The Importance Of Religion And Spirituality In Social Work

It is in the last 30 years that it has taken a secular point of view. People do not agree with allowing expression of religious mindsets in their workplace and work decisions. In colleges today, teachers do not discuss religion or spirituality because they do not think it is important, but “the teachers may teach their students to be aware of religious convictions” because it is their duty to know their client's cultures (Loue, 2017, p. 12-15). Practicing social workers follow closely to the code of ethics created by the NASW. Likewise, when faced with a moral dilemma they look to their code of ethics for an answer even though they understand the code is just a set of guidelines that cannot answer all their questions. Sana Loue does make an interesting discovery, in her book she shares, “the code of ethics aligns with many religious beliefs from liberation theology, Judaism, Catholics, Jews, and Christians” (Loue, 2017, p. 18). Although the Postmodern Social worker today tries to escape the foundational roots of his job, the Christian influence is still prevalent in the code of ethics given to him. Expectations of social workers today are reasonable to the Postmodern. They must be of good character and able to apply the standards and principles of the code. They must equally “discern moral questions and, in good faith, seek to make reliable ethical judgments” (NASW, 2017, p.1). A social worker becomes of good character by

In today’s research, there is a showing of a swift change in religious silhouette (Hackett, Connor, Stonawski, & Skirbekk, 2015). Hackett, Connor, Stonawski, and Skirbekk (2015) reported by 2050 there will be a drop in Christian’s faith, and Judaism will no longer be the greatest non-Christian religious conviction. Muslims will outnumber individuals who consider themselves as a Christian religion. Magaldi-Dopman (2014) says, multicultural training enables discovery of self and brings awareness to one’s biases when discussing issues of spiritual, religious, and nonreligious issues with their clients (p. 195). And counseling professionals are conscious of death, that all living souls pass away, as well as their clients.’

Personal values are developed from surrounding circumstances, influencing them to change over time. Personal values are not universal in that each individual holds different beliefs and values. Values have been shaped by family, nation, generation and historical events. Social workers must not impose their own values and beliefs on their clients. Services should be ‘sensitive and non-judgmental’ (Pamela & Wilshere, 1997, p. 1), rather than providing options based on what feels right according to the practitioner’s values and beliefs. A capable practitioner demonstrates “confidentiality, person-centred practice, professional accountability, the legal context of practice and demonstrates effective partnerships” (McGregor, 2011), as well as a thorough understanding and application of the ethics and values of the organisation while being capable of managing their own values (McGregor, 2011). As mentioned before, the AASW Code of Ethics (2010) “guides social workers to respect the intrinsic dignity and worth of clients and to treat each person in a caring and respectful manner” (Comartin & Gonzalez-Prendes, 2011). In practice, the AASW standard indicates that practitioners of social work and human services must respect the intrinsic worth and dignity of their clients by showing unconditional acceptance of their clients values and beliefs. Regardless of

The benefits of religious counselling is it’s proven efficacy Nathaniel (2005) that illustrates clients as experiencing a greater feeling of closeness within the

McMinn unveils the realism of what essentially happens in the counseling office. He dives into the fitting together “Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling”. McMinn explains how “those who enter therapy in the midst of their pain experience a restorative counseling relationship that brings acceptance hope, and meaning into their broken lives” (McMinn, 2011, p. 20). There are various questions surrounding Christian counseling that McMinn faces head on in this book when it comes to the challenges counselors face as it relates to integrating religion and spirituality in their sessions. Life on the frontier as McMinn puts it, is where counselors face six basic challenges. Challenges such as moving from two areas of competence to three, blurred personal-professional distinctions, expanded definitions of training, confronting dominant views of mental health, establishing a scientific base or even defining relevant ethical standards (McMinn, 2011). Personal journey’s that McMinn has taken throughout his career provide him with the knowledge, skills and abilities to depict how we should face these challenges. McMinn talks about how many counselors have a need to interpret studies, have good psychodynamics and figure out which cognitive therapy is right for their counseling. As he states, “Christian counseling is more complex than other forms of counseling because our goal are multifaceted (McMinn, 2011, p.

The code of ethics for both the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) create a framework by which Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) and Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT), respectively, determine their ethical boundaries in which to practice in the field of counseling. Though it is clear the code of ethics within this profession are not definitive nor concrete instructions to handle all ethical concerns and scenarios, they do serve a major purpose in helping professionals navigate ethical concerns that may arise (Corey, 2015). In addition to the professional ethics, “Christian mental health professionals are called to a higher ethic (Sanders, 2013, p. 27).” This goes without saying for the one whose life has been radically transformed because of what Christ accomplished on the Cross. However, in the context of a profession that restricts one’s personal values there remains a consistent thoughtfulness of the impact it has on one’s faith.

