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Spirituality and Post-Stroke Aphasia Recovery

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Abstract

The role of spirituality in post-stroke aphasia recovery has been ignored despite its potential contribution to positive health outcomes, particularly stroke recovery. The present study examines the spiritual experience of adults with aphasia in an effort to better understand the role of one’s spirituality in the aphasia recovery process. Thirteen adults with aphasia completed a modified spirituality questionnaire and participated in semi-structured interviews. All participants considered themselves spiritual and reported improvements in communication during post-stroke recovery. Two themes related to spirituality that emerged from the interviews were (a) a greater power being in control of events and (b) a greater power as helper.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology, Special Education, and Communication Disorders, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3979, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3979, USA

    Jacqueline S. Laures-Gore, Penelope Leonard Lambert, Ann Cale Kruger & Jennifer Love

  2. Department of Counseling and Psychological Services, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA

    Don E. Davis Jr.

Authors
  1. Jacqueline S. Laures-Gore
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  2. Penelope Leonard Lambert
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  3. Ann Cale Kruger
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  4. Jennifer Love
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  5. Don E. Davis Jr.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacqueline S. Laures-Gore.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest

Appendices

Appendix A

Spirituality Questionnaire

*Circle one that fits you best:

  1. a.

    I consider myself spiritual but not religious

  2. b.

    I consider myself religious but not spiritual

  3. c.

    I consider myself spiritual and religious

  4. d.

    I consider myself neither spiritual nor religious

*If you consider yourself spiritual, how would you personally describe the Sacred:

  1. a.

    God or some personal deity

  2. b.

    Self

  3. c.

    Humanity

  4. d.

    Nature

  5. e.

    The transcendent (something completely other and difficult to describe with words)

  6. f.

    Other

  7. g.

    I do not consider myself spiritual

* The following items assess the importance of each Sacred object in your experience of spirituality. Please indicate your agreement with the following items:

Please place a number in each box:

1 = Completely disagree

5 = Completely agree

 

God/personal deity

Nature

Humanity

Transcendent

I often seek a sense of closeness in my relationship with:

    

My connection with______ provides a sense of meaning and purpose in my life.

    

My relationship with _______provides a sense of significance for my life.

    

My ability to have a sense of closeness or connection with _______ is the most important thing in my life.

    

My relationship with ____________ is one of most important part of who I am.

    

My relationship with __________ influences everything I do.

    

*The three previous questions marked with the asterisk were taken directly from Westbrook et al. (in press).

Appendix B

Semi-structured Interview

The interview was structured around the following topics to be used as a basis for conversation:

  • Tell me about your stroke.

  • Would you consider yourself to be someone who lives successfully with aphasia?

    • Would you consider yourself to be someone who lives happily with aphasia?

  • Have you noticed any improvements in your communication following your stroke?

  • Would you consider yourself to be a religious or spiritual person?

  • Is there anything that you do in your normal routine that you associate with spirituality?

    • For example, praying, watching the sunrise, attending a community event (only given if examples of potential routine spiritual activities are requested by the participant)

  • Tell me about an experience you have had that you would consider to be spiritual.

  • What spiritual factors, if any, do you believe have contributed to your recovery following your stroke?

  • Are there any spiritual connections with people that you believe contributed to your improvements in communication following your stroke?

  • Do you believe that your spirituality in any way contributed to your healing process following your stroke?

  • Do you believe that your spirituality in any way contributed to your communication improvements?

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Laures-Gore, J.S., Lambert, P.L., Kruger, A.C. et al. Spirituality and Post-Stroke Aphasia Recovery. J Relig Health 57, 1876–1888 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0592-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0592-4

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