Spiritual Life Map

Spiritual Life Map

The spiritual life map is a visual representation of the individual journey one takes in evaluating the impacts of religion and spirituality in one's life. The primary goal is to include all people and events of significance on the life map and the impact they had. Symbolic depictions are used to depict the meaningful places/events and the spiritual resources utilized in the spiritual journey. Creativity and self-expression with various media are encouraged to tell their story. There is no correct way to complete a life map, and each individual will tell a different story with their life map.

Helpful Questions and Considerations in creating a Life Map.

1. Start at the beginning of your life and describe your spiritual path and how it came to be. Describe how you learned of spirituality and religion. Who was important and not important to your growth?

2. What important events, people, and problems did you encounter that helped you to grow spiritually or question religion and/or spirituality?

3. What are the significant stories, teachings, or people that have given you strength in the past? Present? How are they connected to you?

4. Where did you get your beliefs and how where those people connected to you. What is your relationship like with them now? What feelings bubble up when you think of them?

5. Where did you get your morals or values from? Who taught you those, and what is your relationship like with them now.

Lifemap Assessment Protocol

Upon completion of the life map the social worker can ask the client to explain their creation, and tell their story. The worker needs to show interest, encourage and support the client with genuineness/unconditional positive regard, and give empathetic response to the client. It is important to hear the client's story and seek to understand the client's spiritual reality. The life map is a construct used to identify the client's working framework for interpreting the world around them. During stressful times, the pictorial representation of the spiritual life map can help clients identify personal strengths, resources, and coping strategies they have utilized in the past to overcome difficult