Spiritual assessment in mental health care: a review of current practices and future directions

Spirituality plays an increasingly recognised role in psychiatric recovery, resilience, and meaning-making. This article reviews the rationale, tools, challenges, and ethical imperatives for integrating spiritual assessment into psychiatric care. A literature review was conducted across peer-reviewed sources and clinical guidelines. Emphasis was placed on mental health applications, special populations, and implementation strategies. Despite growing evidence linking spirituality with mental health outcomes, spiritual assessments remain underutilised. While several tools to guide spiritual assessment exist (FICA, HOPE, SPIRIT), provider discomfort, lack of training, and institutional barriers persist. Ethical frameworks and recovery-oriented practices increasingly call for spiritual inquiry as part of culturally competent care. Integrating spiritual assessment into mental health settings can improve engagement, resilience, and treatment outcomes. A stepped approach – universal screening followed by in-depth assessment when appropriate – is recommended. Further research is needed to evaluate clinical outcomes, especially across diverse populations and settings.