Tereasa Segura

Kaplan University
Spiritual And Psychological Self
HW420
April 28th, 2016

Qualities like faith, hope, and forgiveness, and the use of social support and prayer
seem to have a noticeable effect on health and healing. A person's most deeply held
beliefs strongly influence their health. It is said that faith increases the body's resistance
to stress.
Without hope, a positive attitude that a person shows in the face of difficulty, many
people become depressed and prone to illness. One thing that is encouraged by many
spiritual and religious traditions, forgiveness is a release of hostility and resentment
from past hurts.
It is proven that a close network of family and friends that help and give emotional
support offers protection against many diseases. People who experience love and
support tend to resist unhealthy behaviors and feel less stressed.
Putting yourself in the presence of or conversing with a higher power has been used as
a means of healing across all cultures for ages. Today, many individuals believe that
prayer is an important part of daily life. When compared to those who were not prayed
for, people who were prayed for showed general improvements in the course of their
illness, less complications, and even fewer deaths.(ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

1. Do you have spiritual beliefs that help you cope with stress?
2. What gives your life meaning?
3. Have your beliefs influenced how you take care of yourself in this illness?
4. Are you part of a spiritual or religious community?
5.How would you like me to address these issues in your health care?
6. What are your sources of hope, strength, comfort, and peace?/What do you hold on
to during difficult times?
7. Are you part of a religious or spiritual community?/Does it help you? How?
8. What helps you through hard times?
9. Do you feel that your spiritual health is affecting your physical health?
10. Are there resources in your faith community that you would like for me to help
mobilize on your behalf?
(http://www.aafp.org/afp/2012/0915/p546.html)

When the interview using the inventory happened, the interviewee was a little
overwhelmed with the questions. She felt that they were a little intrusive, but when I
had mention to her about new research from Oregon State University explores the
impact of religion and spirituality on human health. The study puts forth a new
theoretical model: Religion provides a set of rules and beliefs guiding behavior, while
spirituality offers methods for managing emotions internally and regulating the
experience and expression of those emotions.(Pamela Milam) As a practitioner, I could
use this information to help the interviewee develop their own spiritual and

psychological health development plan by helping them discover their spirituality. I

would take out the questions that seem repetitive due to individuals possibly becoming
overwhelmed with the same question. The reason a practitioner needs to know about
your spirituality is to understand if there will be anything that may be affecting your
outlook or concern about the medical situation. If the practitioner cannot ease your
mind, they will be able to suggest someone who can.

References:

Seaward, Brian L. (2013). Health of the Human Spirit, 2nd Edition. [VitalSource
Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
https://kaplan.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284090444/

http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/spirituality.html

http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/how-religion-and-spirituality-affect-our-health

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1305900/

http://www.aafp.org