Cognitive and Behavioral Changes Arising From Spirituality

Incorporating Spirituality into Cognitive Stimulation Therapy Groups for Persons with Dementia: An Exploratory Study

Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is an evidence-based, non-pharmacological intervention for older adults with mild to moderate dementia. While CST has been adapted in various ways, this study explored the impact of adding a spiritual dimension to CST. Participants (N = 34) were divided into spiritual and traditional CST groups based on their residence. After a 14-session intervention involving interactive conversations, the spiritual CST group showed significantly lower depression scores (M = 2.7) compared to traditional CST (M = 6.5). With the global increase in dementia-related disorders, non-pharmacological interventions like CST offer crucial support for addressing memory loss. Social workers are uniquely positioned to deliver CST to diverse populations who value spirituality or faith in their daily lives.

Whole-of-Nation Moral Learning by Spiritual Hearts: A Case of Brunei's Transformation to tackle the COVID-19 Pandemic

All nations are continuously learning how best to live with the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing organizational moral learning and Islamic spirituality perspectives, this paper proposes a learning framework called the whole-of-nation moral learning by spiritual hearts to understand the dynamics of learning and change in a nation tackling the pandemic. It proposes that to overcome the pandemic or any other crises, governance requires the combination of moral leadership and followership by spiritual hearts as agents for moral learning and change, supported by realigned and reconfigured systems for holistic growth. Brunei's journey in tackling the pandemic illustrates the framework.

An Approach to Psychological Counseling from a Religious Worldview

This article investigates counseling in a religious context while keeping human subjects' existential realities in mind. The methodology, which combines Theology and Psychology, aims to provide an alternative approach to religious counseling by overcoming religious counselors' tendency to limit human suffering to "spiritual symptoms" by utilizing religious cosmovisions structured in pre-established concepts and values. Furthermore, the approach focuses on the development of human subjects in terms of their quality of life through the spiritual and mental health pillars.

Wondering Awe as a Perceptive Aspect of Spirituality and Its Relation to Indicators of Wellbeing: Frequency of Perception and Underlying Triggers

Background: Spirituality is a multidimensional construct which includes religious, existentialistic, and relational issues and has different layers such as faith as the core, related attitudes and conviction, and subsequent behaviors and practices. The perceptive aspects of spirituality such as wondering awe are of relevance for both, religious and non-religious persons. These perceptions were related to perceiving the Sacred in life, mindful awareness of nature, others and self, to compassion, meaning in life, and emotional wellbeing. As awe perceptions are foremost a matter of state, it was the aim (1) to empirically analyze the frequency of wondering awe perceptions (i.e., with respect to gender, age cohorts, religious or non-religious persons) and (2) to qualitatively analyze a range of triggers of awe perceptions.

Methods: Data from 7,928 participants were analyzed with respect to the frequency of Awe/Gratitude perceptions (GrAw-7 scale), while for the second part of the study responses of a heterogeneous group of 82 persons what caused them to perceive moments of wondering awe were analyzed with qualitative content analysis techniques.

Results: Persons who experience Awe/Gratitude to a low extend were the youngest and had lowest wellbeing and lowest meditation/praying engagement, while those with high GrAw-7 scores were the oldest, had the highest wellbeing, and were more often meditating or praying (p<0.001). Gender had a significant effect on these perceptions, too (Cohen’s d=0.32). In the qualitative part, the triggers can be attributed to four main categories, Nature, Persons, Unique Moments, and Aesthetics, Beauty, and Devotion. Some of these triggers and related perceptions might be more a matter of admiration than wondering awe, while other perceptions could have more profound effects and may thus result in changes of a person’s attitudes and behaviors.

Conclusion: Emotionally touching experiences of wondering awe may result in feelings of interconnectedness, prosocial behavior, mindful awareness, and contribute to a person’s meaning in life and wellbeing and can also be a health-relevant resource. These perceptions can be seen as a perceptive aspect of spirituality, which is not exclusively experienced by religious people but also by non-religious persons.