Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Spirituality in social work practice'
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Abrahamson, Kimberly. "SPIRITUALITY IN SOCIAL WORK: A SOCIAL WORKERS PERSPECTIVES ON THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALITY WITHIN THEIR PRACTICE." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/902.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the role of spirituality in the social work practice and social worker’s perspective on it. This project focuses on spirituality in social work and the role that it plays in a social workers practice.
The data collected for this research project consists of qualitative data in which the researcher conducted one-on-one interviews of eight different clinical professionals in the social work field. The study employed a purposive sampling by recruiting LCSW’s, MSW’s, ASW’s, and other clinical professionals in the Northern California area. The average years of experience amongst the participants was 19.375 years. Each participant has a broad range of experience from individual clinical one-on-one counseling, working with groups, and supervision.
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Rukambe, Zeldah U. "Spirituality and social work in the Namibian mental health practice: Guidelines for social workers." University of the Western Cape, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7056.
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Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe aim of the study was to develop guidelines for social workers to be spiritually sensitive in their mental health practice. Spirituality in Namibia is an important part of the culture of the individuals that are served by social workers, as well as other caring professionals. For many, spirituality influences how they perceive their world. Spirituality is an important strength for individuals to manage their life challenges and for Namibians living with mental illness, spirituality is a source of comfort and strength during the recovery treatment process. However, the researcher determined that there is scant literature on the conceptualisation and utilisation of spirituality in the Namibian social work context and specifically among social work professionals’ practice with mentally-ill patients. Consequently, case studies were conducted to explore how Namibian social workers understand and utilise spirituality in their mental health practice, with the aim to develop guidelines for the practice. The research process was conducted in two phases. Phase one focussed on informationgathering through a scoping review, as well as two case studies through in-depth individual interviews. After the completion of the first phase of analysis, the data from the scoping review and the interviews were shared with the participants for the development of the guidelines. Phase two comprised two 1-day workshops for the purpose of developing guidelines for practice. The draft guidelines developed in the first 1-day workshop were forwarded for review to African experts in spirituality and social work from the University of the Witwatersrand and the Nelson Mandela University. The research participants for both the in-depth individual interviews and the workshops were social work practitioners who were or had been employed at the two mental health hospitals in Namibia. A purposive, non-probability sampling method was employed to select the participants for the research sample.
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Ramos, Nancy, and Jessica Chavez. "FACTORS OF RESISTANCE: SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/870.
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The discussion of spirituality and religion (S/R) in social work is a prevalent topic within the field. Literature suggests that social workers do not feel competent or comfortable discussing or utilizing S/R in practice. This study focused on identifying factors that may be causing resistance in social workers from the Inland Empire of Southern California towards addressing S/R with their clients. The researchers interviewed eight social workers from diverse areas of practice via telephone and in-person. Data was collected via audio-recording and later transcribed for thematic analysis. Participants were asked an array of questions including their own experience with their spirituality and current comfort level with asking their clients about S/R. Through the findings, it appears that social workers’ comfort level stems from various aspects including a sense of unease regarding their knowledge on various belief systems. The results indicated that once clients are asked about their spiritual and/or religious beliefs, clients are able to engage in a discussion about their definition of their own beliefs and determine the direction of the topic.
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Barker, Stacey L. "How Social Work Practitioners Understand and Utilize Spirituality in the Practice Context." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1207085353.
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Barker, Stacey L. "How social work practitioners understand and utilize spirituality in the practice contexts." online version, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view.cgi?acc%5Fnum=case1207085353.
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Fraser, Elizabeth Antoinette. "Religion and spirituality in social work practice with older adults: A survey of social workers." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2001. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1955.
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Garcia-Irons, Alexis. "THE PLACE OF SPIRITUALITY IN SOCIAL WORK: PRACTITIONERS’ PERSONAL VIEWS AND BELIEFS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/656.
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The integration of spirituality in Social Work is on the rise, but due to the lack of literature on spiritually-involved interventions and applicable integration of spirituality into ones practice, literature suggests social workers do not feel competent or confident in this area of practice. This study explores the attitudes and beliefs of social workers in San Bernardino County towards spirituality in their own practice and social work overall. The data is collected through audio recording individual interviews with each participant, which are then transcribed into transcripts. The transcripts are coded for themes and commonalities among the participants. Results lay the foundation for further research and conversation regarding spirituality and how to further integrate or continue integrating it into social work practice in San Bernardino County.
