Unit 9-Integral Health Assessment

              This is an outline that will demonstrate the issues that are addressed by health and wellness professionals in order to provide optimum care to their patients. For health and wellness professionals to provide this type of care, they need to be cognizant of the need to develop personally in their own psychological, physical and spiritual wellbeing. As demonstrated in our readings and learning in this class, the process of this type of “growth” is time consuming and very hard work. By understanding this process, the health and wellness professional will be better able to understand the difficulties and challenges that their patients may face in learning to obtain “integral health”.

              I am going to discuss my personal assessment procedure and how I felt about it. I will also discuss how this assessment has revealed to me which areas that I need to develop more fully in order to be of benefit to my patients and myself.

              According to Dacher, there are six principles for “integral assessment” that will help to direct us in certain areas. These principles should; help alleviate suffering, and then leads to “human flourishing”, indicates the differences between short and long term relief, indicates the differences between quick happiness  and long term beneficial conditions that can lead to human flourishing, indicates the importance of psychospiritual development, and shows how important “deep listening” is in determining problem areas. This type of assessment will show which developmental areas need to be given the most attention depending on each person’s individual needs.

              I have searched the four areas of my development and come up with the following positive and negative aspects of them.

              Psychospiritual development-My “conative” development in this area is in the area of “vision and values”. I have recently moved from the “fear” drive in this area since I have become a mother and a student. Next, the “cognitive” area I feel is still very reactionary, even though now I do understand  that all things happen for a reason. My “emotional” level I feel is very similar and runs very parallel to my “cognitive” level. I still do many things due to an irrational “fear” that I harbor. Usually this fear is based in a having a sense of “failure”. I tend to do things 150% and am extremely “approval seeking”. I am slowly learning that the only person I should seek approval from is myself, but this is coming very slowly. I would rank myself at about a “4” in this developmental area. I think that some things I could do to improve in this area would have to be related to “affirmation” exercises, biofeedback and support groups.

              Biological development-My development in the nutrition area is very good, however, I would like to be more developed in being more ecologically minded. I eat a very good, low fat, fresh food diet. However, I have just become more aware of the effects some of the choices I have made in the past are not so positive for the environment. I am already choosing more locally grown foods and much less processed and packaged foods. My fitness development is probably the most developed in my life. I run 4 miles a day, do strength training every other day and yoga every other day. My self-regulation development is still very much in need of expansion. My yoga practice has encouraged a much more profound awareness of this area in my life, but I need to put more effort into meditation. I would have to rate myself as having 7.5 out of 10 in this area. The things that I can do to develop my self-regulation more fully is begin a “contemplative practice” routine. I can do this by starting to take the time to do this for 10 minutes a day and move up as I become more comfortable and adept in it. For my area of nutrition that needs more development, I can become more knowledgeable about the harmful effects certain foods can have on our bodies and also the amount of “carbon foot printing” certain production practices have on our environment.

              Interpersonal development-The family area of this section is one that really needs addressing. I live very far away from my family and it is hard to stay close. My sister is going through a really bad time and I have reached out to her but she is not responding. My personal development I feel is the best of these. I feel I am making strides to make myself a more knowledgeable and “aware” person and work on myself more than I see many people do. My community area is an area I am also comfortable with. I am very involved in a fellowship group, I have two very good girlfriends for the very first time in my life (after some 35 years!) and I am involved in my daughter’s school and activities.  I would rank myself as 5 out of 10 in this area. The things that I need to do to improve this “interpersonal” developmental area would be to try to make a more effective effort to get in touch with my sister and really do some “deep listening” to her. I think that I should try to reach out to family members that I do not know very well so that I have a sense of “belonging” and “history”. If I do this it would also benefit my “personal” development by giving me some relief from my guilt over these situations.

              Worldly development-Social activism development is very basic in my life. I realize now that I am doing just what is needed in order to “get by”. I am involved in my daughter’s school activities, I do recycle, and I try to be environmentally responsible. My work development is in a neutral to positive area. I work in an area that used to be my passion, however, that has changed over the years.  My job is one that I enjoy and am good at. My generativity development is something that is hard for me to determine. Just recently, I have been asked to judge many horse shows. This means that people have some belief that my knowledge and opinion are substantial. However, I do not feel like that activity is really being “generative”. I would rate myself in the category of development as 5 out of 10. The things I can do to improve my “worldly” development would be to be more active in organizations that help people in distress. I have always wanted to go on a mission in Africa or somewhere where it is needed to help people. I also believe that once I am trained as a “health professional” that I could offer my services and knowledge in areas where it is needed, for example in shelters for abused women.