Therapists are in the business of people, couples, and families. In order to best serve the clients, the therapist live by the motto of “meet your clients where they are”, In order to accomplish this the diversity of the client must be considered and embraced. One aspect of diversity that appears in therapy is religion. 95% of married couples recognize a specific theology and would identify as religious(Duba). Religion and spirituality are often used interchangeably. Spirituality is often referenced when speaking of therapy instead of religion even though a high majority of individuals acknowledge a religious affiliation(Faiver). The negative connotation may influence a clinician's willingness

Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling is Mark McMinn's book published in 1996 by Tyndale House. In this book, the author continuously discusses that in the counseling office bringing Christianity could be beneficial. The author has experience in cognitive therapy and uses it as theoretical groundwork. He provides examples of the most fitting way for Psychology and Christianity integration. He also provides different challenges that can be of concern when bringing religion into counseling sessions and how those challenges could be approached. These challenges discuss spiritual formation development, personal and professional lives being hazy, certain problems in training, different views of the world, insufficient evidence

Clients influence social workers in many ways including both positive and negative ways. This influence can create change within ourselves, challenge us, help us grow, and inspire us in many ways. On the other hand, as social workers we will not always agree with the values, moral judgments, and behaviors of our clients. As we experience strong reactions to our clients’ values, moral judgments, and behaviors related to such things as parenting, domestic violence, or drug use we must be aware of how our clients influence us to be aware of how we respond to the client and the influence they have on us. If we are not aware of how our clients impact us we may respond unethically based on our personal values. If we are aware of the influence that our clients and these reactions have on us then we can be more aware of our reactions and responses to our clients to ensure we respond ethically. God places our clients in front of us to help each client make positive changes in their lives, not to convince our client to adopt our personal values, moral judgements, and behaviors. We can and should model for our clients, but we must not attempt to force our values and behaviors on our clients.

Cashwell, C. S., Young, J. S., Fulton, C. L., Wills, B. T., Giordano, A., Daniel, L. W., et al. (2013). Clinical behaviors for addressing religious/spiritual issues: Do we practice what we preach? Retrieved from http://search.proques.com/docview/1346947296?accountid=34899

The author suggests that theology, psychology, and spiritual formation should all work together in order to help a client reach a state of health (McMinn, 2011). When reading this book, I recalled a point in my life where I wanted to reach out to a counselor in order to get help due to abuse that I had experienced in my life. I had left home and had begun to experience mental breakdowns in the workplace. My employer approached me and told me that I needed to go and seek help, but I refused. I remember thinking about conversations that I had previously with my father about counseling.

Richard Savel, MD, and Cindy Munro, RN, PHD, ANP, (2014) said it best when they said, “Spirituality can also be defined as the

In this paper, Religious Analysis, I will discuss my, observation, experience, and emotions attending a religious service that is different from what I was raised. The purpose of this assignment is for me to gain an understanding of another religion practice, understand the similarities and difference between religions, and find common ground with other cultures. By doing the Religion Analysis assignment, it will allow me to become culturally competent now and throughout my journey in the field of social work. It will help me comprehend what other people believe in and why they might believe in it. This will allow me to relate to and understand people more or better. As a future social worker, it is essential to know the diversity of religion

In this article, there were a 26 survey conducted with 5,579 therapists with the integration of religion and spirituality in counseling. In the study, most therapist consider spirituality through their lives, but does not infrequently participate in religious activities. In the study, it was founded that marriage therapists consider more spirituality during their counseling session than other therapists, and marriage therapists is more likely to participate in a religious practice than other therapists.

While consensus among researchers on the definition of spirituality and religiosity is lacking, what it means to be spiritual or religious and what constitutes a spiritual person in the literature is still very highly researched (Stranahan, 2008). Many definitions of religiosity and spirituality include religious service attendance, some sort of meaning and purpose in life, personal strength to cope with difficulties, and believing in a higher being (Stranahan, 2008). Older adults tend to have stronger faith and greater spirituality than younger populations (Moberg, 2005). This difference in spirituality between younger populations and older adults is possibly tied to “the deepening of spiritual interests and concern during the later years” (Moberg, 2005, p. 15). Older adults tend to become more religious, or turn to religion more as they age, instead of maintaining a high level of religiosity throughout their lives (Moberg, 2005). Spirituality and religiosity are very important to the aging process due to the connection observed in many studies between spiritual health and physical and mental health and well-being, with religion having protective health effects. Much research has been conducted on the association between religion and spirituality and physical and mental health outcomes, especially among older adults. This paper will summarize the recent findings related to religion and spirituality and health in older adults, including a discussion on the theory of