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Goss, Glenn R. "Participatory action research on emerging practice in psychosocial interventions for survivors of religious persecution." Thesis, Capella University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10038389.
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Religious persecution is a part of daily life for most of the world’s population. Religious freedom is elusive for many and the effect of violent religious persecution is potentially debilitating and traumatic. Despite research in the areas of refugee trauma and genocide studies, there is a lack of best practice methodology for psychosocial interventions on behalf of survivors of political and religious persecution. A literature review reveals both a lack of research in terms of best practice for this sub-group and a potential for consensus-based and participatory action research for best practice and staff team empowerment. A participatory action research framework was developed to enable our diverse, international staff trauma team and partners to work toward an inclusive, participative, consensus process leading to a collective narrative and action planning. The data collection and analysis included a consensus process, individual interviews, a focus group, field notes and document review. The joint analysis and narratives were presented as a written narrative with emerging themes that included: narrative and story, community and culture and identity and reconnection. The process allowed previously marginalized staff, voices from the Global South, to emerge along with staff of Western countries. Finally, action planning proposed organizational and community of practice change based on the emerging practice consensus and illuminative narratives.
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Rice, Sue. "The golden thread : an exploration of the relationship between social workers' spirituality and their social work practice /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2005. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe18665.pdf.
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Coholic, Diana School of Social Work UNSW. "Exploring spirituality in feminist practices - emerging knowledge for social work." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Social Work, 2001. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/17873.
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This research study investigates self-identified feminist social workers??? conceptualizations of spirituality, how spirituality influences their practices, and their ideas about the effects of spiritually influenced practice. There is increasing interest in exploring and considering spirituality across social work approaches, accompanied by a strong demand for empirical research and the development of knowledge in this area. The past few years in particular have witnessed an expanding social work literature that discusses the incorporation of spirituality into practice. In this thesis spirituality refers to a complex construct that can be deeply personal and/or communal, and that can encompass a sense of connection with something bigger that transcends ordinary life experience. In order to examine spirituality in the context of feminist social work practice, the goals of this study needed to be exploratory and demanded the use of a qualitative methodology. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with twenty experienced direct practice social workers. Grounded theory analysis of the interview data uncovered surprising and significant convergences amongst research participants??? beliefs, values and practices. These unexpected commonalities invited a further analysis of the data that produced a set of practice principles. These practice principles reflected the participants??? understandings of spirituality and basic values, their ideas about processes of spiritual development and beliefs about the spiritual essence of human life, and their spiritually influenced practice methods and relationships. The process of developing practice principles included further data collection through the written feedback of participants and the use of three focus groups. This second round of data collection and analysis extended and refined the practice principles. The practice principles are particularly relevant for social work because they are based in the participants??? collective practice wisdom and represent an important step towards helping to legitimize spiritual knowledge. The practice principles also have important implications for social work practice, education and research in that they can promote discussions about spirituality, guide practice, provide a base for the future development of spiritually influenced models and frameworks, and direct curriculum development.
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Carlisle, Patricia A. "Meaning in distress : exploring religion, spirituality and mental health social work practice in Northern Ireland." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/21736.
