A questionnaire-based study of attitudes to spirituality in people using mental health services and their perceptions of the relevance of the concept of spiritually competent practice

The Aim of this study was to examine the attitudes of mental health service users towards spirituality and spiritually competent practice. A validated quantitative questionnaire was designed to elicit the perceptions of spirituality and spiritually competent practice. Participants were invited to participate in the study via social media. Standard statistical procedures, including reliability analyses, were applied. Respondents who viewed spirituality as distinct from religion were likely to place a higher value on Spirituality in Everyday Life. Those who had experienced the integration of spirituality within services they had received also placed a higher value on the place of Spirituality in Practice. The relationship between these measures and the distinction between religion and spirituality and how far spirituality had been integrated in services received and reasons for these associations are discussed in the light of the importance of spiritual care as a part of person-centred care. The evaluation by service users, of the concept of spiritually competent practice and the need for spiritual competencies in mental health staff were the most positive of all the findings.