Running Head: SPIRITUAL AND PSYCHOLGICAL INVENTORY

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

Jennifer Lacombe
November 24, 2015
HW420-01: Creating Wellness
Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing
Kaplan University

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

Spirituality and psychological well-being are important parts of your mind-body-spirit
health and wellness. By understanding these parts of your mental health, you are more able to
attain peak health and wellness in all parts of your mind, body, and spirit. The purpose of this
paper to is to explore ten questions that can lead to you inventorying your spiritual and
psychological well-being. The author interviewed her grandmother, Mary Bussell, for this
assignment using the ten spiritual and psychological inventory questions. Her answers and
explanations behind the questions will be discussed.
Q. How would you define spirituality? Do you feel that you are a spiritual person?
A. Spirituality is how you close you are with God. Yes, I do feel that I am a spiritual person. I go
to church each Sunday to worship and say my prayers every night. I also look for God in the
people around me and do good things for them. Finally, I see God in nature and thank the Lord
for all the beauty around me (Bussell, 2015).
The value of this question is to see how the person defines spirituality and to see if they
feel that they are a spiritual person. Spirituality can come in many different forms and do not
have to be centered on religious belief. Ehrlich explains that spirituality is any way a person
connects to themselves and the world around them to bring meaning, hope, comfort, and inner
peace to your life (2013). This is a good starting question because it starts the person thinking
about their spirituality.
Q. What are your values?
A. Off the top of my head, my values include love for my friends and family, doing what is right,
doing things for others, faith in God, and a good education (Bussell, 2015).

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

This question is used to help the person think about what is most important to them and
what they value the most. As the authors grandmother started out, these are the values that first
come to her. However, the seed is planted and she will start thinking more about what she values
in her life.
Q. How balanced do you feel your emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being
are?
A. I feel that I have a strong emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. My physical is a little
out of sync though. The numbness in my leg limits me in what I can do for long periods of time.
It also makes me tired. Other than that, I feel that I am a pretty healthy 85 year old woman. I
could be sitting in a nursing home somewhere just waiting to die, but Im out living and enjoying
my life. I do the best with what I got and not let the numbness stop me from doing the things that
I like to do (Bussell, 2015).
This question makes the person think about the different parts of their life and how these
parts interact with each other. The person can realize where they are having trouble and can work
on making that part of their well-being stronger.
Q. How optimistic do you feel you are?
A. I feel that I am very optimistic. I know bad things happen in life, but better things are coming
either in this life or the next. I feel there is no reason to dwell on the bad things in life because
they can only bring you down. As long as you have hope, love, and faith in your life, there is
always a bright side to life (Bussell, 2015).
How optimistic a person is can show how well they can deal with what life throws at
them. Also it can reflect in how healthy the person is physically.

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

Harvard has reviewed many studies about optimism effecting your health and found that the
more optimistic a person was the healthy and the longer the person lived (2008). This question
was to bring up the thought of optimism and have the person think about how it can affect their
lives.
Q. How do you deal with negative emotions like anger or fear?
A. I dont really get angry or fearful. I guess if I do have a negative emotion, I recognize it and
then let it go. When I do get angry, I talk it out and look at what is making me angry and question
why it made me angry. When Im afraid, I pray (Bussell, 2015).
Knowing how someone deals with negative emotions can show how well they can
balance all emotions in their life. If they are not able to let go of negative emotions, they will not
be able to have true inner peace.
Q. How do you deal with stress?
A. Im 85 years old and retired, I do not get stressed. I do worry, but I let the people Im worried
about know that Im worried and then I let God handle it from there (Bussell, 2015).
By knowing how the person deals with stress says a lot about how the person connects
between their mind, body, and spirit. If they are able to deal with it in a healthy way, you know
that they are more connected with each part of their wellness.
Q. What do you do to nurture your spirituality?
A. I go to church, read the Bible, pray, and go outside into nature. I do Gods work. I also spend
time with people I care about. That is another thing that makes me feel good (Bussell, 2015).
This question makes the person think about what they do to increase their spiritual health.
By setting aside a time every day to do something to nurture your spirit, you are allowing it to
grow.

