Unit 9: Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

When looking at a person’s wellness, we must look at all four dimensions to develop a

holistic view, or approach. As we learned in the Mandala of Personal Wellness (Seaward, 2013),

there is physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Spiritual well-being or one’s idea

of spirituality is often difficult define or express. Seaward states “We don’t have a soul in a

body, we have a body in our soul” (Seaward, 2013 p. 232). For that reason, I have created a

spiritual and psychological inventory to assess my clients’ spiritual fitness. It is based on the

dimensions of spiritual wellness as explained by Elliot Ingersoll. (Ingersoll, 1996). ( For simplicity

purpose, the client will be referred to in the masculine form he/his for the rest of the paper)

Religion is belief in someone else’s experience.

Spirituality is having your own experience- Deepak Chopra

To test my inventory, I gave the questionnaire to a 49 year-old male. He is

physically fit, appears mentally stable, and is seeking a holistic approach to

improve his overall fitness. His answers are in red.

1. Do you believe in a higher power? Would you describe yourself as a monotheist,

atheist, agnostic, deist, pantheist, or other? Please explain. This question addressed

the concept of the Absolute, or Divine. A client’s belief of a higher power of the divine
 reflect his spiritual maturity. With explanation, we can see where those beliefs may

have originated and if there are any issues with that person’s relationship with a higher

power. For example, if a person is mad at God for a life experience, that could show a

psychological contamination, rather than spiritual. (Ingersoll, 1996) Response: Yes, I

would say I am other. I believe there is someone watching over me.

2. Do you feel your life has meaning? Please explain. Is life worth living? In times of crisis,

this is often a question we may ask ourselves, if only in a fleeting moment. Some clients

may have very detailed ideas of what the meaning of their life is. Some may only know

that they believe life is worth living even if they don’t know exactly why. If a client is

lost trying to find meaning, that may signal deeper issues that will need to be addressed

by a professional team member. Response: Yes, Everything I do effects myself, family

acquaintances, and work.

3. Who do you feel connected to? Connectedness is an important aspect of spirituality.

Relationships are important. You need to know if your client has strong connections to

a higher power, family, friends, team members. This will tell you where they draw

strength and where they turn for support. Response: My wife. Shi e my best friend and

when we are apart, a piece of me is missing.

4. Do you believe in or have you experienced mystic moments? (Mystic moments may be

premonitions, dreams that lead to clarity or answers to problems, clairvoyant

thoughts, holy moments, etc.) If a client believes in mystic moments and events or has

experienced them, it reveals their openness to mystery. It shows spiritual maturity to

 be comfortable with the unexplainable or unknown. It also “relates to how a person

deals with ambiguity.”(Ingersoll, 1996). Response: No

5. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being extremely cautious and 10 being carefree), how would you

rate your ability play freely in life? Do you view life and the world as safe? Are you

able to get past yourself to enjoy life’s experiences? Spiritual freedom is targeted in

this question. Play and freedom are important parts of life. The ability to get past one’s

self to enjoy life shows a trust or faith in the unknown. Is your client care-free and living

life on the edge? Is he so weary of the world around him that he doesn’t allow himself

the freedom to explore? It is important to have a balance of spiritual freedom.

Response: 8/10. I believe you do not have to fear life. You must embrace it.

6. Do you partake in rituals or practices that enhance your spiritual or psychological well-

being? (i.e., yoga, meditation, religious practices, etc.) Please describe. The dimension

of experience or ritual shows how a client directs their energy. The practices show a

person’s ability to be mindful. These experiences show a proactive approach to clarity,

self-realization, and connectedness. It is also important to know if and what what

practices your client already partakes in. This will help direct him to the next level or be

able to tell if he is even open to the concept at all. Response: no. I would like to try

meditation to learn to clear my mind.

7. How willing are you to forgive those who have wronged you? Being willing to forgive

someone takes a leap of faith. There are no guarantees the person is going to forgive

you or right their wrong. Being able to forgive also takes the self-awareness and self-

regulation to know that forgiving allows healing in one’s self. A person that knows
 holding a grudge hurts themselves more than the person they are holding it against

enjoys a special freedom. Response: Yes, I have learned from life and people make

mistakes and I can forgive as long as I recognize their mistake.

8. Do you consider yourself an optimist or pessimist? Please explain. Optimistic thinking

goes against the negativity bias. Therefore, it takes self-awareness and self-regulation

as with forgiveness. Being optimistic takes practice and effort. Optimism also shows

faith and hope in the world and for your client’s future. Hopelessness and helplessness

are two extremely toxic feeling that can lead to despair. Response: Optimist. If you look

for positive you are more likely to find a positive outcome.

9. Do you seek knowledge and lifelong learning? How? The learning and knowledge

dimension of spiritual well-being deals with learning about self and things around us. A

client desiring lifelong learning (not necessarily academic learning) chooses to continue

experiencing the world no matter what they learn along the way. Yearning for

knowledge also shows optimism of one’s future. A client that is willing to learn about

themselves will be more receptive to coaching, mentoring, and growth. Response: Yes

and no. I learn from experience.

10. Would you say you control your emotions? Please explain. Seaward points out that it is

important to be in control of your emotions and not be controlled by them. (Seaward,

2013) A person who controls his emotions and reactions has self-regulation and

awareness. Also, being able to control your emotions in a situation also shows a

present-mindedness. Response: Yes. I try to think how my emotions will affect others
 11. Do you have the capacity to express a wide range of emotion and to love and be

loved? Please explain. The capacity to show a wide range of emotions also shows

control of emotions as stated above. Being able to love and be loved alludes to a

client’s emotion well-being. This question also links the client’s level of connectedness.

Response: Yes. Sometimes I confuse “to love” with giving gifts instead of embracing the

time I have with the person I love.

After having my test subject complete the spiritual and psychological inventory, I see a few

changes I could make. First, under learning. I need to clarify it is not academic and that it is

about the world and self. For the most part, I am happy I asked open questions requiring some

extra detail and thought. The question about mystic moments is different. I think I will leave it

as is. Either people have had those moments and can explain them or they don’t and a simple

no tells all. I would want to give the inventory to a variety of clients or test subjects and

complete a more thorough evaluation of the results to refine the final product.
 References

Ingersoll, E., Ph.D. (1996). The Spiritual Wellness Inventory; Integral Psychotherapy, Coaching, &
Consulting. Retrieved February 18, 2018, from
http://www.elliottingersoll.com/Spiritual_Wellness_Test.html

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

Spirituality. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from

https://www.choosehealth2016.net/spirituality.html