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Unit 9 Assignment

Natalya Voyer

Unit 9

HW420 Creating Wellness- Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

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Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

The following ten questions have the intention of helping the client to recognize the

aspects of their life that may be affecting their spiritual and psychological wellness. These ten

questions can help provide the client with ways in order to accomplish becoming spiritually and

psychologically healthy and well. In this situation, my “client” is my partner, because due to

quarantine he is the most accessible person I can interview.

QUESTION 1- Do you believe there is a higher power?

Response: That’s hard to say. I feel like on a day-to-day basis, no. I have never been

religious or believed in god. But when I slow down and think about what happens in my life and

other peoples’ lives, it feels like there must be some force or divine intervention that allows

things to happen.

Why does this matter? This question is important because it provides a foundation for

gaining insight into a person’s spiritual wellness. Do they have faith in a higher power, or

something else? What gives them faith necessary to maintain a healthy spiritual life.

QUESTION 2- Do you consider yourself spiritually hungry?

Response: Yes, definitely. Especially lately in life. I am happy with where I’m at and

know where I’m going; but I still feel like there is stuff out there, like wisdom I need to find, that

I haven’t tapped into yet.

Why does this matter? This question is important because it helps the client to reflect on

where they are at in their spiritual health. It helps them determine whether they feel like they

want to do more in terms of growing more spiritually well.

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QUESTION 3- Do you feel like your life has meaning or purpose?

Response: Yeah, for sure. I think everybody’s does, it’s just up to you to find it. As for

me personally, I know I want to help people and like working with kids and playing soccer. So of

course, I want to combine all of the things I enjoy. For me this is the meaning and purpose of my

life and not just a job. The goal is to create meaning and purpose from my work and feel

passionate about what I do.

Why does this matter? This question is important because the first indicator that someone

is spiritually and emotionally well is whether or not they feel like their life has meaning. When

people do not feel like they have meaning, this either can lead to depression or an active pursuit

to discover what they feel the purpose of their life is.

QUESTION 4- Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist?

Response: I consider myself a realist, but more on the side of pessimism. I live life by the

saying “pray for the best, prepare for the worst”. I want to expect the best out of life but still feel

it is more realistic to be prepared for the worst things that could happen.

Why does this matter? This is a standard question for clients to ask in their inventory

because if people are more inclined towards optimism, this is usually an indicator that they are

less prone to stress. On the other hand, if people lean more on the pessimistic side, they may be

at risk for experiencing more stress.

QUESTION 5- Do you forgive those who do you wrong, or do you hold grudges?

Response: It depends on the situation. For the most part, I try to forgive people on a daily

basis, but there are some things that happen to us that are a little harder to forgive than other.

Why does this matter? The ability to forgive is crucial when it comes to our emotional

health. Forgiveness prevents us from holding onto negative emotions that can spiral and extend

for long periods of time and stress us out without realizing it. When we hold grudges against
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people, it puts us more at risk for experiencing stress because there’s still negative emotions in

the back of our mind.

QUESTION 6- Do you consider yourself emotionally well?

Response: Yeah, for the most part, I think I regulate my emotions well. I try to use my

emotions, versus having them use me. I feel like life is kind of like we react to things that happen

to us, but we can choose HOW we react to the things that happen to us. I don’t want to let my

emotions get the better of me and have my emotions act for me. I also don’t want to hide from

my emotions.

Why does this matter? This is just an essential basic question to help the client think

about the state of their emotional health. We can all assume this of people but it is more valuable

for the client themselves to think about the state of their emotional health even if they don’t

necessarily know how to answer the question.

QUESTION 7- How do you define success?

Response: This is a hard question for me to answer because I am at a stage in my life

where I feel like I should have accomplished more. We are all so driven by our goals and

expectations of when we should meet these goals. Success for me I guess would just be being

able to find happiness in all areas- what you do for money, within your own family, and

exploring your interests. It is having freedom to explore ways to find happiness in life.

Why does it matter? We all want to achieve success but the definition of success varies

from person to person. What a person considers to be “success” gives insight on what their

personal values are and helps them to set goals for themselves in their lives. Setting goals and

trying to achieve them is one indicator of spiritual and emotional health and wellness.
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QUESTION 8- Do you actively pursue connections with those around you?

Response: No. Only those people who are close to me. I tend to be pretty reserved around

most people. I do small talk and connect with random strangers sometimes, but I don’t like to

overextend that. I prefer to live in my own little world.

Why does it matter? As humans we need to feel as if we have connections and support in

life. This is crucial for maintaining emotional health and balance. An active effort and pursuit of

making connections with those around us can give clues to our emotional journey in life.

QUESTION 9- How do you set boundaries with people in your life?

Response: I tell people what my boundaries are. I can be pretty passive-aggressive about

my boundaries, or more passive because I don’t really care that much. It depends on the

boundaries I don’t know what kind of boundaries you are talking about. I don’t know any other

ways to set a boundary other than by telling someone “don’t do this”.

Why does it matter? Setting boundaries is another way we can maintain our emotional

health. We all have boundaries and limits with those around us and how we set our boundaries,

or if we set them at all, helps us to maintain relationships with those around us and not let other

people negatively affect our lives to a certain degree.

QUESTION 10- How do you cultivate emotional or spiritual development?

Response: I like to meditate. I like to read about this stuff, or watch YouTube videos. I

think about it a lot and contemplate how can I make my life better. I just let it play in the

background and absorb the information. I don’t necessarily study these resources but I let my

mind wander and explore the concepts. [I asked him what the information is that he reads and

watches about] It’s content about mindfulness and human behavior. That’s why I like history,

because it’s a record of what people have done in the past and why. I apply it to my own life and

process it that way, by thinking about what I would do or would have done.
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Why does this matter? To be spiritually healthy, we must actively be trying to maintain or

improve our spiritual health. It is important to ask the client if they try to cultivate a state of

psychological or emotional wellness.

My findings from this interview are that this client thinks deeply about their emotional

and spiritual well-being. Like so many of us, they feel the pressures of life. What should he have

accomplished, what more wisdom could he be obtaining, how can he achieve enlightenment. He

studies meditation, mindfulness, and human behavior. I think I could have added some less-

general questions to my interview to enhance its effectiveness but overall I feel really proud of

my questions. I tried to ask questions that required some thought behind the answers and could

stimulate a discussion about these topics.

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References

Seaward, B. (2018). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being.

Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2019). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA:

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.