...Spirituality in Counseling Integrating Religion and Spirituality In Counseling Anntoni Leonard University of the Cumberlands COUN 636 Abstract Religion and spirituality are arguably among the most important factors which structure human experience, beliefs, values and behavior. Religion and spirituality are clearly important to most Americans; however, most counselors have little or no training in dealing with religious and spiritual issues. Since the mid-1990’s, the integration of spirituality and religion into therapeutic sessions has generated much interest as an area that needs to be addressed with regards to diversity in clients. This paper will address the inclusion of religion and spirituality in client’s session and counselor’s attitudes toward a client’s faith based on the assumption that the client’s faith and the counselor’s attitude can have significant impact on the outcome of the treatment of the client. A counselor’s willingness to attend to faith as a means of growth can build rapport and lessen potential resistance with clients who are religious (Worthington, 1989). Spirituality in Counseling: Integrating Religion and Spirituality Spirituality has become increasingly important in counseling and prayer has become the spiritual intervention of choice for Christian counselors, as well as secular counselors. The controversial nature of including prayer in counseling requires much consideration on the grounds of ethical boundaries. Majority of mental health...
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...Human Spirituality Professor Jan P. Hatcher 1/17/12 What is Human Spirituality? People from all over the world take a moment each and every day to reflect upon their certain religion. These practices can consist of going to church, watching television, or simply saying a quick prayer just before the person goes to bed. Human Spirituality inspires people’s everyday day life. There are about 20 major religions studied in today’s society. Human Spirituality is known as the inner path that allows a person to discover his or her well being. Spiritual practices can be done through prayer, meditation, and contemplation. Believing in a specific religion allows one to devote themselves to that specific religion. All of their faith and dedication turns to that special god or leader. In times of dire need, humans can turn to their faith to help them overcome certain hardships in their lives. As a believer in Catholicism, I myself, always turn to God in situations in which I feel as If I may have a chance of failing in. Before a big game, I will kneel down in the corner of the locker room and ask our lord to be there with me throughout the game. There’s nothing better than having someone to turn to for help or guidance, at any hour of the day. Human Spirituality has been known to cleanse the soul of stressors and nerves. Human Spirituality is not a necessity in today’s world. People can choose to either partake or not partake in a certain religion practice. Human Spirituality allows...
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...religion and spirituality facilitate and or frustrate our search for meaning Introduction It is through encountering different facets of life through direct involvement, service rendering, and emersion into different programs that finally result into religion. Having the conscience to call on the idea why we hold into these values, the central question of faith creeps in, that sets out different denominations. All this are directed to the search of God with the foundation based on faith, furthermore in the realm of this, the dignity to hold on faith is decremented by the confusion and emotional burden (Bryant 1). Faith and Spirituality To find true meaning in life, religion and spirituality both facilitate and frustrate the efforts to establish this basis of concerned life. They can however, promote a firm foundation for one to stand on but leave the anomaly whether one can stand firm on belief. To solve such a dynamic, this echoes the aspects of spirituality. Ancient people come out with ideologies that created Gods and Goddesses in order expandiate on the things that seemed hard for them to understand. Storms, catastrophes, death, and art are found to be unknown. Through learning, this has been pushed these deities far away in the abyss. Despite the extensive research for all these meanings, still there exist uncertainties such as death, suffering, and the meaning of life. When this falls in to be void, people run for solace on religion and spirituality for explanation...
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...Healing: Final Draft Spirituality in Health Care April 28, 2013 Abstract This paper explores healing as it pertains to spirituality in Christianity, Buddhism, Muslim, and Native American Indian faiths to give insight about how diverse various cultures can be. Yet, despite their diversity some underlying concepts within these beliefs share uncanny similarities. Health care providers are well equipped to meet the needs of a diverse population with understanding and acceptance of these faiths and the importance that they hold in peoples’ lives. The Diversity of Spiritual Healing: Final Draft Health care providers today come across a wide variety of different cultures, each having their own set of beliefs and customs. In particular, religious and spiritual beliefs are an important part of many peoples’ lives. Faith often gives people a sense of purpose, and spirituality helps define a person. This makes spirituality an important part of living a healthy life. Because of the importance of spirituality in peoples’ lives and the vital role it plays in health maintenance, health care providers should acknowledge and respect these diverse cultures in our world. If spirituality plays such a vital role in the overall health and wellbeing of an individual then health care workers should have an open-mind and understanding of just how diverse these cultures can be. Exploration of several different faiths – Buddhism, Muslim and Native American spirituality – gives an understanding...
