ABSTRACT
It is generally agreed that the total person consists of several dimensions, namely the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual. Accepted definitions exist for each component, with the exception of the spiritual dimension. One may argue that the spiritual dimension of personhood is not defined because one cannot quantitatively measure the spiritual or prove that it exists. Yet much has been written about psychological constructs even though they are not concrete or measurable (Bergin, 1991; Ingersoll, 1994). So the argument that mental health professionals must ignore the spiritual because of lack of proof or concreteness is a moot point. Perhaps the spiritual dimension is ignored because many researchers are afraid to address this component, either for fear of violating professional ethics or because spirituality is still considered to be synonymous with religion and as such is still primarily the domain of religion (Chandler et al., 1992). Other writers agree that even though the spiritual dimension is recognized as an important and valued component of the total person, its structure makes it difficult to define. Further, it is difficult to validate the subcomponents or parameters of any definition (Chapman, 1986). Many contributors to the literature recognize the difficulties associated with the definition of spirituality as a component of health. Most mental health professionals acknowledge the historical separation of church and state and the difficulties and misconceptions that occur regarding the recognition of the spiritual dimension of personhood.
