An Evidence‑Based, Ethically-Sensitive and Strength‑Based Approach to Spiritual Assessment
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How to respond effectively when your client brings up spiritual beliefs, experiences, and/or practices in therapy
How clients can use their religious practices such as prayer and organized religious engagement to support therapy
How mindfulness, yoga, and other spiritual practices can positively affect mental health
How spiritual problems can affect well-being and recovery
Have evidence-informed and ethically-sensitive conversations with clients about mindfulness.
Make appropriate recommendations and referrals for clients who want to integrate spiritual practices into their treatments.
Harness clients’ religious and spiritual strengths.
Build a stronger therapeutic alliance based on showing respect toward clients’ deeply held beliefs and values.
Learning Outcome
FREE PREVIEWWhat is a Spiritual Assessment?
FREE PREVIEWDr. Puchalski Discussing Spiritual Assessment by Physicians Using the FICA
FREE PREVIEWExample of Cultural Sensitivity Regarding a Patient's Religious Beliefs
FREE PREVIEWExample of a Cultural Sensitivity Issue Around Gender
FREE PREVIEWDr. Francis Lu discusses how assessing clients' spirituality as part of their cultural identity can prevent misdiagnoses
FREE PREVIEWCulturally Insensitive Spiritual Assessment
FREE PREVIEWLearning Outcome
FREE PREVIEWSSOPP Interview R/S Strengths Video
FREE PREVIEWR/S Strengths Interview Questions
FREE PREVIEWR/S Strengths Interactive Exercises
FREE PREVIEWPracticing the R/S Strengths Questions with Yourself
FREE PREVIEWEvidence-base for Importance of Assessing R/S Strengths
FREE PREVIEWLearning Outcome
FREE PREVIEWParticipation in Organized R/S Video
FREE PREVIEWParticipation in Organized R/S Interview Questions
FREE PREVIEWOrganized R/S Interactive Exercises
FREE PREVIEWPracticing the Organized R/S Questions with Yourself
FREE PREVIEWEvidence-base for Importance of Assessing Participation in Organized R/S
FREE PREVIEWLearning Outcome
FREE PREVIEWPersonal R/S Practices Video
FREE PREVIEWPersonal R/S Practices Interview Questions
FREE PREVIEWPersonal R/S Interactive Exercises
FREE PREVIEWPracticing the Personal R/S Questions with Yourself
FREE PREVIEWEvidence-base for Importance of Assessing Personal R/S Practices
FREE PREVIEWQuiz Guidelines
FREE PREVIEWCopy of Information on Continuing Education Credit for Healthcare Professionals
FREE PREVIEWRequired Course Evaluation for CE Credits
Quiz for CE Credit
David Lukoff, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and co-author of the DSM IV and DSM 5 diagnostic category Religious or Spiritual Problem which increased awareness of spiritual issues in clinical practice. He has published over 80 articles on spirituality and mental health, many in peer reviewed journals such as Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Schizophrenia Bulletin, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, Psychiatric Annals, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality in Clinical Practice. He is a Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California and has served on the faculty at Harvard University and UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.
Cassandra Vieten, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist, mind-body medicine researcher, author, consultant, and public speaker. She is Executive Director of the John W. Brick Foundation, Associate Research Scientist at the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at the University of California, San Diego, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, where she served as President from 2013-2019. Her research has focused on spirituality and health, transformative experiences and practices, the development of mindfulness-based interventions for emotional well-being, and development of media technologies to inspire awe. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and completed her research training in behavioral genetics at UC San Francisco. She has authored three books, published numerous articles in scientific journals, and is an internationally recognized keynote speaker and workshop leader.
"The information and guidance in Dr. Lukoff's courses will soon be, if not already, mandatory for all health care professionals who choose to remain current and literate in their fields."
-Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D. , Former Professor of Psychology at Saybrook Graduate School
"An excellent job of guiding people through the mental health resources."
-John Suler, Ph.D , Department of Psychology, Rider University Webmaster: Psychology of Cyberspace
"I am so excited to know that I am not the only one seeing the importance of this concept and how it would help to broaden the area of wellness and emphasis on the mind, body, and spirit/psyche/soul."
"This course has helped me to see the progression of the relationship between spiritual and religion. The section on the history of religion and spirituality was fascinating."
"The information presented here will help me demonstrate to my interdisciplinary colleagues that spirituality is foundational to human care...or rather is the foundation of human/holistic care."
SCA courses provide approved CE and CME credits for psychologists, physicians, social workers, counselors, nurses, chiropractors, occupational therapists, and coaches
through the following accreditation agencies:
✦American Psychological Association ✦California Board of Behavioral Sciences
✦California Board of Registered Nursing ✦The California Board of Chiropractic Examiners
✦The California Board of Occupational Therapy
A TOTAL OF 19 CE Credits!
In this course, we review the contemporary theories and research on psychological approaches to self-compassion the pioneers in this field the instruments for measuring this important human capacity how to use of self-compassion interventions that allow you to bring self-compassion into the clinical setting online resources such as guided self-compassion meditations for therapeutic use.
View Self-Compassion course
The theory and practices of forgiveness have been largely the province of the world’s religious and philosophical traditions. However the topic has recently attracted the increasing interest of researchers and clinicians. Starting in the mid 1980’s, forgiveness has found a new home within psychology, and research on forgiveness began in earnest. The health benefits have been well-documented and approaches to forgiveness have been developed that therapists can currently drawn on in their work. This course focuses on the religious background to approaches to forgiveness, contemporary research, and clinical applications.
View Forgiveness Course
This course on mindfulness provides you with the knowledge, skills, and scientific evidence-base required to have informed and ethically-sensitive conversations, make recommendations and referrals, and share mindfulness practices with clients. It covers the history of mindfulness practices in therapy, its evolution from a religious practice to a mental health intervention, contraindications, and programs such as MBSR, ACT and DBT
that have solid research support.
View Mindfulness course