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...Spiritual Needs Assessment According to Potter and Perry (2009), one’s awareness of inner self and having a sense of connection to a higher being is the meaning of spirituality. Spirituality is a force that provides a person with intrinsic energy that promotes and enhances their well-being. It also helps a person achieve the balance needed to cultivate a positive life and to cope with everyday life stressors (Potter & Perry, 2009). Florence Nightingale believed that spirituality within a healing hospital environment, and caring for an individual’s spiritual needs is just as important as caring for their physical needs (Potter & Perry, 2009). Spiritual assessment is defined as the process from which health care providers identify a patient’s spiritual needs related to their mental health care (Spiritual Competency Resource Center, n.d.). In 2005, as evidence-based research demonstrated a correlation between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and their ability to cope with an illness, The Joint Commission (TJC) announced the requirement for health care organizations to include “a spiritual assessment as part of the overall assessment of a patient to determine how the patient’s spiritual outlook can affect his or her care, treatment, and services.” (p. 1). Patients deserve the best holistic care from health care providers, and it is through a spiritual assessment upon admission that providers will be guided to providing such care. Introduction And Spiritual...
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...What Is Spirituality Spirituality is a word that has endless definitions and means something different to everyone. Although no one definition may be the same, they all lead back to one basic idea – faith. Everyone believes that spirituality is something that you believe in and something that you feel. When I asked five very different people what their definition of the word spirituality was I got various answers. The answers ranged from being very religion based to not at all. The first person I asked was a sixteen year old girl. Her response to the question of what spirituality means she said “It means it’s a feeling about being in touch with your soul. That you believe in not just that God rules everything but that everything happens for a reason. Also, that if you are more in touch with yourself that you will be more in touch with the world and that means you will have total happiness.” At this age it is sometimes hard I think to come up with your own personal definition because you still want and are sometimes expected to follow what your parents are doing with their own spirituality. The second person I questioned was an eighteen year old girl. Her statement was that “it is the religious aspect of your personality. It effects how you act, usually making you a better person. It means believing in something bigger than yourself and having faith in humanity.” Next, I asked a friend of mine who is a twenty year old male. He answered with “It is obviously being religions...
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...Inventory The concept of spirituality is a part of the human experience and encompasses the search for meaning in life. It is a sense that there is a power greater than ourselves and it connects us to each other and other creatures. Spirituality is about seeking a meaningful connection with something bigger than yourself, which can result in positive emotions, such as peace, awe, contentment, gratitude, and acceptance ("Spirituality," n.d.). Philosophically the search for spirituality encompasses asking the questions “Who, what and why are we, what is my purpose and where did I come from?” ("Spirituality," n.d.). Some people seek the answers to these questions through their religion while others find them through art or nature. Sociology’s definition of spirituality is based on the study of relationships where people influence other people. Sociology describes spirituality as spiritual practices, rituals, and social morality of a group of people (Seaward, 2013, p. 34). Thus sociology would encompass the idea of religious pluralism. Religious pluralism is the concept that no one religion is the way to god. Rather it recognizes that there are religions other than Christianity that seek to commune with god ("Pluralism," n.d.). The ecumenical concept has only recently become part of western culture ("Pluralism," n.d.). People perceive their lives through the lens of their experiences based on their cultural and spiritual background. Spirituality and scientism to the writer...
