Meeting spiritual needs within
occupational therapy practice
Professor Chris Mayers
Research Fellow (Occupational Therapy)
York St John University
c.mayers1@yorksj.ac.uk
www.mayersLSQ.org.uk
Definition: Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapists acknowledge the
link between what people do and their health
and wellbeing.
To the profession, ‘occupation’ means all the
activities that a person finds meaningful,
enjoys and values. These occupations fall
within the areas of work/productivity,
play/leisure, rest, and personal and domestic
self-care
We work alongside people with many sorts
of problems, including mental health issues,
to enable each person to participate in a
self-determined balance of meaningful
occupations in order to maximise his/her
abilities and enhance quality of life.
As occupational therapists, with personcentred practice central to the philosophy
underlying our practice, we value and
respect the priorities, choices, needs,
occupations and feelings of the people with
whom we work – and this also includes the
area of ‘spirituality’.
This presentation will include..
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a brief exploration of the term
‘spirituality’
consideration of the relationship
between spirituality, motivation and
meaningful occupation
how spiritual needs can be assessed
and met by occupational therapists
Defining spirituality
Stoll (1989) identified
vertical and horizontal
components of spirituality
Stoll, 1989
The vertical component involves a person’s
relationship with a higher power
(experiencing God as a transcendent and/or
personal being)
and/or
the horizontal component is one’s relationship
with self, others and environment, often
referred to as humanistic values and beliefs.
An individual’s definition of spirituality includes
some, or all, of the following aspects …
a search for meaning & purpose to life
 a search for activities that give meaning and value
to an individual’s life
 a quest for ‘wholeness’, integration of mind, body
and spirit
 a belief in God or some form of higher power
 a sense of ‘connectedness’ to God, self, others,
nature
and that these personal beliefs or faith ‘shape’
 a person’s perspective of the world & how she/he
lives life
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(Johnson & Mayers, 2005; Cornah, 2006)
The spiritual aspect of your meaningful
occupations may be totally different to
mine; the spiritual meaning of any
occupation that we choose to undertake
will be very personal, as it is for all the users
of our services.
The relationship between our spirituality,
motivation and occupation
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Underlying the motivation and reasons for
undertaking any task / occupation are a set
of conscious / unconscious beliefs and
values, the reasons ‘why we do what we do’;
these could be said to be the ‘spiritual’
aspect of us as humans.
This ‘spiritual’ aspect has a wide spectrum
and gives us an inner ‘energy’ to participate
in chosen occupations (Mayers, 2004).
Our spirituality enhances the
occupations that we chose to
undertake and that are meaningful
to us …
Sunset
Flowers
… and also our spirituality is the
motivating force that encourages us
to take part in these occupations.
As occupational therapists, with
meaningful ‘occupation’ central to
our philosophy, we have every
opportunity to help meet the
spiritual needs of our clients as we
enable them to do the occupations
that they enjoy.
The Mental Health Foundation (2006)
‘one of the key contributions of spirituality in
the lives of these individuals (people with
depression) … may be the power it offers
to restore meaning, purpose and hope to
their lives.’
… and surely this is so for people with any
sort of disability / social deprivation.
Assessing and meeting spiritual need
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‘ Spiritual need I would think of as the
same as any other sort of need’.
‘…if someone has something that is
important to them…we should do the best
we can to help them fulfil that need’.
Collins et al. (2001)
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n= 112
107 (95.6%) of their participants believed
spiritual well-being was an important
component of good health and
51 (45.5%) agreed or strongly agreed that
therapists should address spiritual
concerns with clients.
However, the appropriateness of
addressing spiritual issues was concluded
to be situational based, e.g. only if the
client brings it up.
So how can occupational therapists
discover if this is an important
area for our service users?
The Mayers’ Lifestyle Questionnaires (1), (2) & (3)
www.mayersLSQ.org.uk
Developed to enable service users to
indicate their priority quality of life needs
right at the beginning of intervention.
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(1): for people with problems related to
physical disability
(2): for people with enduring MH
problems
(3): recently developed, specifically for
older people
Sections within the Mayers’ LSQ (2)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Looking after yourself
Living situation
Looking after others
Being with others
Being in and out of work/attending college
Your beliefs and values
Finances
Choices
Activities you enjoy doing / want to do
Unless we discuss an individual’s quality
of life with them, we cannot initiate a
person-centred approach… which
means we cannot discover their level
of motivation, interests (meaningful
occupation) and values (spirituality)
Section 6. Your Beliefs and Values
Do you have: religious / spiritual beliefs that are
important to you?
 do you like to be with others who have
similar beliefs / values?
 are you able to join others with similar
beliefs?
Older people with dementia: examples of
people/occupations enhancing their spirituality
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Friends, family
A sense of belonging, being with others
Having a clear role – being a grandparent
Undertaking outdoor pursuits – gardening,
walking, listening to/watching birds, enjoying
change of seasons
Attending church and being part of that
community
‘I’ve got a rose in front of my window. It’s only
one little rose on its own and … I just feel as if
it’s been put there for me’
References
Collins JS, Paul S and West-Frasier J (2001) The utilization of spirituality in occupational therapy:
beliefs, practices and perceived barriers. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 14(3/4), 73-92.
Cornah D (2006) The impact of spirituality on mental health – a review of the literature. London,
Mental Health Foundation
Hoyland M and Mayers CA (2005) Is meeting spiritual need within the occupational therapy
domain? British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68 (4), 177-180
Johnston D and Mayers CA (2005) Spirituality: a review of how occupational therapists acknowledge,
assess and meet spiritual needs. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68 (9), 386-392
Mayers CA (2004) Editorial: Towards understanding spirituality. British Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 67 (5), 191
Mueller PS, Plevak DJ and Rummans TA (2001) Religious involvement, spirituality and medicine:
implications for clinical practice. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 76(12), 1225-1235.
Stoll R (1989) The essence of spirituality. In Carson V (Ed.) Spiritual Dimensions of Nursing Practice.
Philadelphia: WB Saunders.
www.mayersLSQ.org.uk
c.mayers1@yorksj.ac.uk