SAMHSA's Recovery-to-Practice Webinar on Spirituality

Important Statistics

According to a survey done in 2010 by the California Mental Health & Spirituality Initiative on behalf of consumers and their families and they discovered:

79 percent said spirituality was important to their mental health
74 percent wanted their mental health-care providers to discuss spiritual concerns with them upon request
98 percent agreed or strongly agreed that “spirituality is an important element of multicultural competence for mental health providers”

SAMHSA's Webinar "Understanding and Building on Culture and Spirituality in Recovery-Oriented Practice" discussed how spirituality is important in our sense of recovery. They talk about spirituality in assessment and care within behavioral health. They show how spirituality is a vital part of a person's culture and it is important in light of cultural competency to understand each person's culture and worldview.

Download Spirituality Webinar <---from SAMHSA

Download Spritiuality Powerpoint<----from SAMHSA

Sensitivity

Rev. Laura L. Mancuso, M.S., CRC/CPRP who is an Interfaith Chaplain spoke about the following important items related to spirituality and cultural competency

Focusing on sharing and learning from each other
Focus on where your spirit dwells in your body
The difficulty in talking about spirituality
How do we begin a conversation about it
The FICA Questions of Spiritual Assessment
The HOPE Questions for spiritual assessment
How can you bring Presence to the conversation
Example of a spiritual assessment tool: Spiritual Initiative Postcard

Spirituality

Dolores Subia BigFoot, Ph.D. who is the Director, Indian Country Child Trauma Center and the Project Making Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and she presented examples of sacred teachings of indigenous peoples that might have a powerful impact on one's recovery such as:

Know that you are Sacred
Know that you are Honored
Know that you are Prayed For
Know that you have Choices
Know That You Have A Name

Recovery

Gladys Christian, CPSS who was the President, National Association of Peer Specialists and a Certified Peer Support Specialist shares the power of her own sense of spirituality and the central role that it played in her own recovery.

The Will to Recover
A culture of love, support, value, and opportunities for growth
Faith Makes All Things Possible

This webinar offers a beginning map in how spirituality and cultural competence overlap, interact and relate. Spirituality typically has been omitted in the past or this dimensions has been totally eliminated from the discussion too long.

It is time for us as peers to embrace rather than ignore this reality and to see it as a powerful dimension for recovery for ourselves and for those that we support.

Stories From The Road

The Many Faces of Peer Supports in NC