              Again, it is important for me to remember that I need to develop all of these areas in order to really obtain health, happiness, and wholeness (Dacher, 2006). I also need to be cognizant that my life will be constantly evolving and changing and that a need to re-evaluate every time a life change happens and or make a schedule to re-evaluate because I may not realize that I need it!

              I have learned through this course that it is very important to try to be aware of the areas in our lives that need more help in order to become a truly “flourishing” individual. There are many things that can be done in order to facilitate changes in our behavior to encourage these. It is best to consider the many different options available and then decide which would be best for our own abilities and lifestyle (Dacher, 2006).

              In order to improve my “Physical” domain, I think it would be beneficial for me to try some new things that I am not familiar with in order to grow in this area. I would like to try is Qigong, or Chinese Yoga. This is similar to Tai Chi and involves breathing and alignment through specific poses. The performance of these postures then releases energy through the body which can have many benefits such as stress and disease reduction (Healthy Alternatives, 2009). Another exercise that I feel that would be beneficial for me to try is swimming. I have never been much of a swimmer because I dislike water for some reason. If I tried to do swimming on alternate days of my running, it would put me in an area “out of my comfort” zone. This would provide a challenge to me. By doing this challenge, I will then “grow” in a new area that I previously would not have tried.

              Psychological-My psychological wellbeing is very manifested in fear and anxiety. I have a very large sense of never being capable enough and of failing. I think that trying ‘”biofeedback” would be a very good exercise for me. I tend to get very stressed out and anxious and biofeedback therapy has been shown to help relieve these symptoms. Biofeedback uses your body’s signals and stimuli to train your mind to not react the same way. Biofeedback “measures” responses that you are not aware of (Stress Relief Tools.com, 2011).  It is best to use a licensed therapist to work through this type of exercise. Another exercise I can do is the “Loving Kindness” exercise. I found that this exercise promoted a sense of consideration and thoughts about other people I cared about. I feel that this type of practice, for me, takes the “me” out of the picture by focusing on others. By doing this, I will not have so much self-induced stress and anxiety.

              Spiritual-I feel that to develop myself in the Spiritual domain, I need to learn to focus about things that are important in the “wholeness” aspect of life. I need to be able to see the “big” picture, not all of the little parts that make up everyday life. I need to really learn to “still” my mind in order to do that. I believe that meditation can help me with that. One meditation that I really enjoyed doing was the “Subtle Mind” practice. I found that of all the ones that I have tried over the last year, that one gave me an “active” practice, which produced more results for me. By giving myself a goal, then I will be more likely to work at this practice. Another exercise I can do to promote my Spiritual wellbeing is “Christian Centered Prayer”. I have just recently been engaging in more spiritual exercises through my fellowship group and would like to be more informed about prayer. This type of contemplative practice is a “silent practice of awareness within one’s center of spiritual awareness”. There are many retreats that offer training in “Christian Centered Prayer” (Christ Centered Prayer.com, 2011).

              To assess my progress in the next six months, I need to explore these areas of development thoroughly again to see where I am lacking or where I have grown. One thing I can do is make an “integral map”. This will be to outline my goals for a fully integrated approach to my “human flourishing” (Dacher, 2006).

              To make sure that I do the things I have outlined, it is important that I have “intention”. This is the one thing that will ensure that I follow through in this program. It is one thing to say that I can do all of these things I have outlined, it is quite another to actually do it. I need to have the “intention” to make the time to do some of the practices I described. I do not need to overwhelm myself by trying to do all of these at once. If I do not have a true intention, then none of this is going to come to “fruition”.

              In conclusion, the concept of “integral health” is a multi-dimensional approach to wellbeing. All of the areas of development need to be addressed and evaluated. The areas that need more work need to have a treatment that is specific to each individual’s personality and needs. It is very important to also remember that this is a “dynamic” process that is always changing.  No one way is better than another. I am glad that I have become aware of this very thorough and important concept in life. It has made me really think and analyze my behaviors and motives several times. I feel that if I refer back to this often, and I will, I shall be able to keep my “intentions” and obtain the “fruits” of an “integral practice” (Dacher, 2006).

References

Dacher, E. (2006).Integral Health: The Path the Human Flourishing. Laguna, CA. Basic       Health Publications   Inc.

Healthy Alternatives. (2009).Qiqong and its Health Benefits. Healthy Alternatives.com.       Retrieved on February 28, 2011 from http://www.healthy-alternative-    solutions.com/Qigong.html

Mancari, C. (2009).Christian Centered Prayer. Christ Centered Prayer.com. Retrieved on     March 2, 2011 from http://christcenteredprayer.com/contact.html

Stress Relief Tools. (2011).Biofeedback Techniques. Stress Relief Tools.com. Retrieved on        March 1, 2011 from http://www.stress-relief-tools.com/biofeedback-          techniques.html