Spiritual Strengths Assessment in Mental Health Practice

Abstract

Proponents of recovery and strengths-based approaches recognise spirituality as an important factor in mental health recovery. Minimal guidance is available, however, for how to assess spirituality with people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses. To address this gap, six focus group interviews were conducted with a total of fortyeight community mental health service providers and users who have been involved in spiritual strengths assessment. An additional panel of ten international leaders in the strengths case management approach gave feedback on focus group insights in order to expand recommendations congruent with the strengths model. Findings revealed that, while spirituality can be a recovery-related resource for people with severe mental illnesses, some service providers and users experience challenges related to spiritual strengths assessment such as a sense of discomfort about the topic, and uncertainty related to defining spirituality and setting relevant case management goals. This article addresses these and other challenges by offering guidelines for spiritual assessment within the context of the strengths model.