or it will negatively affect the client. She is not likely to follow recommendations that

go against the rules of her religion. For example, some Christians believe that God and living

your life for God as outlined in the Bible is the definition of spirituality. It would not be wise to

try to develop a plan for this type of client that involves everything but God and prayer. Cultural

competence is an umbrella subject with a lot under it. If a counselor is not culturally competent,
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it is likely to cause ethical dilemmas somewhere along the way. (Mazzula & Li Vecchi, 2018).

Another ethical consideration is to make sure that the counselor is actively seeking spiritual

growth as well. If one is trying to counsel someone else on their spiritual journey but is not

active in their own journey, they are more likely to project their own spiritual desires onto the

client. This can cause an ethical dilemma for a few reasons. The purpose of a counselor in this

case is to help others, keep integrity intact, and be competent of the clients needs for spiritual

growth. All these things are jeopardized when the counselor begins to project their own journey

desires onto the client. (Openshaw & Harr, 2005).

Additions/Subtractions of Plan Development

Where someone stands in their spiritual journey is not going to be fully understood by

asking just a few questions. Adding more questions to the interview to begin with that are more

detailed would help with this. For example, had there been more questions about rumination,

forgiveness, self-love and so much more, than a more detailed and personalized plan could be

developed. It is ok to add questions and recommendations to understand and help the client

more. It is also ok to subtract or take away things that are initially put into the plan. If the client

tries something that is suggested such as a certain type of meditation and they report back that it

is not benefiting them, then its perfectly fine to take that away and try another approach.

Conclusion

Helping someone along their spiritual journey does not come with a handbook. There are

plenty of guidelines to follow that include things such as honesty, openness, understanding and

competence. It is important to build a relationship with the client so that they will trust you and

be open and honest as well. It is important to start out with simple questions to get to know
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someone. Once a client is comfortable, it is safe to then proceed with deeper questioning such as

asking questions to the client that require answers based on personal experiences. Once this

relationship has reached a level of spiritual trust on behalf of the client, they can then be directed

into areas of spirituality that they may avoid otherwise. (Portland Seminary, n.d.).
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References

Portland Seminary. (n.d.). Spiritual direction questions. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from

https://www.georgefox.edu/seminary/spiritual-direction-questions.html

Lancaster, Brianne. (Personal Communication, 2022). Interview conducted on September 25,

2022.

Mazzula, S. L., & Li Vecchi, P. (2018). Dynamic and contemporary ethical issues. In Ethics for

counselors: Integrating counseling and psychology standards (pp. 71–90). Springer

Openshaw, L., & Harr, C. (2005). Ethical Issues in Spiritual Assessment. nacsw.org. Retrieved

September 28, 2022, from

https://www.nacsw.org/Publications/Proceedings2005/OpenshawHarrEthicsSpiritual

%20Assessment.pdf

Steenbarger, B. (2021, July 30). How spiritual growth furthers our psychological growth.

Forbes. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettsteenbarger/2021/07/29/how-spiritual-growth-furthers-

our-psychological-growth/?sh=1f252dfc4907