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This empirical study explores if, and how, religion and spirituality are relevant subjects for those experiencing mental distress in Northern Ireland (NI) and how, if at all, the subject is engaged with in mental health social work practice. Although there is some controversy in United Kingdom based research regarding the apparent benefit of religion and spirituality within mental health, service user research and literature suggests its importance within recovery. Literature on religion, spirituality and social work practice suggests the need to examine the social and political processes which persist around this subject in social work practice (Henery, 2003; Wong and Vinsky, 2009). This examination is appropriate given the role of religion within the political conflict in NI, the impact of the conflict upon social work practice (Campbell et al, 2013), the high incidence of mental ill health in NI and the apparent role of religion and spirituality within mental distress. This study considers how mental health social workers may engage with this subject within their practice not only as an aspect of service users’ identity but also within post conflict Northern Ireland. The study methodology and design drew upon narrative theory and grounded theory. I interviewed twelve mental health service users and twelve mental health social workers, and half of the participants from each group also took part in a follow-up telephone interview. All of the participants were invited to bring an object which expressed what religion and spirituality meant to them. Analysis explored the views and experiences of mental health service users and social workers about religion and spirituality, within specific aspects of the wider social field. Service user and social worker participants’ accounts suggested that whilst the role of religion and spirituality within mental distress was recognised, its inclusion in mental health social work practice was marked with questions of legitimacy. Some of these questions were explicitly framed within the conflict, whilst others were less so. The study found that although religion was associated with politics, sectarianism and violence, its role, and that of spirituality, as an aspect of identity and meaning-making, appeared to be underdeveloped. Two key findings are of particular note. 10 Firstly that service user participants had their own ‘hierarchy’ of religious and spiritual expression, which on occasion appeared to result in their being critical of other service users’ expressions. Secondly, some service users preferred to keep their spirituality to themselves as a strategy of empowerment. In addition the study also found that service users viewed the mental health professional relationship as focusing upon medical aspects of their care, for example physical health and medication management, with no scope to explore religion, spirituality and mental distress. Thus questions of legitimacy focused around the notion of privacy and whether talking about religion and spirituality within the mental health service user and social worker relationship was too sensitive, given its association with sectarianism. Furthermore, mental health service users were concerned about how a disclosure of religion and / or spirituality within mental distress would be viewed by the mental health professional: would it be viewed as indicative of deteriorating mental health? Overall the study identified a significant gap between how service users draw upon spirituality and / or religion within mental distress, and the space given to this within mental health social work practice. This gap is due to a myriad of factors ranging from the social worker’s biography, to wider issues around how religion and spirituality are conceptualised in contemporary society. This study also highlights the continuing impact of the Northern Ireland conflict on frontline social work provision. There is a need for policymaking to acknowledge the ambivalence that exists around spirituality and religion in mental health social work practice due to the conflict and other relevant factors. Finally, support is needed for practitioners and service users to acknowledge this aspect of mental well-being in a manner that gives service users choice about its inclusion in their mental health care.
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Gilligan, Philip A., and Sheila M. Furness. "The role of religion and spirituality in social work practice: Views and experiences of social workers and students." Oxford University Press, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/2720.
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NoFindings from surveys of qualified social work practitioners and students indicate a need for social work education and practice to focus attention both on the importance of religious and spiritual beliefs in the lives of many service users and on the potential usefulness of religious and spiritual interventions. In this British study, undertaken in 2003 and 2004, students were less likely than their qualified colleagues to consider religious or spiritually sensitive interventions as appropriate. Attitudes varied little between those students who held religious beliefs and those who did not, but Muslim students and qualified social workers were more likely to view these types of interventions as appropriate. The authors conclude that there is a clear need for all social work practitioners and educators to give greater priority to exploring the potential significance of religious and spiritual beliefs in their training, in their professional practice and in the lives and perspectives of service users and colleagues. Social workers need to be able to respond appropriately to the needs of all service users, including those for whom religious and spiritual beliefs are crucial. `Culturally competent¿ practice depends, amongst other things, on an understanding and appreciation of the impact of faith and belief.
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Rosenbohm, Clifford James Michael. "Perceptions and experiences of BSW students with religion and spirituality in social work education and practice." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1301599325.
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Griffiths, Mark, and mark griffiths@jss org au. "Teaching Yoga in Addiction Recovery A Social Work Perspective." RMIT University. Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, 2007. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20080215.161527.
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This thesis explores the personal and social challenges of teaching yoga in addiction recovery from a social work perspective. It is informed by an action research perspective using interviews and focus groups with yoga teachers and allied health professionals and the personal experiences of the researcher teaching yoga in an addiction recovery centre as well as a literature search on existing yoga and meditation programs used in addiction recovery and corrections. The research explores whether yoga could be applied as a complementary therapy in social work and how yoga assists in addiction recovery. Further it explores what programmatic requirements are needed for a constructive yoga program that addresses the needs of yoga teachers in this field and the participants who are very marginalised. The emerging themes and issues from the data and literature were explored and triangulation was used to draw one conclusion that was found consistently across all research methodologies. This was the importance of Kriya yoga. or the yoga of action, to achieve results with yoga as a complementary therapy. Kriya yoga has three elements: a commitment to regular practice, allowing time to reflect on how this practice is affecting your life and having faith in the yoga process. Undelying this notion of kriya yoga is the importance of the yoga teacher-student relationship and the value of a yoga community that supports the student in their commitment to practice. Recovery from addiction is viewed as a journey involving many stages in which the yoga student deals with relapses. The exemplary yoga programs are forms of karma yoga or the yoga of selfless action. The development of a karma yoga network that forms an on-line bridge between the yoga communities and addiction recovery services is suggested by the research as one way forward in promoting yoga as a complementary therapy in addiction recovery.
