OT and Spirituality

This is a summary of the chat but the whole transcript can be found here.

We discussed Spirituality and how it impacts on Occupation. We wanted to find out if, as we suspected, this remains an area that many OTs feel unable to raise with clients.

Defining Spirituality

The first issue raised was how to define spirituality- did we mean religious practice, or did the word have another meaning?

#occhat my vague understanding is of spirituality is as essence of person, what makes them tick. perhaps elicited through occ narrative?

#occhat I think it can be really hard to define and as a result difficult to discuss

@clissa89@claireOT I always think of spirituality as what makes a person tick. Related to their values and how they assign meaning #occhat

 “Spiritual intelligence relates to intuition, insight, inventiveness, transcendence and finding meaning”#occhat (Zohar&Marshall 2000)

#occhat to also see and make connections with others and the world.Suggested humans have 3 intelligences,cognitive, emotional and spiritual!

“Spirituality is defined as the experience of meaning in everyday life activities” R Urbanowski, R., Vargo, J.(1994) #Occhat

I think I would define it as the ‘essence’ of the person and is what makes us who we are, but thats just my own opinion #Occhat

Religion vs Spirituality

As we expected, we found that the OTs participating in the chat were cautious about directly addressing religious practice as part of their interventions.

I like the general definition in that Urbanowski paper, of finding meaning- it avoids the area that concerns me i.e. religion! #Occhat

 Say if u are a conservative Christian, and then u have me (as an Episcopalian), u might want to be careful, especially about LGBT. #occhat

Spirituality in times of crisis

Many of our clients will be making adjustments to significant injury or illness that will resonate throughout their life roles and occupations.

I wonder if anyone has considered the spiritual element of addressing major life changes that many of our clients are facing? #Occhat

@the core of a person is a spirit, a being, an integral part of the universe…remains whole despite injury/illness (Egan & DeLaat) #Occhat

I have to say that I re-examined my own spirituality after having life-changing injury #occhat

Spirituality in developmental transitions

When preparing lecture on middle adulthood it seems that this is life stage where spirituality seems to take on more relevance #occhat ?!

@kirstyes #Occhat people considering becoming parents, or that moment when you strike out in the wild indie dentally for the 1st time…?

@kirstyes @BillWongOT this is making me think of Erikson’s Life Stages #Occhat

Texts about Spirituality

#occhat I’m back with books! @mmolineux occ for OT looks at spirituality and creativity as relating to human need to connect and find place

#occhat to also see and make connections with others and the world.Suggested humans have 3 intelligences,cognitive, emotional and spiritual!

“practical spiritual needs were often thought of only in terms of religious & cultural traditions or rituals” (Mayers&Johnston 2005) #Occhat

“and, as a result, the potential of everyday meaningful occupations was not considered fully”(Mayers&Johnston 2005) #Occhat

In KAWA book suggest working more with clients to define spirituality as well as other concepts (48) #occhatas difficulty with universality

Then KAWA goes on to say that’s why they’ve ignored defining such concepts narrowly in model (222). At least that’s my reading #occhat

4th ed of @easduncan Foundations of Practice. Good list of questions to think about on pg. 243 #occhat

#Occhat has anyone done the ‘spirituality in enabling occupation’ a learner centered workbook ?(townsend et al 1999)? is fabulous!!

@kirstyes #Occhat maybe it’s about those significant rites of passage &transition times that provoke string need for making spiritual sense?

Practical Strategies

#occhat I have often asked clients ‘do you you have a sense of what spirituality means 2 u?’ & taken it (or not) from there

@HandyOTJO Not always in fact most seem to say ‘I’m not religious but …. is really important 2 me’ #occhat

I’ve sometimes asked people what things they do make them feel “good in their skin” and “satisfied &as though their life matters” #Occhat

#Occhat followed by what boosts this sense, what blocks it and then explore what might feel a priority to try to do to recover this sense