Spirituality,Religion, and Social Work

Abstract

Social work scholars and practitioners have approached the question of how to integrate religion and/or spirituality into their profession in one of four typical ways: (1) resistance or avoidance; (2) an overly-generalized syncretism; (3) radical separation of the terms spirituality and religion; or (4) a genuinely interdisciplinary conversation between the disciplines of social work and religious studies. This latter approach not only identifies social work's conflictual founding legacy, but also recognizes broader contemporary intellectual traditions which do not easily separate “religion” from “spirituality.” Such awareness and common grounding allow social work to more substantively and creatively partake in cross-disciplinary research and discussion.     

Spirituality in Social Work Practice

This article traces the origins of spirituality in clinical social work and psychotherapy from the nineteenth century to contemporary practice. Cases involving bereavement, terminal illness, and immigration often incorporate spirituality into traditional treatment. The author discusses his own spiritual journey, and the incorporation of spirituality into his work with agency-based clients. He also draws a distinction between religion and spirituality, noting the importance of including the latter into work with interested clients.     

Disability and Spirituality in Social Work Practice

Abstract

In working with social work clients, issues of religion and spirituality are sure to arise. Religious views on disability can have both positive and negative effects on the individual. In our increasingly pluralistic society, these issues must be approached with sensitivity and patience since it is common to work with adherents of minority or non-traditional religious groups or groups whose values conflict with the social work profession. The purpose of this article is to enhance and develop sensitivity to diverse religious views in order to respect the values and life beliefs of the client while enhancing the development of adaptive religious and spiritual views.     

The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Clinical Social Work

Abstract

Social work has a history of treating the whole person in his/her environment, however, the effort to be scientific in our approach to clinical practice often has obscured our examination of the religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of our clients and in our own lives. Consequently, there has been very little guidance to date on how curriculum can help integrate the professional identities of MSW/MDiv students. An elective practice course, “The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Clinical Social Work” in our accredited graduate social work program provides a transitional space for this integration to occur through a guiding framework of psychodynamic, systems, and postmodern theories.     

Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice with Children and Adolescents: A Survey of Canadian Practitioners

Empirical evidence about the relevance of religion/spirituality for children and adolescents contrasts with the limited number of studies inquiring about the role of religion/spirituality when working with this population. In response to this lack of knowledge, this study explored the professional attitudes, experiences, and practice behaviors of social workers and social service workers working with youth and determined the predictive factors for using spiritually-derived interventions. A cross-sectional survey design, with proportionate stratified sampling, was used to gather data from 307 Canadian social workers and social service workers working with youth in Ontario (response rate was 40%, with 5.06% margin of error). Respondents reported favorable views toward the role of religion/spirituality in social work practice, in general. They also reported positive attitudes about the relevancy of religion/spirituality for this population and somewhat frequent encounters with religious/spiritual abuse and neglect. They used a wide variety of spiritually-derived interventions; however, over two-thirds (69%) reported their formal education “never” or “rarely” included content on the topic. Barriers to using spiritually-derived interventions included: lack of knowledge/experience, concern about presenting one's own bias, disapproval from caregivers, and lack of agency/supervisor support. Multiple regression analysis revealed two assessment variables, two attitudinal variables, one education/training variable, and one personal religious/spiritual variable predictive of the use of spiritually-derived interventions, accounting for 55% of the variance. Findings suggest a need for emphasizing spiritually-sensitive practice guidelines and for social work education and continuing education to include content about religious/spiritual diversity as well as content about spiritual development that includes spirituality in childhood.     

Integrating Spirituality,Faith, and Social Justice in Social Work Practice and Education: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Significant progress has been made toward incorporating spiritual and religious diversity into professional discourse. The extent to which the profession is complying with its ethical standards that address religion, however, remains largely unexamined. Consequently, this study explores the relationship between conceptualizations of (1) spirituality, (2) religion, and (3) the nature of the relationship between spirituality and religion, and perceptions of the profession's level of ethical compliance. The results of this exploratory study indicate that perceptions of ethical compliance are generally unrelated to how respondents conceptualized either spirituality or the nature of the relationship between spirituality and religion. A more nuanced picture emerged with religion, with respondents who defined religion in personally constructed terms, without reference to the transcendent, reporting higher levels of ethical compliance, while those who defined religion in terms of community, reported lower levels of ethical compliance.     

