Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

1. Assignment 9: Final Project Spiritual and Psychological Inventory
Gena Bugda
Kaplan University
Unit 9
Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

2. Spiritual and Psychological Inventory
Section 1: Questions about spirituality
1. What does spirituality look like to you?
2. What are ways you focus on your spirituality?
3. How does this make you feel spiritual?
4. What brings you happiness?
5. Is this the same as fulfillment?
Section 2: Introspection – Looking Inside Yourself
6. What is really important in life?
7. If you had to pick what would you say really matters most to you?
8. In your life what would you be better off doing more of?
9. What would you be better off doing less of?
Section 3: Questions about Health and Wellness
10. What do you do to take care of yourself mind/body/ and spirit?
11. How do you feel about complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM)?
12. What type of CAM do you incorporate into your health practices?
Relevance of the Questions
Each section of the questionnaire is important to help the wellness practitioner
figure out the spiritual and psychological wellness of the individual answering the
questions. The first section of questions is designed to determine if the individual
understands and connects to spirituality. This is relevant because much of
mind/body/soul health is established based on an understanding that we are all connected
to something larger than ourselves. In order to achieve wellness

3. One has to nurture the growth of the soul (Seaward, 2013). This can be done in a variety
of ways including through faith, patience, and compassion (Seaward, 2013).
Question 4 and 5 ask about happiness and fulfillment. According to Walsh in the
Essential Spirituality text happiness does not come from our attachments, but really from
reducing and letting them go (Walsh, 1999). Therefore, the questions are relevant to
understand how the person being interviewed views their own happiness. Are they
focused on external attachments or is their happiness found more internally.
Section 2 of the questionnaire asks questions allowing the interviewee to explore
his or her inner feelings. These questions ask about what is important in life and what
would you do more of and less of if you could. This section of questions is relevant to
figuring out if the individual is satisfied with their life socially and emotionally. This is a
continuation on the previous question and digs deeper into the question of are the things
in your life making you happy or are they just baggage being carried around. According
to Walsh, many people worry that letting go of attachments will diminish their joy
(Walsh, 1999). This is a false assumption. By asking questions such as these, the
practitioner is able to determine if attachments are holding down the interviewee and
creating anxiety, worry, etc. This will be important information needed in prescribing a
plan to achieve balance.
At the same time, finding out what the client wants to do more of and less of can
highlight what brings them joy and through spiritual and psychological guidance this
homeostasis can be achieved. Embracing the shadow can help each of us to begin to
understand our inner selves. Once this relationship is established, one can begin to let go
of some of the burdens placed on oneself. We are our biggest and harshest critics.

4. Therefore, recognizing the shadow can help us to go back into the light and treat
ourselves with more kindness and love (Seaward, 2013).
The final section of the questionnaire focuses on specific health and wellness
questions on complimentary and alternative medicine. Establishing what the
interviewee’s definition of CAM, what they practice, and what they want to do is
essential to creating a plan that will work for them within their life. Establishing a
starting point can help the practitioner design a plan to get the client to the next step in his
or her wellness plan. Also, the practitioner can educate the client on different types of
CAM not yet explored and highlight the benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic,
integrative medicine is a growing field where complimentary and alternative medicine
practices are combined with western medicine practices ("Healthy Lifestyle Consumer
Health", 2016). The World Health Organization highlights some of the advantages of
CAM to be the diversity, flexibility, availability, and affordability as well as the
contribution to overall better health and wellbeing for many ("Guidelines on Developing
Consumer Information on Proper Use of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative
Medicine: 1. General Considerations: 1.1 The benefits of TM/CAM", 2016)
Interview Results and Understanding
I interviewed my husband for this project and was amazed at how enlightened he
already is. He took the time to answer each question and went below the surface to dig
deeper into his own understanding of himself. He was very introspective and appears to
already have a good understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. When asked what
does spirituality look like to you, he responded, “It is your inner voice advising you on
the bigger than you elements of your life.” He understood the connection to spirituality

5. and the importance of focusing on the bigger picture. He already uses yoga and running
as a way to connect and reduce the clutter in his mind. This is a healthy outlet I would
encourage him to continue to de-clutter the mind, reduce stress, and anxiety. In many of
his responses, he highlighted the idea of the importance of having gratitude and a healthy
perspective on life. He said he used his time running to look at the people around him
and see the difficulties in their lives to appreciate the richness in his own. The idea of
having a healthy perspective, gratitude, and acceptance is a large part of what Mary Jane
Ryan discusses in her book highlighted in our textbook. The idea of having an attitude of
gratitude is a key part of living with an open heart. (Seaward, 2013).
This attitude is highlighted by his responses surrounding happiness and
fulfillment. Both responses were focused on intrinsic motivators and not wealth, or
items. Instead, he viewed the question as an opportunity to realize he has no regrets in
his life and fulfillment is on a deeper level of being in tune with himself and letting go of
worrying what others think. To deepen this connection, I would encourage my husband
to add meditation to his daily life. This would allow him to let go of the psychological
need to please others and be accepted. By meditating he could let go of these thoughts
and focus inwards on accepting and appreciating himself. This idea is supported by his
responses to questions in the introspection section of the questionnaire. He mentioned
wanted to have more self-awareness and the ability to recognize his strengths and
weaknesses. He felt having empathy was an important strength. Through meditation he
could quiet his mind and achieve enlightenment deepening his sense of the soul
(Seaward, 2013).

6. The final section of questions on CAM showed me he didn’t have a true grasp on
all the different types of CAM out there. He uses yoga, exercise, and laughter to take
care of his mind/body/spirit and would prefer not to take any medication. As a
practitioner after completing this interview, I would provide him with information on
other types of CAM to be use as preventive measures to strengthen the body and soul.
He mentioned the chiropractor, but even acupuncture to relieve aches and pains when
they arise would be a good option. Similarly supplements, essential oils, etc. could all be
introduced, but it is important to mention the need to do one’s research before embarking
on something new. Also, it is important to discuss with your general doctor the use of
complimentary and alternative medicines to make sure there are no interactions with what
you are using in western medicine (("Guidelines on Developing Consumer Information
on Proper Use of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine: 1. General
Considerations: 1.1 The benefits of TM/CAM", 2016).
Reflections:
After completing my interview and analyzing the responses I received there are
some things I would change and incorporate next time. I found myself sometimes
prompting longer responses by adding why or why not when asking a question. I would
incorporate these into the questionnaire. For instance, the question about what do you to
take care of yourself elicited a very short response. I had to ask for more details. I would
also ask at the end of the interview if there is anything the client would like to add to their
responses or in general before the interview ends. I feel this would give the client the
opportunity to provide further insight into him or herself and add information I may have
neglected to ask about.

7. References
Guidelines on Developing Consumer Information on Proper Use of Traditional,
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: 1. General Considerations: 1.1 The benefits of
TM/CAM. (2016). Apps.who.int. Retrieved 24 October 2016, from
http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js5525e/5.1.html
Healthy Lifestyle Consumer Health. (2016). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 24 October
2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-
depth/alternative-medicine/art-20046087
SeaSeaward, B. (2013). The Call to spirit. Health of the Human Spirit: Spiritual
Dimensions for Personal Health. 2nd Ed. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning
LLC.
Walsh, R. (1999). Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart
and Mind. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.