A Native American Perspective on Spiritual Assessment: The Strengths and Limitations of a Complementary Set of Assessment Tools

Keywords

American Indians, Native Americans, religion, spiritual assessment, spirituality

Abstract

Mental health practitioners are increasingly called on to administer spiritual assessments with Native American clients, in spite of limited training on the topic. To help practitioners better understand the strengths and limitations of various assessment instruments from a Native perspective, this study used a sample of recognized experts in Native American culture (N = 50) to evaluate a complementary set of spiritual assessment instruments or tools. Specifically, each instrument's degree of consistency with Native culture was evaluated along with its strengths and limitations for use with Native clients. A brief overview of each instrument is provided, along with the results, to familiarize readers with a repertoire of spiritual assessment tools so that the most culturally appropriate method can be selected in a given clinical context.

Original Publication Citation

Hodge, D., & Limb, G. (2010). A Native American perspective on spiritual assessment: The strengths and limitations of a complementary set of assessment tools. Health & Social Work, 35(2), 121-131.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2010-05-01

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5892

Publisher

Health & Social Work

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Social Work

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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