Social Work,Spirituality, and Diasporic Communities

Abstract

The discourse surrounding the role of spirituality in social work practice has been expanding exponentially in recent years. Similarly, the discourse surrounding the role of spirituality among diasporic communities has expanded in recent times as well. In this paper, we will consider the linkages between social work, spirituality, and diaspora. We will focus our discussion on a particular diasporic spiritual community, the Sathya Sai Baba movement and its social service activities. We will then consider the implications of such spiritual movements for the social work profession. Among the key issues explored in this paper are the change in the social construction of populations that have moved between two countries as 'immigrant communities' to 'diasporic communities' and the implications of these changes for social work. Another critical issue we discuss is how working with spiritual movements may help address the 'spiritual deficit' concern that some social work academics have referred to, and indirectly at least, we begin to address 'the social work crisis' issue that has negatively affected the social work profession over the last few years.     

A Comparative International Analysis of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work: A Survey of UK and US Social Workers

As service populations have changed, the social work profession in the UK and the US has attempted to respond to the needs of diverse cultures, which often include issues of religion and spirituality. This can be problematic, however, due to the extrication of religious and spiritual concerns from the public social services that resulted from the process of secularization. Members of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in the US were sampled to explore the attitudes and perceptions of social workers regarding the placement of religion and spirituality in practice and education. In general, US social workers in this sample were more accepting of religion and spirituality than their UK counterparts, even among those respondents who expressed non‐religious world views (e.g. atheism). A majority of the respondents in the UK (76%) and the US (73%) indicated that their training programs lacked content on religion and spirituality. In the UK, 57% of the respondents believed that social workers should increase their knowledge on spirituality, compared with 90% of the US respondents. The lower level of acceptance of religion and spirituality among UK social workers may be related to higher levels of secularism in UK society.     

An Inclusive Definition of Spirituality for Social Work Education and Practice

A formidable body of recent literature advocates the incorporation of spirituality into the bio-psycho-social framework of social work education and practice. No consistent conceptualization of spirituality has been developed, however, that can be used with all clients and that is fully consonant with social work values as taught in schools of social work. Certain culturally derived perspectives regarding spirituality have been endorsed in social work literature in a way that does not fully honor each client's view of the nature of existence. This article proposes an inclusive definition of spirituality for social work education that considers every client's perceptions regarding what is unknowable as equally valid. Case examples, suitable for classroom education, are presented.     

Constructing a Place for Religion and Spirituality in Psychodynamic Practice

A focus on spirituality has become in vogue for the media as well as for professional conferences, journals, and schools of social work. Likewise, our clients are struggling with how to integrate religion and/or spirituality with their therapy. The premise of this paper is that we have a role in assisting our clients with this integration and to consider some of the current postmodern approaches. However, in attempting such an integration it is important to retain certain parameters and guidelines that have been helpful to our clinical work. This paper will examine how to make room for religion and spirituality in psychodynamic psychotherapy and the ways in which constructivism can be helpful in this process. The influences of psychodynamic theories and postmodernism shape the discussion in the following areas: definition of terms, self-awareness, deconstruction of clients' narrative, assessment of strengths and vulnerabilities, and reconstruction of a useful narrative.     

Incorporating Spirituality and the Strengths Perspective into Social Work Practice with Addicted Individuals

Abstract

In the last two decades, the social work profession began to confront the professional avoidance of alcoholics and other drug addicts, and discussions of spirituality. While acknowledging the importance of 12-Step Programs of Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous, we also acknowledge that spirituality is a major aspect of addiction and recovery from an addiction. The authors present the Strengths Perspective and apply key concepts to Steps 1-3 of the 12-Steps to increase our understanding of addiction and recovery from alcoholism and other drug addiction. The article concludes that social workers must continue to increase their understanding of the recovery and spiritual issues of alcoholics and other drug addicts.     

Listening in Context: Religion and Spirituality

A review of the literature on listening as related to the contexts of religion and spirituality suggests that while religious/spiritual groups and individuals recognize listening as a communication and spiritual construct and claim to practice listening, the views of what constitutes listening vary greatly. In their discussions of listening, writers focus primarily on practicing listening and on aspects of the greater listening process rather than on a well-grounded understanding of how listening is related to religion and spirituality. Many of the reports of the role of listening are based on untested assumptions; thus, researchers are encouraged to investigate the role of listening in religion and spirituality with scientifically based methods.