RUNNING HEAD: Unit 9 Project

Interview, Assessment, and Client Development

Chloe Fiore

Purdue Global University- HW420

6 March 2023
 RUNNING HEAD: Unit 9 Project

Interview, Assessment, and Client Development

Develop at least 10 well-thought-out questions that can be asked to best help someone better

understand their current spectrum of spirituality and psychological health. Explain specific

reasons why each question is valuable to include as part of this inventory. Interview someone

that does not live in your home and explain your findings (First four criteria)

Can you define spirituality in your own words?

Most people think that spirituality means religion or religious practices or beliefs. It is

important to know the difference as many think of religion as manmade and a practice that

forbids life’s indulgences. You wouldn’t want someone to miss out on a spiritual journey that

promotes discovery in oneself because they had the wrong idea. It is a starting point to assess a

person’s spirituality and psychological health spectrum.

Her Answer: The way you self-reflect and meditate. It is a way to ease your mind and

body. The way you keep your own peace. You have to believe in something. A life without

spirituality is a very dull one.

Do you believe in a higher power?

This is important, whether their answer is yes, and it is God or they just believe in the

universe giving signs. Believing in something greater than oneself helps us find purpose. Having

faith also helps us stay motivated and find peace. You do not have to be religious to be spiritual.

Her Answer: I do, yes. I believe in God. I believe there is someone looking down and

watching over me. I think there is a guide in a sense to help in this crazy world.
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What do you think encompasses total wellness?

Overall wellness is being in good physical and mental health. However, there are more

dimensions to wellness than people might think. There is a physical, mental, social, spiritual, and

sometimes environmental or intellectual. It is important to assess and know this to understand

each tier to create balance in our lives. You cannot outrun a bad diet or a bad mentality. By this, I

mean you can be in top level physical shape but if your mental health is weak or your social

meter is low, you are not balanced.

Her Answer: I think total wellness is mind, body, and spirit. It is the trinity that makes us

whole when balanced.

What keeps you going when times get tough?

It is imperative to understand someone’s ethical mindset and how they go about

correcting their decisions or bounce back. It is important to know if they value relationships with

other people or a higher being. It is vital to know that our existence means something to someone

other than ourselves. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy states that we need to feel love and

belonging. It outlines the need for friendships, intimacy, family, and love in general. These things

help one feel accepted and less anxious. Asking this question helps assess where someone is at in

their spiritual journey to connect that bridge between that and their psychological health.

Her Answer: Humor. Silly things my friends do or my mom. It is usually the people

closest to me but it can be my own brain. For example, when I am upset about something, I think

of something funny (kind of a weird moment to do that but it helps).

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What brings you peace?

This can also be stated as to ask what centers them. This is slightly different from the

question above in that it can still be that reason but there is more than likely something that

brings someone back to reality when they feel out of it. There is usually something that, no

matter what happened, can ground a person.

Her Answer: Art and crafts. Reflecting or journaling also helps. Going back and reading

my old journal entries also helps me because it will either make me happy that I accomplished

something I wrote about or motivate me to do something to make it happen.

Do you prioritize growth and change?

Asking this gives you a sense of whether someone can admit their faults. Not only do you

want them to be able to admit their faults or flaws but also be willing to and take steps to change.

To be connected with our body, mind, and spirit, we need to make room for growth and change.

People should be open to new knowledge.

Her Answer: Yes. I am in school while working my full-time job. If you are not growing

and changing, you are just a nub in the wind (this made me chuckle). I go to the gym for my

physical self. For my spirituality, I try to journal. I think it helps me grow and change because I

am not just writing to myself; I am sort of writing to God as well.

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What are some practices you do, if any, to promote healing?

Now that you know their thoughts on spirituality, put it to the test by asking how they

apply it. It is not enough to think a certain way about your mindset. You must want it and work to

receive all the benefits of being a well-rounded person.

Her Answer: Not to beat a dead horse but I journal. I also work out. I call my family to

talk and check in as well. These things make me feel comforted.

Do you care what people think about your spirituality?

See if the person is confident in their spirituality or coping skills that they can talk about

it with anyone. People need to feel comfortable talking about it and expressing it. If people are

not as confident in what they believe in, they might not fully embrace their spirituality or

psychological health.

Her Answer: Not at all. I used to be—just because there can be a negative stigma around

Christianity. However, as I’ve grown, I’ve learned not to care. I think that comes with becoming

deeper in my faith.

Do you think that having a positive outlook on life can improve your physical

health?

Those who are positive live happier and healthier lives. Stress is the silent

killer. “Many disorders originate from stress, especially if the stress is severe and prolonged”

(Yaribeygi, Et al., 2017). Stress stimulates your immune system and a fight or flight

response. Some people sweat, shake, have panic attacks, lose sex drive, get headaches, and so
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many more symptoms just from feeling stress. Knowing that a person knows this can help you

figure out how they deal with life’s stressors. If someone is not aware of the full effects of

stress on the body, physically and mentally this could hinder then from properly exercising

their spiritual or psychological practices.

Her Answer: Oh yeah. I feel like if you have a positive outlook, you will try new things.

Whether that be like different physical activities that make you happier. Being outside is being

more active and being active makes you more positive. I have never met a depressed outdoorsy

person. I no longer stress about what is not for me. I can identify the negatives or what does not

align with me in relationships. If it is not something I want in my life, I do not stress. I step away

from it. Practicing detachment has made me stress a lot less. I feel better for it.

Do you trust your gut or intuition?