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Giese-Sweat, Andrea. "The intersection of religion, spirituality and social work : implications for clinical practice : a project based upon an independent investigation /." View online, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10090/5885.
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Williams, LaToya Keona. "A replicated study of the role of religion and spirituality in social work education and practice: a survey of student views and experiences." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 2000. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/440.
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This research study emerged in an effort to examine the views and experiences of first and second year Master of Social Work students relative to the role of religion and spirituality in the social work profession. A cross-sectional correlational design was used in this research study. This design was implemented through a 70 hem multifaceted questionnaire with a reliability of .82. The questionnaire was given to fifteen first year and seventeen second year Master of Social Work students at Clark Atlanta University. The sample consisted of 30 females and 2 males and 93.3% of the population was African American. This research study’s intent was to reexamine the place of reLgion and spirituality in the social work profession. The reexamination allowed practitioners to become empowered in knowing their own values and beliefs, and in turn understanding how to assist clients in their belief systems. The results of the study revealed that first and second year students have positive attitudes towards religion and spirituality in the social work profession. The study also revealed that there is no difference between the attitudes of first and second year students.
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Starkowitz, Monique. "African traditional healers’ understanding of depression as a mental illness : implications for social work practice." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/31576.
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The research reviews that the majority of Black South Africans will frequent a traditional African healer as a primary means of health care. This may be partly due to the fact that traditional African healer is accredited as offering more affordable means of health care. Traditional African healing has been esteemed in treating the physical, mental and spiritual health of the population. This paradigm is also respected for its holistic approach which stretches beyond sole biological assumptions in the pursuit of optimum health. Depression is also confirmed as being an illness which is rife in contemporary living. South Africans may also be at an increased risk with regards to this mood disorder, due to harsh psychosocial circumstances including poverty, unemployment and crime. The research offers that the social worker and mental health care professional alike are under increased pressure to obtain ‘cultural competence’ in understanding how traditional African discourse constructs common mental illnesses like depression. Therefore in light the above, the research attempted to explore an understanding of depression amongst a sample of traditional healers in Johannesburg. There is little research done on this subject. Therefore a qualitative research approach was adopted. Qualitative research may offer a more reflective space as a point of entry into a subject which has not been explored. The case study research design, specifically a collective case study was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted, using an interview schedule. The researcher interviewed 10 traditional healers. The interview aimed to explore how traditional healers understand depression. iii The research used a content analysis to draw common themes from the transcribed interviews with the participants who formed part of the sample, selected by means of purposive sampling. The themes derived from the interviews offer some reflections on the traditional healers’ understanding of depression. These themes included: relevancy of depression; distinctions between depression and sadness; intuitive assessments of depression; external circumstances and psychosocial circumstances; relevance of biomedical interventions; treatment by the African traditional healer; counselling; supernatural and spiritual influences; punishment; depression experienced as a collective vs. individualistic cultural experience; somatisation and specific emotional difficulties related to the vocation of traditional African medicine. The research concluded that the traditional healers’ conception of depression was in a state of flux and was very much dependent on the individual interpretations by the traditional healer. This appeared to be influenced by the level of the traditional healers’ acculturation into westernized culture and exposure to biomedical interventions. The relevancy of the concept of depression was viewed as being both redundant and ripe in relevance by the sample. Depression and sadness could not always be distinguished between. However, there was a conceptualization of depression as being a more intense and severe form of sadness. Intuitive assessments of depression were generally adopted as opposed to exploring specific diagnostic criteria. Cognitive distortions such as ‘thinking too much’ and external circumstances were recognized as significant contributors. Depression was mostly indirectly recognized as an illness. Allopathic medicine was both rejected and held in high regard. Counselling was viewed as being necessary. This was not always adopted by the traditional healers. The spiritual significance was graded on a subjective spectrum of making meaning of depressive experiences. However the ancestors were still revered in all assessments and interventions. Depression was viewed on a continuum between individualistic and collective cultures. There were no significant somatic reports. In a nutshell the research concludes that there is no unified perception of depression, but highlights some common cultural variables. The research specifically highlighted the psychosocial and spiritual qualifying factors which may differentiate and qualify this paradigm from other biological and allopathic interventions. iv The research paves the way for further research to be done in this area. Recommendations are made for social workers and mental health care professionals alike to become more fluent in traditional African healing discourse in the area of mental health and depression in order to understand their clients from the African culture.Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
Social work and Criminology
unrestricted
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Drew, David, and Jessica Banks. "RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY IN CLINICAL PRACTICE: AN EXPLORATION OF RELUCTANCE AMONG PRACTITIONERS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/858.
