Spiritual, Growth and Development, and Sexuality - Compatibility Mode

SPIRITUAL, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND SEXUALITY KEY TERMS ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ Spirituality-an awareness of one’s inner self and a sense of connection to a higher being, nature, or to some purpose greater than oneself (Reed,1987). Spirituality spreads throughout the physiological, psychological, and sociological dimensions of a person’s life. It is a unifying theme in people’s lives and is a state of being. Throughout their life span, people grow more spiritual. Spiritual beliefs change as clients grow and develop. Beliefs among older people vary based on many factors. WHY SPIRITUALITY? ¢A relationship exists between spirituality and healing. ¢ Healing often takes place because of believing. ¢ A link exists between mind, body, and spirit. ¢ A person’s inner beliefs and convictions are powerful resources for healing. CRITICAL THINKING Taking a faith history reveals clients' beliefs about life, health, and a supreme being. ¢ Personal experience in caring for clients in spiritual distress is valuable. ¢ Each personality has a unique spirituality. ¢ The Joint Commission requires health organizations to provide for pastoral care. ¢ DEFINITIONS Atheist-individuals who do not believe in the existence of God. ¢ Agnostic-individuals who believe that any ultimate reality is unknown or unknowable. ¢ Faith-It is a relationship with a divinity, higher power, authority, or spirit that incorporates a reasoning faith (belief) and a trusting (action) (Benner, 1985). ¢ The belief that comes with faith involves Transcendence – an awareness of that which cannot be seen or known in ordinary physical ways and gives purpose and meaning to one’s life allowing for action. ¢ ¢ Religion-is associated with the “state of doing”, or a specific system of organized beliefs and worship that a person practices to outwardly express spirituality associated with a particular denomination, sect or form of worship. You must know the difference when providing care: ¢ Religious care enables clients to maintain their faithfulness to their belief system and worship practices and ¢ Spiritual care helps clients maintain relationships and identify meaning and purpose in their life ¢ ¢ Hope-is a multidimensional concept that provides comfort while enduring life’s threats and personal challenges (Morse and Doberneck, 1995). When a person has a sense of something to look forward to and live for, hope is present. ¢ Spiritual Health- Individuals gain spiritual health by finding a balance between their life values, goals, and belief systems and their relatiosnhips within themselves and with others. NANDA ¢ Spiritual distress- is a nursing diagnosis, defined as the disruption in the “life principle” that fills a person’s entire being and that integrates and transcends one’s biological and psychosocial nature (NANDA). Can be exhibited by doubt, loss of faith, feeling of aloneness, questioning one’s whole way of life, purpose for living, and values. WAYS ILLNESS CAN AFFECT SPIRITUAL HEALTH ¢ ¢ Acute Illness- sudden unexpected illness that threatens a client’s life, health, and/or well-being can create significant spiritual distress. Conflicts, new realities, anger… Chronic Illness- the need to confront death, pain, change in body image and capability can lead to spiritual distress(O’Neill and Kenny, 1998). Fear, anxiety, despair... WAYSILLNESSCANAFFECTSPIRITUAL HEALTH ¢ ¢ Terminal Illness- fear of death can cause spiritual distress. Fear of pain, isolation, the unknown… Near-Death Experience (NDE)- a psychological phenomenon of people who have either been close to death or have recovered after being declared dead. Fear of talking about it can lead to isolation and depression… THEORIES OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Growth and Development- used together encompass all of the many changes that take place throughout an individual's lifetime. ¢ Growth-is the measurable aspect of a person’s increase in physical dimension. ¢ Development-is the behavioral aspect of a person’s adaptation to the environment. ¢ Maturation-is the biological plan for growth and development. ¢ Critical period of development- refers to a specific period when the environment has its greatest effect on a specific aspect of development. ¢ THEORIESOFHUMAN DEVELOPMENT ¢ Abraham Maslow(1908-1970)- developed the theory of human needs. Described an ordering (hierarchy) of needs that motivate human behavior that is often depicted as a pyramid composed of five levels with the basic needs being biological integrity. When these needs are met, the person strives to satisfy those needs of safety and security on the next level. OTHER THEORISTS ¢ ¢ ¢ Piaget – cognitive development Havighurst –developmental tasks Kohlberg (1964-1969)- theory on development of moral judgment or reasoning. He studied how individuals make a decision about right and wrong behaviors within the culture. Kohlberg identified 3 levels of moral development: preconventional, conventional and post conventional. ¢ ¢ Robert Pack (1955) - adult theorist, identified psychological developments as important to healthful adaptation and successful aging of the adult. Moral development occurs as a result of both cognitive development and increased social experience. Carol Gilligan - studied moral development; however, she focused on the perspective of women and moral development. She identified attachment within relationships as the most important factor in successful female development. Females learn to value relationships and become interdependent at an earlier age. SELF-CONCEPT AND SEXUALITY ¢ Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development: Eight stages and each stage builds on the tasks of the former stage. If stage is not positively completed, may negatively influence self-concept and lead to difficult in subsequent stages.