This assesses whether someone is true to themselves or trusts themselves to make a decision

or assessment about something. This not only shows how in tune a person is with their inner

feelings but also sets them apart from people who do not trust their instincts. It is important to do

this but also necessary to make good decisions. Scientists have studied how people make

decisions and how our emotions and feelings are vital. “In fact, the consensus is that the higher

up on the corporate ladder people climb, the more they’ll need well-honed business instincts. In

other words, intuition is one of the X factors separating the men from the boys” (Hayashi, 2014).

I have been told recently to stop saying, “I feel” at work and to only think of the facts. However,

I am a firm believer that this makes me a better leader.

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Her Answer: Yes, I do. It is very important because your gut gives you the first read on

people or a situation. I used to be terrible about this. I would ignore it. My body would say, “I

don’t know if we should be doing this.” And I would challenge it by saying, “oh we are totally

doing this.” I am way better about it, but I can still easily be peer pressured.

As a practitioner, explain how you could use the interviewee’s answers to create a

spiritual and psychological growth development plan for them moving forward

I chose a dear friend who is very in tune with her spirituality for this exercise. She answered

everything so flawlessly that it makes it hard to develop a plan for spiritual and psychological

growth. However, if we are prioritizing growth and change, we know that there is always room

for improvement. For her last answer, she answered that she does listen to her gut but

contradicted herself when she said she can be easily peer pressured. I agree that she has probably

come a long way in that she listens more to her intuition but if she can be easily swayed, she may

still ignore it. What I will suggest is she slowly starts asking herself if whatever she is being peer

pressured to do aligns with her goals. If it does not, I ask that she takes a pause before going with

the flow. If her intuition says not to do something and it does not align, then she must stick with

her gut. This will help her become more in tune with herself spiritually and will help her with

critical thinking skills which helps her psychological health become stronger. Her answer for

healing was sort of short. I would suggest adding a complementary and alternative medicinal

approach to her healing journey. She mentioned being outdoorsy and journaling. These things

align with meditation in my opinion. I would recommend she follows a guided meditation to see

how she likes it. This is an easy start into meditation as she just has to listen to the guide and

relax. “Meditation, often thought of as a path to self-awareness and compassion, can also be a
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path to better health” (UC Davis Health, 2022). Meditation calms stress, lowers blood pressure,

increases attention, improves memory, helps people sleep better and so much more. Mindfulness

will help her grow spiritually and psychologically as her soul will feel the benefits of being one

with nature or self and her mind will be at ease with any stressors.

Explain at least two ethical considerations that you, the wellness professional, would need

to make when developing this plan with the interviewee

Her and I have a very personal friendship. I chose her on purpose and with her answers being

so flawless, she was confident in them. One ethical consideration is our friendship because she

might think that she already has it together and does not need my advice. She would be

comfortable with me to say that. In hindsight, because of our friendship, she might not be

comfortable with my growth plan and not want to risk our friendship by telling me that. This

goes somewhat in hand with conflict of interest. Ideally, doctors do not treat their own family

members for this reason. Treatment plans, or our growth plan in this sense, might not be taken

seriously due to a personal relationship. Another ethical consideration might be cultural

competence. She is Mexican and grew up differently than me. She also grew up in a more

religious household and mindset than me. I might not consider the best development plan for her

because I do not believe in the same things or understand what she believes in. I do not know her

background and therefore cannot properly format a plan that might not offend her or might fully

work for her.

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Discuss any additions or subtractions you would make to your inventory based on your

results. Explain why you would make any changes

I think I would subtract the question about what brings her peace and combine it with the

question before it asking what keeps her going. I would make it either a two-part or re-format the

question to ask both. I would do this because they are very similar questions. I think they are

both important, but they ultimately ask what grounds her. I might add another question from our

course regarding spiritual strength. I would ask if she understood rumination or how she deals

with that if she goes through it because I realized I did not ask her if she dwells on things.

Rumination is repetitive thinking or dwelling on negative feelings and the outcomes of a

certain situation or those feelings. “Rumination is a form of preservative cognition that

focuses on negative content, generally past and present, and results in emotional distress”

(Sansone & Sansone, 2012). It is important to recognize it to overcome it. I would want to

make sure she is at that point and if she is not, I could come up with a plan for her. I would

suggest a run or deep breathing exercises to combat it if her answer was that rumination is

something she struggles with in a negative light. You can ruminate in a positive light though,

which can contribute to a healthier spirituality. By reliving a happy moment, you could

protect yourself against a depressive symptom or build confidence or resilience. An optimist

can ruminate to avoid depression as well because they are not making negative things

permeant or taking things to heart as often. You can learn to focus on correcting an outcome

versus dwelling on it and make the actions taken better to reach goals. I would still advise her

to be cautious not to make a habit of rumination in any sense as it can impair her ability to

think and process emotions or push people away.

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References

Yaribeygi, H., Panahi, Y., Sahraei, H., Johnston, T. P., & Sahebkar, A. (2017).
The impact of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI journal, 16, 1057
1072. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2017-480

Hayashi, A. M. (2014, August 1). When to Trust Your Gut. Harvard Business Review.

https://hbr.org/2001/02/when-to-trust-your-gut

UC Davis Health. (2022, December 14). 10 health benefits of meditation and how to focus on

mindfulness. https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/10-health-benefits-of-

meditation-and-how-to-focus-on-mindfulness-and-compassion/2022/12

Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2012). Rumination: relationships with physical

health. Innovations in clinical neuroscience, 9(2), 29–34.