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Across the United States, an overwhelming majority of the population claim that religion and spirituality beliefs shape their worldview and assist in coping with life stressors. Yet, the literature has shown that mental health practitioners reported discomfort integrating religion and spiritually in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to explore whether license-holding mental health professionals in Southern California develop reluctance toward addressing religion/spirituality with their clients. Through snowball sampling, 52 clinicians composed of social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists were recruited across Southern California (N =52). The participants were measured descriptively based on (a) confidence in their ability to integrate client beliefs into treatment and (b) their comfort discussing topics related to RS with their clients. Results revealed an overall level of reluctance ranging from 15 percent (for comfortability) to 25 percent (for ability) among the study participants. Licensed clinical social workers reported slightly lower reluctance level than other licensed professionals. Implications of the findings were discussed.
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Wilson, Alissa Carrie. "A qualitative study of spiritual and alternative practices in social work." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2005. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2652.
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The purpose of this study is to more closely examine social workers who are practicing or familiar with spiritual and alternative techniques. These approaches are seen as highly relevant to social work values of cultural competency and empowerment.
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Stirling, Blair, and n/a. "Moving beyond acknowledgment : an investigation of the role of spirituality and religion within the professional practice of social work in Aotearoa/New Zealand." University of Otago. Department of Social Work and Community Development, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090608.162028.
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For the past two decades there has been an ever expanding interest in the implications of spirituality and, or, religion within the professional practice of social work (Anderson and Angell, 1999; Bishop, Avila-Juarbe, & Thumme, 2003; Cornett, 1992; Northcut, 1999; Northcut, 2000; Praglin, 2004 ; Sheridan, Wilmer and Atcheson,1994). Increasingly, scholars and social workers alike have been considering the appropriateness of inclusion and the practical implications involved. This interest has developed to include attention to spirituality within varying ethical codes and definitions of social work. This is evident in international social work organisations such as the IFSW (International Federation of Social Workers) and IASSW (International Association of Schools of Social Work). Both have begun to include religious and, or, spiritual concerns into professional practice principles. In Aotearoa New Zealand the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) is a member of these international bodies; thus the profession is bound to the above principles.
Additionally, the Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB) code of practice reflects the standards and ethical codes of the ANZASW. Moreover, spirituality and, or, religion is an important aspect for different client groups within the Aotearoa social services context. This is particularly so within bicultural frameworks. Despite this, little attention has been given to exploring how social workers and social service agencies in Aotearoa New Zealand integrate this aspect in their work with clients to meet the varying ethical requirements. Additionally, little investigation has been undertaken to explore the implications religion and, or, spirituality might have within the Aotearoa New Zealand Social Services context. To date a number of conversations have occurred with regard to spirituality and religious concerns for Tangata Whenua, and to a lesser degree Tagata Pasifika. This study seeks to address the paucity of information by undertaking a mixed methods investigation of the role religion and spirituality has within Aotearoa New Zealand social work.
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Mabvurira, Vincent. "Influence of African Traditional Religion and spirituality in understanding chronic illnesses and its implications for social work practice:a case of Chiweshe Communal lands in Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1770.
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Halfkenny, Enroue. "Together or separate : implications for expressing progressive social justice work and spiritual practices : a project based upon an independent investigation /." View online, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10090/5889.
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Van, der Westhuizen Zander. "Mentorship narratives in a local congregation : a postfoundational practical theological study." Thesis, Pretoria : [S.n.], 2009. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-04072009-182152/.
