Dirección Vital. Propuesta de análisis para la detección de capacidades espirituales en la intervención social

Abstract

Spirituality is a dimension of the person that is related to the search for meaning and intimately linked to the decisions made throughout life. From an anthropology that considers the spiritual dimension of the person, and using a qualitative approach analysis, we conducted 17 semi-directed interviews with users of various shelters in which homeless people are accompanied, of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, Aragon (Spain). Identity, roots, experience of transcendence, ability to value, and decision-making arise as visible and meaningful categories that bring us closer to the spiritual dimension, from a non-religious language based on lived experiences. Results have provided us with a broad understanding of this dimension, which makes possible a type of intervention that considers the spiritual capacities of the person. A guideline has been generated for conducting and analysing biographical interviews that may help professionals to broaden their perspective on human spirituality and to get a deeper understanding of it, as well as to grasp its potential and its intrinsic relationship with the decisions that, besides with extrinsic factors, define the vital direction of each person.