Running head: INVENTORY 1

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

Erica Milligan

Kaplan University

HW420: Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

INVENTORY 2

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

Inventory Questions

A spiritual and psychological inventory is beneficial in order to assess their current

spiritual and psychological well-being. Certain questions could be asked in order for the person

to understand. This inventory will promote internal self discovery and should assist the person

with discovering things about their spiritual and psychological well-being.

The list of questions is as follows:

How would you describe spirituality?

Do you think of yourself as spiritual? Why/why not?

Do you think that spirituality is important in your life and in others lives?

What would you do to improve your spirituality? Examples?

How could your spirituality affect the other areas of your life?

Can you think of a person in your life that emulates the type of spirituality you would like in

your life?

What aspects of your spirituality tends to affect others in your life, ie: co-workers, spouses?

Why is spirituality important?

Could your emotional and physical well-being be strengthened if your spirituality was

improved? Why?

What resources would you pursue if you needed spiritual guidance??

These questions should cause the person to take a deep look at their inner self and

evaluate their current level of spirituality. Each of these questions are important to gauge this

level of spirituality. Below are the reasons why each of these questions are important.
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How would you describe spirituality? This question will automatically force the person

to look deep inside himself to speak about how they truly view spirituality. This should put into

context whether they see it as a religion, or as something else- like a belief in a higher power or a

feeling of enlightenment. This question is important because it is a starting point for the person

to feel as though their response is their own, and that it is okay to be unique. It also allows for a

deeper understanding about how they view spirituality, when they may never have thought about

it before.

Do you think of yourself as spiritual? Why/why not? This is the next step in the person

taking a deep look at their inner beliefs. This could cause the person to reevaluate their true

feelings and possibly want to make changes or adjustments to their current spiritual well-being.

This is the true question of how they view themselves in their spiritual journey.

Do you think that spirituality is important in your life and in others lives? This question

is important because it shows causation between spirituality and the effects it might have in their

daily lives and relationships. By asking the question, it allows the person to evaluate these links.

What would you do to improve your spirituality? Examples? This gets the wheels

turning in the persons mind. If they were to think of things to improve it, what would they come

up with? Would it cause them to think about ways to change their attitudes, behaviors, morals,

etc? This is very important, because it opens up the creative side of their mind.

How could your spirituality affect the other areas of your life? This is important

because it will show links between either their spiritual strengths or weaknesses and what other

ailments or positive attributes they have in their life. Spiritual decline can lead to stress and

disease, so this may be when they are able to make the linkage.
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Can you think of a person in your life that emulates the type of spirituality you would

like in your life? This question will force the person to think about what they want to become,

by choosing someone they respect or desire to become similar to. That will show them how close

or far away from their own spiritual well-being they are.

What aspects of your spirituality tends to affect others in your life, ie: co-workers,

spouses? This question is important because the person will have to evaluate if their own

spirituality and psychological well-being has an effect on others. This can be an eye-opening

situation where they can understand how their own spirituality can affect others.

Why is spirituality important? This question is open-ended and can cause a lot of feelings to

emerge. Maybe spirituality isnt important or hasnt been important, but after asking the other

questions first, maybe they will see it in a new light.

Could your emotional and physical well-being be strengthened if your spirituality was

improved? Why? This is similar to the question about showing links between spiritual health

and other problems. But this specifically can pinpoint how spiritual well-being can cause other

areas of well-being, specifically those in the wellness paradigm.

What resources would you pursue if you needed spiritual guidance?? This is a

conclusion to the inventory, asking the person to think about where they would turn to if they

needed guidance or assistance. This is important, so that it gets the person to thinking about

where they would turn to in times of need.

Inventory Interview

I decided to ask a coworker the questions for this inventory. I asked each question and

took notes as he responded. The results were a little shocking, probably because after taking this
INVENTORY 5

class I see spirituality differently than most citizens do. First, he immediately linked spirituality

with religion. He is a semi-religious person, so he was able to admit that he thought he was

spiritual, but the other questions revolved around his religion and his church attendance. Next, he

was able to explain how he thought spirituality ties into many other aspects of his life, however,

they were also linked mostly to his church attendance and good deeds done. He wasnt able to

visualize how his spirituality tied into other aspects of his well-being, like physical or mental

well-being. I think that is because he was narrow-minded about what his spirituality really

entailed. Lastly, I found that he was a little shy and hesitant to go into much detail, and I got the

vibe that he felt embarrassed talking about this topic. I think it is from the Western perception

that spirituality is linked to religion and religion is not a popular topic right now.

Inventory Improvements

The interview opened my eyes quite a bit. It made me realize how closely we connect

spirituality with religion. It was very obvious from this interview that he did not see them as

separate entities. That being said, these results would help me to make a better developmental

plan for clients. In order to help them understand that religion and spirituality do not have to be

tied together, the plan can include activities and techniques to address and strengthen their

spirituality without mixing it with their specific religion.

These techniques can include things like mindful meditation. The person can discover

ways to reconnect with their inner self (Walsh, 1999). This technique includes focusing on deep

breathing and an awareness of who they are in this universe. Self-renewal is another tactic

(Seaward, 2013). It emphasises that humans need to renew their energy and rejuvenate their

well-being.
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The questions can be reworded, to be more specific regarding what spirituality entails and

then how they see themselves. Its important for the person to not pigeonhole their own

spirituality into a box they think is right. But by planning a more in-depth spiritual and

psychological management plan, hopefully they will see other aspects of themselves. Meditation

is a great way for a person to get in touch with their inner self. Seeing how their actions and

words affect others around them may be a stepping stone. Learned optimism is essential. It is

shown that optimistic people have better health results (Seligman, 2006). By learning how to

become and remain optimistic, ones spirituality will flourish.

In conclusion, this inventory is a good starting block. I think that I will need to change

the wording on a few of the questions to be more specific. Spirituality ties into most all other

aspects of a persons life, so being able to recognize and recommend changes can be

life-changing.
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References

Seaward, B.L. (2013). Health of the Human Spirit: Spiritual Dimensions for Personal Health.

Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Seligman, M. E. (2006). Learned Optimism : How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. New

York, NY: Random House.

Walsh, R. (1999). Essential Spirituality : The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind.

New York, NY: Turner Publishings.