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D'Amico, Melissa, and s2006851@student rmit edu au. "Critical postmodern social work and liberation spirituality." RMIT University. Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, 2008. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20080722.143340.
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This thesis explores the relationship between emancipatory politics and spirituality, and what this has to offer a critical postmodern approach to social work. At the centre of this thesis is a focus on forming a connection between critical postmodern social work theory and liberation spirituality. Liberation spirituality is a framework proposed by Joel Kovel which has at its heart connects emancipation and spirituality. My first chapter outlines my research approach. Chapter two explores the diversity and complexity of spiritual meanings, examines the influence of the western context on spirituality, analyses the relationship between language and spirituality, and outlines my assumptions in relation to spirituality. Chapter three examines the historical and social context influencing social workers' engagement with spiritual issues. It also explores the engagement of current social work literature with issues of spirituality. Chapters four and five consider distinctions between critical social work in the modernist tradition, and critical postmodern social work. This establishes why critical postmodern social work approaches are more suited to engage with spiritual issues. The conceptual connection between critical postmodern social work and liberation spirituality is explored in chapter six and chapter seven. The latter in particular includes a detailed examination of the relationship between emancipatory politics and spirituality. The thesis concludes in chapter eight by analysing implications of this conceptual connection.
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Rocke, Catherine Ruth. "Spirituality and social work, a group intervention." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0011/MQ32237.pdf.
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Fjelstrom, Jo. "Spirituality and atheist social work students| Contributions for curriculum content on spirituality." Thesis, Colorado State University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10138058.
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The purpose of this constructivist study was to gain information about a criterion sample of atheist social work students concerning their experiences and perspectives of spirituality and curriculum content on spirituality. Most of the twenty-two participants formed their atheist worldviews against the tide of a religious upbringing, primarily due to their assessment of a dissonance between their evaluations of reality and religious beliefs. From the findings and the literature, suggestions are made for curriculum content on spirituality: (a) educators should frame worldviews as constructions and treat mystical elements as cultural phenomena; (b) content should have a professional focus with academically appropriate content; (c) curriculum content should be planned around the goal of training social work students to effectively address issues about worldviews in practice; (d) inclusive language and content should be utilized that covers all worldviews, including atheist and other naturalist worldviews; (e) biases, stereotypes, and privilege should be addressed and countered; (f) specific dialogic techniques should be developed for use in the classroom; (g) educators who will teach content on worldviews should have specific training for teaching material on spirituality and worldviews; and (h) a task force should be formed to create guidelines for curriculum content on spirituality.
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Vera, Adriana, and Elena Marie Rendon. "THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALITY IN MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/857.
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Incorporating spiritually-involved interventions into the treatment process for chronically ill patients is a trending subject in the field of medical social work. Literature suggests the integration of spirituality with patients diagnosed with a chronic medical illness appear to influence patient’s resiliency level. However, the lack of information and knowledge on the topic suggests medical social workers are still in the process of learning how to utilize spirituality as a form of intervention. This study explores how medical social workers in the Inland Empire perceive the practice of spirituality on resilience levels in adults diagnosed with a chronic medical illness. The data is collected through audio recordings from individual interviews with each participant. The audio recordings are transcribed into transcripts to identify themes and common categories among the participants. The results analyzed call for future research to continue on how to incorporate spirituality into the social work practice in the Inland Empire.
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Eliasson, Benitha. "Social Work Approaching Evidence-Based Practice. : Rethinking Social Work." Doctoral thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Arbetsvetenskap, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-18343.