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...Spiritual Assessment NUR 645E Grand Canyon University April 3, 2013 Abstract Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are easy to use and provides details on a wide range of aspects related to multicultural beliefs. The HOPE Questions is not supported by research thereby it is not valid or reliable. Key Words: spiritual assessment, FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool, HOPE Questions Spiritual Assessment Taking patients spiritual needs into account is an integral component of providing holistic care. Research has linked positive health outcomes with patients whose spiritual needs have been addressed. However, spirituality is not always considered an important part of a patient’s well-being; leading to spiritual assessments not being completed. To aid in addressing a patients spiritual needs, there are spiritual assessment tools available. Some of the tools available...
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...A Spirituality Assessment Sanda Stanhope Grand Canyon University Spirituality in Health Care HLT 310V Patricia Mullen February 02, 2011 A Spirituality Assessment Spirituality is an imperative component in a patient’s assessment and care that can enhance the quality of life. Acknowledging and supporting a patients’ spirituality can make their health care involvements more encouraging in promoting health, reducing depression, it aids in patients coping with challenging illnesses, and increases the quality of life. Patients do want their health care providers to discuss their spirituality with them. A study found that 40% of patients felt that physicians should discuss pertinent religious issues with their patients, however only 11% of physicians frequently or always did (Maugans, 1991). Assessment Participant One has always worked with the adult population, so to enhance the experience; a fifteen year old female, which has been brought up in the Baptist faith was given a spiritual assessment. Summary of Assessment Findings As with most youth, life consists of the here and now with a philosophy regarding life to be “live life to the fullest without breaking rules”. While there is a true belief in God, family and peers would be sought for support and comfort. Prayer is something best done with family and a familiar pastor, but would be too prickly with a hospital provided clergy. Suffering means to have physical and emotional pain. Instances of emotional were explained...
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...Spirituality is about the concept of soul that deals with issues of inner beliefs and feelings. It included a belief in a power operating in the universe that is greater than oneself and an awareness of the purpose and meaning of life and the development of personal plus absolute values. In another word, it is the way you find hope, comfort, meaning and inner peace in your life. Some examples of the characteristics of spirituality would be the acts of compassion and selflessness, altruism, and the experience of inner peace. (Spirituality, n.d.) Religion is defined as the human quest for, experience of, and response to the holy and sacred. In religion, the religious expressions are in thought – the intellectual expression, in action – the practical expression, and in fellowship – the communal expression. These are also known as the ways that universal human activity expresses itself. (What is religion?, n.d.) Secularism is a wider view to the world that assures the independence in connection with all its strengths, qualities, values and behavior towards all sects, religion and other spiritual actions. Apparently, there are 3 different historical types of secularism - secularism that is against, secularism that is compliance too, and secularism that is bias towards religion. (What is secularism, n.d.) Although spirituality and religion have their own definition, but the truth is both of them are actually closely associated with each other. However, we often heard people said...
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...mysticism. Mysticism was a type of devout faith or spirituality found throughout the convents in Italy and primarily exercised by Christian Italian women (Sheldrake 93-95). These women underwent vivid connections with God which involved an awakening of consciousness and awareness for God’s divine will. In extreme cases, women fell into a transcendental union with God in which they experienced ultimate illumination. In these rare occurrences, women could encounter faith miracles such as stigmatas, ecstasies, or the re-living of Christ’s Passion. During this period, Italy also experienced another intense spiritual movement labeled diabolic witchcraft (Tavuzzi 150). In the case of diabolic witchcraft, again experienced primarily by females, women underwent a concentrated level of worship and contractual relations with Satan. Historical examples show these women developing sexual relations with Satan, as well as maleficia or harmful magic (Tavuzzi 153). The women involved in diabolic witchcraft were pursued by the Church’s legal arm, the Dominican Inquisitors. They were put on trial, accused of heresy, and either imprisoned or killed. Similarly, the Dominican Inquisitors investigated women who were involved in mysticism and upon the examinations performed by the inquisitors; these mystics were authenticated and praised by the Church. Sometimes theses mystics were even beatified or canonized by the Church. Ironically, these two types of spirituality co-existed and paralleled each other...
