Interview-Based Assessment of Spiritual Needs and Mental Health

Designing the Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

To understand a person’s spiritual needs and mental health, it is possible to interview this individual using different questions. These questions might help to better analyze a person’s feelings and prejudices and draw conclusions about an individual’s spiritual level.

1. What are your beliefs about purposes in life? This question will help to understand a person’s assumptions about life and the role of the individual in it. If a person cannot formulate purposes, this is an alarm that some psychological issues might occur.
2. What role do spirituality and religion play in your life? This question reveals a person’s views on the mental spheres of life. Research has shown that spirituality plays a significant role in the lives of people who struggle with mental illnesses, so this question might indicate the presence of such issues (Milner et al., 2020).
3. How do you cope with difficult emotions and mental issues? This question allows us to define people’s ability to determine and cope with negative feelings.
4. Can religion help you cope with stress? This question reveals a person’s faith in the power of spiritual medicine and helps identify an individual’s level of spiritual awareness.
5. What is your attitude toward self-care in everyday life? If a person takes care of mental health, the psychological and spiritual consequences would be positive and vice versa (Milner et al., 2020).
6. How do you stay focused on your spiritual values and beliefs? – This question analyzes people’s ability to support their spiritual needs without external help; if the answer is negative, then this person needs external help.
7. Do you have a support system to develop your mental and emotional well-being? This question indicates the person’s awareness of where psychological help might be given.
8. What kind of emotions are associated with your spiritual beliefs? This question shows the influence of spiritual beliefs on a person’s life. Spiritual beliefs might harm an individual’s mental health and overall well-being.
9. Do you practice any spiritual exercises or rituals? This question helps a person understand their attitude toward these practices and their importance.
10. What impact do challenges in life have on your spiritual beliefs? This question will determine the role of a person’s spiritual and mental parts during different periods.

Findings from the Inventory Interview

One person was questioned to analyze the level of spirituality and psychological health condition. The answers are the following.

1. I think each person has their own goals, but I have not found my mission yet, so I do my best to help others, which satisfies me.
2. I am not religious, but spirituality is a crucial part of my life, as it reflects my inner world and my understanding of morals.
3. I try to avoid difficult emotions and situations, but usually, I go for a walk or try to think positively.
4. I think that religion cannot help me cope with stress; it makes me even more stressed.
5. Self-care is an integral part of my life, and I do my best to take care of my health and well-being to have a better life.
6. I try to determine the necessity of my beliefs, as they help me to organize my life, but generally, I have no special techniques to stay focused on them.
7. This issue was not my priority, so I wonder if we have such centers. Maybe in hospitals
8. Usually, I feel energy, and my spiritual beliefs help me understand what is good and evil.
9. No, I do not practice any rituals.
10. Challenges strengthen my beliefs, as they are my compass, which helps me become a better person.

The answers allow one to determine the weaknesses and strengths of a person’s views and beliefs. As a result, the focus should be on improving spiritual practices and finding strategies to cope with difficult emotions. A few spiritual practices can be recommended.

Developing a Spiritual and Psychological Growth Plan

Cultural competence, sensitivity, confidentiality, and informed consent can be used as ethical considerations to create an efficient plan. Cultural competence and sensitivity would be helpful, as the person has her own beliefs and purposes. To avoid bias, this consideration will help to analyze individual needs and ways of achieving them better (Maximo, 2019). A person’s understanding of spirituality would be better researched. Confidentiality and Informed Consent consideration will provide the patient with essential information about privacy and potential therapy risks so the individual can have the necessary information to decide about the effectiveness of the proposed therapy and plan (Maximo, 2019).

In addition, this plan helps to build trust and convince the person that the offered plan is reliable and can address her spiritual needs. In addition, implementing mindfulness or meditation techniques for patients to cope with negative emotions and stress can be considered (Maximo, 2019). For the therapist, it is essential to avoid making assumptions about the patient’s spirituality and beliefs based only on the provided answers; that is why a more complex approach should be implemented to research the topic accurately.

References

Maximo, S. I. (2019). A scoping review of ethical considerations in spiritual/religious counseling and psychotherapy. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, 73(2), 124-133. Web.

Milner, K., Crawford, P., Edgley, A., Hare-Duke, L., & Slade, M. (2020). The experiences of spirituality among adults with mental health difficulties: a qualitative systematic review. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 29, e34. Web.