The WELLHEAD Toolkit: Supporting spiritual assessment and growth

Spiritual health is integral to wellbeing because it reaches into all aspects of life. However, until recently it has been a neglected part of healthcare provision. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 has shown the importance of spiritual support alongside physical and mental health for isolated and unwell individuals.

The WELLHEAD Toolkit has been developed via a programme of research in response to a perceived vacuum within health and social care, to ensure that resources for spiritual health are accessible and acceptable to people with communication impairment and those who are undergoing change (e.g., as part of adjustment after trauma or disease), irrespective of their world view and spiritual standpoint. The Toolkit is designed to act as the scaffolding for a one-to-one interview (between a participant and a facilitator), based on exploring 'meaning and purpose' via four neutral dimensions of WIDE LONG HIGH and DEEP. Each dimension offers a participant outcome measure, and leads naturally on to setting 'Next Steps', a form of practical goal-setting.

The Toolkit comprises an Instruction Manual, Word Resources, Picture Resources, proforma recording form, and score forms. It enables aspects of assessment and goal-setting to be devolved in a transparent and replicable way and is eminently suitable for use in telehealth contexts. The Word and Picture Resources are laminated throughout to ensure a practical, enduring resource.

The Toolkit can also be used in telehealth settings and provides a range of downloadable resources:

• Picture Resources
• Word Resources
• Visual Analogue Scale
• Starter Questions
• Score form, as a pdf and Word
• Recording form, as a pdf and Word

The Score form and Recording form are available in two formats so that data can be easily added.

PUBLICATION JANUARY 2023