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...Spirituality is an essential part of humanity. Disaster disrupts people’s spiritual lives significantly. Nurturing people’s spiritual needs contributes to holistic healing. Everyone can benefit from Spiritual Care in times of disaster(Light our way, 2012) Spirituality is a broader concept than Religion or Faith. Many people choose to adhere to a religion or faith tradition which provides a source of belonging, meaning, and identity. Spirituality is very broad because every person has a sense of spirituality, whether or not they are ‘religious’. There are many definition of spirituality, however, they all share common elements involving the struggle for meaning and the relationship of the Human Spirit to transcendence and hope. Spirituality is a complex and intricately personal experience.When a disaster occurs, either manmade or natural people question their belief systems. They question their spirituality. They need a place, or someone to blame. They question their God about why he could let this happen, they question the universe. In a man made disaster they blame the people our the community. In a natural disaster they could blame their God. The cause that is “blamed” for the disaster speaks to the belief structure that the person views the world through. It determines how he or she has been viewing established meaning. It also speaks to how the person perceives community, as well as how participation in community should be and how it is influenced. (2012) Disasters disrupt...
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...HLT-310V Spirituality October 20, 2013 Abstract The world is awash with diversity. A person can find differences in different religions, cultures and most importantly in various belief systems. This paper will examine three belief systems in order to show the reader how a belief system can shape certain responses to healthcare. The three religions that will be discussed are Native American spirituality, Islam and Buddhism faiths. Although these faiths are different they do have similarities between each other. Health care provider and faith diversity Native Americans spirituality is described in four cultural elements of medicine, harmony, relation and vision. There are approximately 558 federally as well as state recognized Native American nations (Garrett & Wilbur, 1999). Each of these tribes practice differently where spirituality is concerned. Some of the concepts that are valued to Native Americans are community contribution, sharing, acceptance, cooperation, harmony and balance, noninterference, extended family, attention to nature, immediacy of time awareness of the relationship, and a deep respect for elders (Garrett & Wilbur, 1999). All these core concepts honor the importance of balance and the belief that everything is sacred as well as sharing a connection with the energy of life (Garrett & Wilbur, 1999). This is the basic concept of Native spirituality across all tribal nations. Native Americans, like those of Christian faith do believe...
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...Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity: First Draft “Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred” (Pulchalski & Ferrell, 2009). INTRODUCTION It is important for the professional nurse to recognize the unique spiritual beliefs and individuality of each patient and family who enters the hospital setting. Nurses have a great opportunity to facilitate their patient’s complex spiritual and religious needs in the face of crisis. Fulfilling these needs has a highly influential impact on patient outcomes and can increase the patient’s ability cope with their human circumstances. The importance of the patient’s belief system should not be underestimated, and the beliefs of the nurse should never be imposed on a patient, especially during such a vulnerable time as this. If the nurse maintains a level of respect for the patient that transcends their own ideology, they can honor and promote the dignity of the patient. This paper reviews some of the basic Christian beliefs in comparison to three other religions with respect to illness, its meaning, cause, treatment and outcome for the hospitalized patient. In commitment to providing patients with relationship-centered care, this author closes the paper with a summary of her own personal beliefs related to spirituality and health care. ...
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...Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity Members of the healthcare team come in contact with a diverse multi-cultural environment on a daily basis. Every individual is just that an individual with a different worldview and varying faith background. To some individual’s, religion plays a very important role in their daily lives, while to others it may not seem to play a very big role. Newsweek (2009) polls since 1992 show religion is fairly to very important in the lives of 85% of people (as cited in Ashcraft, Anthony, & Mancuso, 2010). Numbers this high show that religion plays a major role to many and with that healthcare providers need to be aware of their own beliefs, while maintaining a respectful and supportive environment for the patients they are caring for and their beliefs. Patients along with nurses often look to their faith when in times of stress and illness. This paper will discuss the Native American spirituality philosophy compared to the Christian philosophy. Native American Spirituality According to the United States census (2000) “4.3 million people (1.5% of the total United States population) self-identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (as cited in Hubbert, 2008). Native American healing practices may include traditional healers such as medicine men and women, herbalists, and shaman who work to return the individual to optimal health. Rituals of healing and purification ceremonies, sand painting, spiritual chants, dancing, therapeutic sings, along...
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