Psychological and Spiritual

Aspects of Wellness
 Here I am providing you with 10 questions to use to consider the role of spirituality in your

life and start the wheels turning of ways to become more spiritual, if that is a personal wellness

goal. Additionally, it may awaken something within you that inspires you to explore new aspects

of your spirituality. The great news about this exercise is that there are no right or wrong answers

only your answers, and should you not be happy with any of your answers you have just planted

the seed to start spiritual growth. The subsequent pages contain a clients answers to the

questions as an example of what you can expect, as well as my reasoning for having a client ask

these questions of themselves. I would encourage you to share these questions with friends and

family, there is no need for them to share their answers with you nor for you to share your

answers with the class. If you are ready to embark on a spiritual journey and are seeking

assistance it would be good to share your answers with a spiritual advisor, therapist or someone

you look to for advice and guidance. For our class this is an exercise to take stock of where you

are at, if that is where you want to be, and are you seeking more?

Ten Questions:

1.What does spirituality mean to you?

2.What do you do to promote spirituality?

3. Would you describe yourself as a spiritual person?

4.What are some areas you would explore, to grow or develop your spirituality?

5. How does spirituality impact the way you work?

6. What areas or types of spirituality are you interested in learning more about and are

you open to learning about other ways to enhance your spirituality?

7. What areas or types of spirituality are you not interested in learning more about?

8. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life?

10. How do you explain your belief system to others?

Ten Spirituality Questions with example answers and reasoning behind the questions.

1. What does spirituality mean to you?

A: believing in something bigger than me and that all things are interconnected.

Question Goal: Chosen to assess the patients’ understanding of spirituality.

Assessment: For this patient they have a belief system that supports the concept of spirituality,

and they are open to discussing how to mold and tune that belief system.

2. What do you do to promote your spirituality?

A: Practice Yoga and Engage with friends discussing life and spirituality

Question Goal: To understand how the patient engages with their spirituality and what sorts of

activities they find to be spiritual.

Assessment: The patient enjoys discussing spirituality and physical activity that focuses the

mind and engages the body.

3. Would you describe yourself as a spiritual person?

A: Yes

Question Goal: Straightforward question to see how they perceive themselves spiritually.

Assessment: If a patient says no to this question, it would be worth exploring how they find

peace and recharge. I find that it is likely they are participating in spiritual practices and do not

recognize them as being spiritual, perhaps because they have been taught that spirituality and

religion are the same thing, and you must be religious to be spiritual. This will present an
opportunity to explore the types of activities or modalities they find interesting. Additionally, the

opposite could be true in that they consider themselves spiritual because they are religious, and

they could be missing out on many ways to grow their spirituality.

4. What are some areas you would explore, to grow or develop your spirituality?

A: Not be so wishy washy. To know what I believe in and be firm in it.

Question Goal: This question is designed to gauge the patient’s willingness to work on their

spirituality, and how they think they can find more spiritual happiness. Through their response

one can gleam what types of practices they might want or could benefit from being exposed to,

and what practices may be too uncomfortable for them to engage with given where they are at

personally.

Assessment: For this patient they are looking for reinforcement and conviction in their

spirituality.

5. How does spirituality impact the way you work?

A: I have a strong sense of right and wrong. Being in sales stretching the truth is part of

the job. I don’t like to do that, so it creates stress.

Question Goal: To help the practitioner understand how the patient takes themselves to work, do

they feel their work is impacted by their spirituality, do they hide their spirituality at work to fit

in or are they forward with people about their spirituality. Additionally, how does their

spirituality conflict or align with the work they do and how do they reconcile those

discrepancies.

Assessment: I believe the client is confusing spirituality with morality, while being confident

and comfortable with one’s integrity and morality is a key to wellness, there may be an
opportunity her for the client to spend some time journaling and working thorough their

conflicts.

6. What areas or types of spirituality are you interested in learning more about and

are you open to learning about other ways to enhance your spirituality?

A: Meditation, and I am open to new experiences

Question goal: This question is designed to learn what types of practices they might be

interested in exploring. Additionally, it will indicate their awareness of various modalities along

with their openness to trying new things.

Assessment: Client is aware of some other spiritual practices and is open to trying new

experiences.

7. What areas or types of spirituality are you not interested in learning more

about?

A: Anything too far out I find some spiritual discussions uncomfortable when they seem

to be in direct conflict with my belief system.

Question Goal: Designed to understand if there are practices that they are leery of or

uncomfortable with for a number of reasons. Arming the practitioner with this knowledge will

help them guide the patient in such a way that keeps them engaged and comfortable.

Assessment: Client has deeply held religious beliefs that are closely associated with their

spirituality and may be uncomfortable with practices that are closely associated with conflicting

religious beliefs.

8. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life.

A: I pray and live a life of giving and forgiveness

their everyday life.

Assessment: This patient has shared that they pray indicating a strong belief in a higher power

and purpose, additionally they share that forgiveness is highly valued.

9. What do you do to practice your spirituality with others?

A: “Do unto to others” that’s my motto and makes me feel good to be a good human to those

around me.

Question Goal: To understand how the client engages with people they meet and how the

deploy their spirituality.

Assessment: This patient has placed great value on being happy and making others happy by

practicing kindness in hopes of receiving the same in return.

10. How do you explain your belief system to others?

A: That I believe there is something much bigger than me in the universe and I want to do

what’s right for me and for those around me.

Question Goal: To give the client the opportunity to explain their spiritualty in their own words.

A practitioner will find this helpful by paying attention to the words they use and ideas they

express. Once the practitioner has heard the patient explain their spirituality, their spiritual

literacy can begin to be determined. Having knowledge of the patients understanding will help

the practitioner know where to start developing a plan for their spiritual journey.

Assessment: Based on the patient’s responses they are likely in a good place to start building a

spiritual growth plan and are open to being assisted on that journey.
Additional considerations for spiritual assessment: A good place to start is to address

professional ethics with clients: First and foremost, the practitioner needs to reinforce privacy

and what is discussed or shared during conversations will not be shared with anyone, except for

some legal and life-threatening situations which should be well discussed. (Silvia, 2018) Another

ethical consideration will be to consider cultural competence and understanding the patients’

background and treating them with respect. A practitioner must value diversity and know where

their own blind spots are so they can put systems in place to avoid undervaluing or poorly

serving their client. (Georgetown, n.d.) By being aware of cultural bias on both sides of the

conversation a practitioner can more adequately provide the client with the guidance and

information they need in a way they understand and adds value to the experience. (Silvia, 2018)
 References

Georgetown University. (n.d.). Curricula enhancement module series. NCCC.

https://nccc.georgetown.edu/curricula/culturalcompetence.html

Silvia L. Mazula, P., & Pamela LiVecchi, P. (2018). Ethics for Counselors: Integrating

Counseling and Psychology Standards. Springer Publishing Company.