The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work

In The Family, Spirituality, and Social Work, you will come to recognize the enormous scope of spirituality and the degree to which your effectiveness as a social worker may be enhanced through its inclusion in your work with individuals and the families in which they live. A sourcebook for practitioners, it includes as broad a range of perspectives as possible from fundamentalist to transpersonal.

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.