Spiritual Assessment and Native Americans: Establishing the Social Validity of a Complementary Set of Assessment Tools (Report‪)‬

Due to recent changes in the Joint Commission's accreditation standards, spiritual assessments are now required in behavioral health organizations providing addiction services, hospitals, and many other health care settings (Hodge, 2006; Koenig, 2007). To some extent, the Joint Commission's new assessment requirements represent a double-edged sword for Native American clients. From a positive perspective, spirituality is a central component of most Native American cultures (Frame, 2003; Fuller-Thomson & Minkler, 2005; Graham, 2002; Weaver, 2005). Furthermore, spirituality is commonly viewed as essential to the promotion of health and wellness (Coates, Gray, & Hetherington, 2006; Gilgun, 2002; Lowery, 1999; Weaver, 2002). Put differently, spirituality is typically viewed as a critical strength that must be operationalized to address the challenges encountered by Native people (Cross, 1997; Limb & Hodge, 2008; Stone, Whitbeck, Chen, &Johnson, 2005).Accordingly, to work effectively with Native clients, it is necessary to conduct a spiritual assessment to understand the relationship between spirituality and wellness from their perspective (Cross, 2001; Gesino, 2001 ; Gone, 2004).