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The Swedish public sector has undergone major changes over the last decades, with increased demands to be effective and perform their tasks with high quality, but also with the demand to increase the influence of users and citizens over the support given. This development has influenced how social services organise and how their work is perform, and is one motive given as to why evidence-based practice was introduced. This development can also be traced back to the manager philosophy new public management and neo-liberalism. Evidence-based practice has its origin in evidence-based medicine, which had a large impact internationally from the 1990s.Although there are different opinions concerning how evidence-based practiceshould be understood is often described on the basis of Sackett et al.’s (2000) definition which regards evidence-based practice as an integration of different knowledge sources – the best evidence, clinical or professional expertise and the values and preferences of users. The professional have the responsibility to use all these knowledge sources in the daily work.The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse different processes of the introduction of evidence-based practice. One aspect is what these processes have contributed to in terms of organising ways of working and management within social services; another aspect concerns what this means for social work. With a combination of new institutional organisational theory and Berger and Luckmann’s (1967) insights into the social construction of everyday life, it is possible to analyse the introduction of evidence-based practice as a process, moving between a macro, meso and micro perspective. The empirical base for this thesis is interviews with 33 personnel from different professions and organisations. Those interviewed from thesocial services include social workers within individual and family services and socialservices managers, as well as regional representatives from a Research and Development Unit. To understand the development of evidence-based practice and its proliferation into social services I also interviewed doctors from health care in a County Council.New institutional organisational theory is useful for understanding how differentways of organising activities are spread between and within organisations. With concepts used in new institutional theory, the focus is on how evidence-based practice travels from medicine to social work, and from a national level to the local social services level, via the regional level. Giddens (1990) terms ‘disemedding’ and ‘reembedding’ are used. Different isomorphic processes are recognised in these processes, as well as strategies to decouple or loosely couple evidence-based practice from social services ordinary activities as a way to gain legitimacy. The main findings in the thesis are that evidence-based practice has been introduced with evidence-based medicine as a role model, and that this has been done from different conditions. As is described in the interviews, the development of evidencebased practice has been controlled from national organisations such as the government, the National Board of Health and Welfare and in recent years also the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Region, while the development within the medical area was governed by national organisations but performed by the medical profession, which advocated the introduction of evidence-based practice within the profession. The regional representatives largely support the myth that is presented of evidence-based practice, and have a central responsibility in the national initiativesconducted; they are intermediary between the national initiatives on development work and the local practice. When evidence-based practice is introduced in social work this has entailed loosely coupling between the myth about evidence-based practice and the ordinary activities, this strategy is especially obvious among social services managers. Furthermore, when a medical model of evidence-based practice is used, although with a broader approach, the introduction of evidence-based practice does not reflect the social workers’ education, profession and ways of working in the same way as evidence-based medicine reflects the doctors’ education, profession andway of working. The intention to analyse the introduction of evidence-based practice from a micro perspective is about understanding how evidence-based practice is received by the social worker and their managers. When the interviews with the doctors, social workers and managers are analysed there is less coherence between evidence-based practice and social workers’ work than between evidence-based medicine and doctors’ work. This means that social workers have to shape and construct their daily work anew through internalising the new habits and routines into everyday work, something that takes energy and time, which most interviewees feel does not exist.This thesis also highlights the need for social work to approach evidence-based practice both at an organisational and a structural level, and from the level where the daily work is performed by social workers. Finally, there exists among almost all interviewees a great interest in introducing evidence-based practice, especially among the social workers, but at the moment it is not re-embedded in social work.Godkänd; 2014; 20140731 (beneli); Nedanstående person kommer att disputera för avläggande av filosofie doktorsexamen. Namn: Benitha Eliasson Ämne: Arbetsvetenskap/Human Work Science Avhandling: Social Work Approaching Evidence-Based Practice Rethinking Social Work Opponent: Professor of Health Care Organisation Mike Dent, Faculty of Health Sciences, Staffordshire University, Storbritannien Ordförande: Professor Elisabeth Berg, Avd för arbetsvetenskap, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik och samhälle, Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Måndag den 29 september 2014, kl 13.00 Plats: A109, Luleå tekniska universitet
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Lusung, Daisy. "SPIRITUALITY AND WORK RELATED STRESS IN SOCIAL WORKERS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/673.
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Social workers are subjected to experiencing job related stress due to high case loads, the severity of client cases, and vicarious trauma. In order to cope with these job stresses, it would be conducive for social workers to find alternatives to coping with job related stress. Practicing spirituality can be seen in many forms relating to religion, cultural practices, prayers, meditation, and to be one with nature to say the least. This research will explore the correlation between spirituality and job related stress among social workers. Quantitative data has been gathered amongst 133 social workers who have participated in answering the spirituality inventory and job stress questionnaire. Results from this data finds that spirituality brings forth positive attributes such as reducing stress and burnout. Furthermore, there is a negative correlation between spirituality and job stress. The greater spirituality is linked to lower levels of job stress. Therefore, it is vital to utilize spirituality as it may help with self care and lead to greater longevity in the social work field.
