Spiritual Diversity Topic 4 Writing Assignment

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Spirituality and Social Work Essay Hayley N. Abler Grand Canyon University SWK-516-O502 : Human Behavior in the Social Environment I Dr Susan Harding November 15, 2023 1

The spiritual dimension in social work can be viewed as what the beliefs of a particular client that the Social Worker is working with at any given time. Through the words of Michael McKernan, addressing spirituality in social work can happen on two levels. The first order of integration sees spirituality as a more superficial issue of information about client experience. When a client speaks about their relationship with God or wonders about life after death following the loss of a parent or spouse, we are faced with questions about how we understand and respond to this issue. This level of spiritual work does not require the worker to have a spiritual perspective for him/herself and requires that they view spirituality as an important factor of client experience in the same way that we would see gender, race, or culture. (McKernan, 2019) This initial encounter of spirituality between a worker and their client can be kept at the professional level that does not require the Social Worker to agree or disagree with their client, they must simply just listen to understand. This framework can be useful to help build a positive relationship with their client. Looking into the second form of spirituality through Michael McKernan’s insight the second order of integration assumes that spirituality is a subjective experience that includes the experience of the worker. Like attending to the process of a client interview, it is subtler because it is focused not merely on content but on the experience itself. The social worker is not separate or neutral about what is taking place. The insights of quantum physics tell us that we cannot measure things in absolutely objective ways — the act of measuring changes what we measure. In this sense, the initiative for addressing spirituality in social work practice is shaped by the worker’s beliefs and experience (McKernan, 2019). Through this second view on the spiritual dimension when it comes to social workers and their clients it can be found to be much more difficult as the social worker is instilling their own beliefs into the work that they are doing. This 2

could both be a driving positive force and a potential negative hindrance if the Social Worker is unable to see past their own beliefs in certain situations. As a social worker, my own spiritual perspectives are aligned with those of the Christian world view, and through my understanding as well as being raised with this particular perspective, I find myself having the most positive interaction with those that also share this view. Spiritual perspectives are ways of seeing and relating to the world based on the belief that there is more to life than just the physical and sensory level. Spiritual perspectives can give people a sense of purpose, clarity, and connection to a higher power or to other beings (Pavlina, 2020). With that being said I can some times find it difficult to relate to those that do not have a spiritual perspective or do not believe in a higher power that connects us all. Though this can be difficult for me, as a Social Worker, I attempt to always ensure that I am being as professional as possible and I will take on a view similar to that of the first spiritual dimension level that was explained earlier through the words of Michael McKernan. In a similar manner I will respectfully listen to my client and take into consideration their thoughts. I do not need to agree with a client in order to have a positive, professional relationship with them. My job as a Social Worker is to help them help themselves. The client is believed to be the expert in their life (Yao, 2023) Understanding this is vital when you are in the field of social work. There will be many times as a professional that you will encounter those with different beliefs and different interpretations of what faith looks like. As a precaution to myself and ensuring that I am able to maintain a professional and unbiased opinion of my clients I was able to find an article that discussed the best training strategies to prevent a professional from unconsciously being bias. Within this article it described unconscious bias training and what the most ineffective and effective methods were when it 3

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came to teaching it to professionals. The most effective UB(Un-bias) training does more than increase awareness of bias and its impact. It teaches attendees to manage their biases, change their behavior, and track their progress. (Gino, 2021). After reading the article it gave a clear and concise way for professionals to both address their bias and channel it in a way that will not interrupt or negatively affect their professional work environment. The article explained that the best methods for controlling a personal bias included calling out stereotyped views, gathering more individualized information about people, reflecting on counter stereotypical examples, adopting the perspectives of others, and increasing interactions with different kinds of people (Gino, 2021) These strategies are both helpful and insightful for me as a professional social worker. I will be able to utilize this information and hopefully grow as both a person and a professional with a broader understanding of those that do not share the same spiritual view point as I do. As stated clearly in the NASW, National Association of Social Workers, under the Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities as Professionals, Social workers should not permit their private conduct to interfere with their ability to fulfill their professional responsibilities. (NASW, 2023). By understanding that it is my duty to maintain a professional manner at all times when dealing with my clients, including understanding each individual client will have their own viewpoint on how to conduct themselves and what their beliefs are. Different people will have a different way of expressing their spirituality and each of my encounters will differ from one another. With this understanding I will be able to ensure that each new encounter I make with my clients will have a clean slate, or an unbiased, safe environment for them to open up and discuss with me their thoughts, feelings and beliefs. By allowing clients the opportunity to be themselves and express their individuality I open up the possibility of having a positive, impactful 4

connection with them. As a Social Worker being able to have a positive connection with your clients allows for you to better assist them and ensure you are connecting them to the resources that they need most. As an example of using these positive, and insightful connections in my profession as a Social Worker, in one instance I recently encountered a family that was not from the area. They were struggling to connect with the community and felt as though they did not belong here. Their ethnic background and religious viewpoints were not common in the area. Through my own research and connection to other counties I was able to pull together some resources for them and find a church in a city not too far away that practiced their faith as well as had many connections in the area to others of the same ethnic background. The family was very thankful and could not be happier that I was able to connect them to this resource. The mother had even reached out after my case had closed with them to thank me again because through the connections at church, she had been able to find her son a mentor as well. She had been looking for a male mentor for her oldest son as their family lacked a father figure and she had been able to accomplish that goal with these connections. Another example of using both my resources and keeping a professional mindset happened when I worked closely with a family that struggled to maintain a schedule. Their children were habitually late to school or not coming at all and our organization became involved do to a concern that the children lacked appropriate clothing and were walking to school without jackets in the winter time. Working with this family, I needed to put aside my own opinions and look for ways to help this family to succeed. Though the question of spirituality never came up, there were other factors that I needed to overcome in order to work with this family as a professional. Through resources and education, I was able to help the parents with getting jobs, I was able to 5

provide clothing and house essentials. My organization was able to support and provide toys and a schedule for the parents to attempt to maintain. Though working with this family was difficult, with the support of my organization I was able to help them succeed and on their own terms. In conclusion, the Social Work profession will always rely on professionals to be able to maintain an unbiased opinion and be as open-minded as possible. Workers will likely meet clients from all backgrounds and will need to understand that each one will have their own worldview point as well as their own belief system. Our job as Social Workers is not to judge our clients but instead help them succeed in their life goals. We are and should be the connection for clients in need as well as understating the differences in each client. As social workers it is vital to be respectful of different religious or spiritual paths and be willing to learn about the role and meaning of various beliefs, practices, and experiences for various client systems (individuals, families, groups, communities)(Hutchinson, 2019) 6

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References Gino , F., & Coffman, K. (2021, August 30). Unconscious Bias Training That Works . Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/09/unconscious-bias-training-that-works Hutchison, E. D. (2019). Dimensions of human behavior: Person and environment and dimensions of human behavior: The changing life course (Custom) (1st Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc McKernan, M. (2019). Exploring the Spiritual Dimension of Social Work . Exploring the spiritual dimension of Social Work. https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/index.php/csw/article/download/5670/4633?inline=1 NASW. (2023). Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities as Professionals . NASW, National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of- Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English/Social-Workers-Ethical-Responsibilities-as-Professionals Pavlina, S. (2020, December 10). What Is a Spiritual Perspective? . Steve Pavlina. https://stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/12/what-is-a-spiritual-perspective/ Yao L, Kabir R. Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy). 2023 Feb 9. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan–. PMID: 36944012. 7

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