The Family Spirituality And Social Work

Spirituality is an area of thought and practice that is attracting an increasing amount of attention and interest from social work practitioners, theorists, and instructors. This book explores the history, practice, and diversity of faith traditions with which spirituality and social work are intertwined.

For much of the twentieth century, professional social work sought to distance itself from its religious origins with the consequence being that the role of spirituality in the lives of service users tended to be sidelined. Yet it is clear that many people begin to explore their spirituality precisely at times when they are trying to make sense of difficult life circumstances or experiences and may come into contact with social workers. In recent years, there has been an increasing understanding that in order to be relevant to the lives of people they work with, social workers need to go beyond their material needs, but there is little understanding of how spirituality can be sensitively incorporated into practice, especially when either practitioners or service users have no religious affiliation or there is no shared religious background. In this pathbreaking volume Beth Crisp offers social workers ideas of beginning conversations in which spiritual values and beliefs may surface, allowing service users to respond from their own framework and to begin to discuss the specific religious or spiritual practices and beliefs which are important to them. She considers spirituality in the context of lived experience, a perspective that she argues breaks down any mystique and suspicion of explicitly religious language by focusing on language and experiences with which most people can identify. Such a framework allows exploration of issues that emerge at different stages in the lifespan, both by persons who are religious and those who do not identify with any formal religion. Most literature on spirituality within social work refers to the elderly, to those who are sick or have been bereaved, yet, as Crisp points out, spirituality is important for people of all ages and not just at seemingly exceptional moments.

One of the few books on this topic, The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work offers mental health professionals new information and research for creating more positive, effective, and satisfying sessions. You will learn how integrating spirituality and therapy can create open and trusting environments where clients feel accepted, respected, and spiritually affirmed. Studies show that religion is not only a way for people to be closer to their god but is also a part of their identity that dictates what they do, how they think, and who they are. The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work will help you understand what religion means to your clients and discusses different methods of answering the questions, “What is religion?” and “How does religion affect our lives?” In addition, you will gain insight into: how a social constructionist perspective can create the most successful sessions for your patients cases studies of how therapists’personal biases, lack of adequate education, personal discomfort, and self-serving needs may contribute to problems and complications in therapy the importance of including spirituality in the education of social workers and other therapists in order to avoid problems and complications with clients the nine major components of spirituality, defined in psychological terms the guidance women may need in therapy to find themselves spiritually given male-centered biases and patriarchal values in many spiritual traditions the seven steps used to help women find their spirituality, including awakening and discovering, as well as a practice model that will help practitioners address women’s spirituality how and why the relational systems model (RSM) can promote wholeness and growth in family therapy groups Providing you with information on how people perceive religion and spirituality, The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work also features studies of the therapeutic needs of those with different religious beliefs. With this solid knowledge and understanding of religion and spirituality and how it may affect clients, you will create a trusting environment that enhances your clients’experiences and makes you a more successful practitioner.

This singular reference explores religion and spirituality as a vital, though often misconstrued, lens for building better understanding of and empathy with clients. A diverse palette of faiths and traditions is compared and contrasted (occasionally with secularism), focusing on areas of belief that may inspire, comfort, or trouble clients, including health and illness, mental illness, healing, coping, forgiveness, family, inclusion, and death. From assessment and intervention planning to conducting research, these chapters guide professionals in supporting and assisting clients without minimizing or overstating their beliefs. In addition, the book’s progression of ideas takes readers beyond the well-known concept of cultural competence to model a larger and more meaningful cultural safety. Among the topics included in the Handbook: Integrating religion and spirituality into social work practice. Cultural humility, cultural safety, and beyond: new understandings and implications for social work. Healing traditions, religion/spirituality, and health. Diagnosis: religious/spiritual experience or mental illness? Understandings of dying, death, and mourning. (Re)building bridges in and with family and community. Ethical issues in conducting research on religion and spirituality. The Handbook of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice and Research is a richly-textured resource for social workers and mental health professionals engaged in clinical practice and/or research seeking to gain varied perspectives on how the religion and spirituality of their clients/research participants may inform their work.