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

These could be a number of different things including community service/ volunteer work,
praying, being out in nature, doing yoga, playing a sport, attending a worship service, and/or just
spending a quiet time thinking (FamilyDoctor.org, 2010).
Q. Have you ever tried a complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) practice? If yes,
what was it and how did it help your mind-body-spirit balance?
A. I would say no, but after you explained the different types of CAM practices, I would have to
say yes. I have been part of prayer circles, both as the giver and the receiver. I also have tried the
different home remedies that you (the author) have brought me to help me feel better. As for how
did it help with my mind-body-spirit balance, I think it helped a lot. Prayer is a very powerful
thing and can lead the body to heal. Spending time with you (the author) always makes me feel
better. It recharges my spirit when you (the author) sits with me and explains how and why the
home remedy works (Bussell, 2015).
This question is more of an ice breaker to see if they are interested in CAM practices,
what they have tried, and/or how open minded they are to a different way of thinking. By
explaining the different forms of CAM, the person finds that they are already taking part of one
of these practices. This question also opens them up to a different way of healing that they may
or may not be used to.
Q. Do you practice a form of meditation?
A. I do not meditate like you (author) do, but after you explained what the different types of
meditation are, I would say yes I do. I practice prayer and inclusive meditation. The types of
inclusive meditation I do is gardening and knitting. While Im doing these activities, I let my
mind wonder and think about things that are going on in my life. I do not judge or put emotions
behind the thoughts, but just let them flow. It is very calming (Bussell, 2015).

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

Since meditation is an important way to connect the mind with the spirit, it is important
to know what kind of meditation they practice. The person might need to have the different
forms of meditation explain to them so they understand what they are and if they are really doing
a form. Like with the authors grandmother, she did not know that she was meditating. Now that
she knows, she can deepen her ability to meditate and connect with her inner self.
Q. Have you ever had a mystical moment?
A. Yes, I have mothers intuition. I just know when something bad is going to happen to a
person that I love. Usually, I am able to let them know beforehand, so that they are able to be
aware that something bad is going to happen. Also whenever I have this feeling, I pray that they
will be safe (Bussell, 2015).
Mystical moments show that the person is connected to the spiritual plan. Knowing if the
person has had a mystical moment and how they reacted will show how spiritual they are. By
bring up mystical moments, it makes the person think about how connected they are with their
inner self. If they are have one mystical moment they are more apt to have other mystical
moments. This author believes that the more mystical moments you have the closer you are to
enlightenment.
This series of ten questions can be used to find out what stage of spiritual health the client
is in. The practitioner is able to understand where the person is coming from in their spiritual
journey and how best to help the client to continue making positive changes. The authors
grandmother has a healthy spiritual self and would only need guidance on how to proceed to get
more out of her spiritual health. This in turn would help increase the health of her body and
mind.

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

In reviewing the question and the interview, the author found that she had to explain a lot
of the background on the questions.
The authors grandmother has a masters in child psychology and was first a 4th grade teacher
than an elementary school guidance counselor for a combined 40 years, so she was able to
understand most of the concepts without explanations, however some had to be explained to her.
In re-evaluation this questionnaire, the author would first explain the basics of spirituality and
psychology before giving the questionnaire. That way the person can be able to understand what
the practitioner wants to know.
What worked well was starting out with simple questions about spirituality and values.
Then going into the deeper questions that made them think a little. The author found that talking
through the question also helped get her grandmother to open up more about her spirituality. The
author believes this would work for other practitioners using these questions to help the client
explore their spirituality.

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

References:
Bussell, M. (2015). Personal communication. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
Ehrlich, S. (2013). Spirituality. Retrieved November 23, 2015 from
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/treatment/spirituality
FamilyDoctor.org, (2010). Spirituality and Health. Retrieved November 22, 2015 from
http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/prevention-wellness/emotional-wellbeing/mentalhealth/spirituality-and-health.html
Harvard Medical School (2008). Harvard Health Publications: Optimism and your health.
Retrieved November 23, 2015 from http://www.health.harvard.edu/hearthealth/optimism-and-your-health