ABSTRACT
When faced with challenging or new situations such as illness, dysfunction, and hospitalization, we draw from our internal core of meaning in an effort to make sense out of what is happening. Certain people, processes, places, and relationships are containers or contexts, and catalysts to care and healing. In order to act as such, the person in need of care must first be able to access these differing contexts within the hospital in ways that promote health and healing. In order for health and healing to occur, life-giving energy must be experienced by the individual in these contexts. Today there are numerous assessments of spiritual care needs. This chapter advises readers to use an assessment based on the material from Beck, Rawlins, and Williams. The primary purpose of a spiritual care assessment is to help the patient identify his or her spiritual resources.