In the black helping tradition, spirituality is the sense of the sacred and divine. It is a critical value deeply rooted in the African worldview and used by African Americans as a tool for survival. Provocative and well-written, this is the first book to draw a relationship between social work, spirituality, and the helping tradition among African Americans. Offering a wealth of historical detail and narrative, Elmer and Joanne Martin explore spirituality as a foundation for understanding people of African descent and as a skill to evoke self-help. This ground-breaking book raises compelling questions about the limitations and strengths of mainstream social work in issues of black spirituality and its role in strengthening the black community today.

One of the few books on this topic, The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work offers mental health professionals new information and research for creating more positive, effective, and satisfying sessions. You will learn how integrating spirituality and therapy can create open and trusting environments where clients feel accepted, respected, and spiritually affirmed. Studies show that religion is not only a way for people to be closer to their god but is also a part of their identity that dictates what they do, how they think, and who they are. The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work will help you understand what religion means to your clients and discusses different methods of answering the questions, “What is religion?” and “How does religion affect our lives?” In addition, you will gain insight into: how a social constructionist perspective can create the most successful sessions for your patients cases studies of how therapists’personal biases, lack of adequate education, personal discomfort, and self-serving needs may contribute to problems and complications in therapy the importance of including spirituality in the education of social workers and other therapists in order to avoid problems and complications with clients the nine major components of spirituality, defined in psychological terms the guidance women may need in therapy to find themselves spiritually given male-centered biases and patriarchal values in many spiritual traditions the seven steps used to help women find their spirituality, including awakening and discovering, as well as a practice model that will help practitioners address women’s spirituality how and why the relational systems model (RSM) can promote wholeness and growth in family therapy groups Providing you with information on how people perceive religion and spirituality, The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work also features studies of the therapeutic needs of those with different religious beliefs. With this solid knowledge and understanding of religion and spirituality and how it may affect clients, you will create a trusting environment that enhances your clients’experiences and makes you a more successful practitioner.

One of the few books on this topic, The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work offers mental health professionals new information and research for creating more positive, effective, and satisfying sessions. You will learn how integrating spirituality and therapy can create open and trusting environments where clients feel accepted, respected, and spiritually affirmed. Studies show that religion is not only a way for people to be closer to their god but is also a part of their identity that dictates what they do, how they think, and who they are. The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work will help you understand what religion means to your clients and discusses different methods of answering the questions, “What is religion?” and “How does religion affect our lives?” In addition, you will gain insight into: how a social constructionist perspective can create the most successful sessions for your patients cases studies of how therapists’personal biases, lack of adequate education, personal discomfort, and self-serving needs may contribute to problems and complications in therapy the importance of including spirituality in the education of social workers and other therapists in order to avoid problems and complications with clients the nine major components of spirituality, defined in psychological terms the guidance women may need in therapy to find themselves spiritually given male-centered biases and patriarchal values in many spiritual traditions the seven steps used to help women find their spirituality, including awakening and discovering, as well as a practice model that will help practitioners address women's spirituality how and why the relational systems model (RSM) can promote wholeness and growth in family therapy groups Providing you with information on how people perceive religion and spirituality, The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work also features studies of the therapeutic needs of those with different religious beliefs. With this solid knowledge and understanding of religion and spirituality and how it may affect clients, you will create a trusting environment that enhances your clients’experiences and makes you a more successful practitioner.

This international volume provides a comprehensive account of contemporary research, new perspectives and cutting-edge issues surrounding religion and spirituality in social work. The introduction introduces key themes and conceptual issues such as understandings of religion and spirituality as well as definitions of social work, which can vary between countries. The main body of the book is divided up into sections on regional perspectives; religious and spiritual traditions; faith-based service provision; religion and spirituality across the lifespan; and social work practice. The final chapter identifies key challenges and opportunities for developing both social work scholarship and practice in this area. Including a wide range of international perspectives from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Malta, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the UK and the USA, this Handbook succeeds in extending the dominant paradigms and comprises a mix of authors including major names, significant contributors and emerging scholars in the field, as well as leading contributors in other fields of social work who have an interest in religion and spirituality. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Spirituality and Social Work is an authoritative and comprehensive reference for academics and researchers as well as for organisations and practitioners committed to exploring why, and how, religion and spirituality should be integral to social work practice.