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1. Discuss your view on why addressing faith and spiritual issues is or isn’t important to the planned change process. State 2-3 reasons in support of your position. Discuss where or how you will fit faith and spirituality in your view of orienting theories described by Garthwaite (chapter 12).

Addressing spiritual issues is important to the planned change process since it helps formulate policies that conform to the client’s spirituality. In addition, it enables the implementation of the planned steps since one can determine how the client operates. Orienting theories explain human behavior, especially on how issues emerge. I will fix spirituality and faith to understand the human condition and bring about change related to personal development.

2. Based on the article, briefly discuss your response to the definition of spirituality provided? How would you change or expand on this definition? Do you think this definition is helpful or unhelpful? How does it resonate with your approach to faith?

According to the article, spirituality involves an individual’s search for the purpose of life. In addition, it is an individual’s aspect of connection to nature, the universe, or a deity that is not necessarily identifiable. The connection to something bigger than an individual creates meaning to life. My definition of spirituality incorporates a sense of purpose and furnishes life with an experience beyond a sensory or physical level. In addition, the aspect of spirituality is subject to change throughout life since it conforms to personal experiences (University of Minnesota, 2019). The definition resonates with my opinion regarding faith since one can be spiritual but not conform to the doctrines of religion.

3. After reviewing the FICA tool, describe how you might use this tool in working with a client to take a spiritual history? How could the tool help you to have conversations about faith or spirituality in a meaningful way with a client? Finally, describe any thoughts you have on the tool’s content and the best way to approach using it and responding to a client’s answers.

The most appropriate criteria for taking a spiritual history is asking the most relevant questions for each aspect. The F in FICA questions faith; thus, I would ask if the client is spiritual (Puchalski, 2021). The I represents the importance of spirituality in the client’s life; thus, I would ask if their beliefs strongly influence their decisions. The C represents community; therefore, I would inquire if there are actively involved in the community and whether they use the community as their support. The A involves addressing the concerns raised; thus, I would inquire how the client wants to address these issues. The tool helps integrate open-minded questions with religion; therefore, the client is at ease expounding on their faith. The tool helps support different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The best way to use the tool is through personal interviews.

4. Finally, discuss personal fears or concerns you may have about having discussions about faith or spirituality with clients. Why do you have these concerns? What would help you to increase your level of comfort in this area? Since we can’t separate our faith from who we are, how do you see using your own faith in the process? What NASW Code of Ethics Standards can help as we seek to address issues of religion and spirituality with clients?

The most critical fear I have about discussing faith with clients is that they may hold back on important issues as they fear religious coercion or prefer to separate the sacred from the secular. I have these concerns since religion can be used to manipulate clients. Therefore, leveraging spirituality over faith would best suit my approach to increase my level of comfort. The most appropriate is the NASW Code of Ethics Standards 2.01, which suggests that social workers should not demean clients’ religious beliefs.