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Li, Hsien-Ta. "Learning in social work practice." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/7939.
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The research question underpinning this study is ‘How is learning organised within the context of social work practice in the third sector?’ The research objective is to establish conceptual frameworks that theorise the organisation of learning in this context. Drawing upon literatures from Organisational Behaviour, Management, Social Work, Sociology and Psychology (e.g., Ballew and Mink 1996; Foucault 1995; Mayer and Salovey 1997; Ouchi 1979; Weihrich 1982) and undertaking an ethnographic inquiry in the Old-Five-Old Foundation in Taiwan, which collects documents as secondary data and gathers primary data through participant observations and interviews, this study establishes interdisciplinary frameworks to answer this research question. It argues that practitioners’ learning is organised by five kinds of structuring forces. At the macro level, practitioners’ direction of learning is organised by service purchasers’ demanding (an inter-organisational level structuring force) and the service provider’s planning (an organisational level structuring force). The evaluation of practitioners’ learning is organised by the service provider’s monitoring (an organisational level structuring force). At the micro level, practitioners’ methods of learning are organised by practitioners’ puzzle solving and instructors’ instructing (individual level structuring forces). By looking at the macro and micro structuring forces (cross level analysis) that organise practitioners’ learning, including their direction and methods of learning and the evaluation of their learning (process analysis), this study systematically analyses the organising of learning through both a cross-level analysis and a process analysis, deepening an understanding of the organising of learning and thus making an original contribution to previous studies of learning in the organisational setting (e.g., Argyris and ch n 1978; Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995; Senge 1990; Wenger 1998, 2000).
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Thompson, Brigid Susan. "Social Work: Policy and Practice." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Sociology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/922.
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This thesis explores the connection between policy creation and social work practices that are related to this policy. The main aim of the thesis is to fill a gap that exists in the research in relation to the connection between particular policies concerning the care and protection of children and the social work practices related to these. Primarily, I am interested in the experiences of social workers in community groups and the issues and problems they face in trying to integrate these policies into their everyday practice. The thesis presents four case studies that highlight the interactive relationship that exists between policy and practice. These case studies have been developed from the interviews I conducted with care and protection community workers in Christchurch in 1999. The first two case studies - the development of the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act (1989), and the process of devolution that occurred through the 1980s and 1990s - look at particular policy developments that have impacted on care and protection social work, and explore the way that policy creation and implementation is contingent on the specific time and place in which it is developed. The second two case studies - Family Group Conferences and Strengthening Families - focus on two quite different forms of social work practice and provide an insight into the way that policy is implemented and used by practitioners at ground level. These four case studies form the basis of an argument around the idea that policy and practice are dynamic and interactive processes that will inform and change one another. Rather than seeing policy as something that is created by bureaucrats in the state and applied by practitioners at the ground level, I argue that the policy process is more complex than this. The case studies provide practical examples of this idea, and explore the complexities of policy development and the relationship between policies, policy actors and specific community social work practices - an area about which there has been little research.
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Ingram, Richard David. "Emotions and social work practice." Thesis, University of Dundee, 2013. https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/5d51faba-aa6a-491e-8760-6fad435f250e.
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This thesis examines the role that emotions have within social work practice. The key tenets of the literature relating to emotions are considered and a conceptual framework is proposed which will provide a conceptual and definitional underpinning to the thesis. Emotions and emotional intelligence are located within wider social work literature, and links are established with reflective practice, relationships with service users, social work skills, policy, legislation and supervision. Social workers across a Scottish local authority were asked to respond to a survey questionnaire and a selected cohort from this sample participated in semi-structured interviews based on the emerging themes from the survey. The data reported a complex picture of the role of emotions with a key challenge being the place of emotions within constructs of ‘being professional’. There was strong evidence that the relationship based aspects of practice were felt to be important and that emotions often were a key element and a useful tool, but this was counterbalanced by a strong view that the emotional content of practice should be removed from the written articulation of practice and in some cases from supervision. The value of informal support from colleagues was highlighted in terms of ‘safety’ and accessibility. The discussion of the results examines the impact of competing contextual factors such as professional narratives and organisational culture on how social workers experience and report the emotional content of their practice, and an ‘emotional gap’ is identified whereby social workers adopt a dramaturgical response to how they present aspects of their practice. The conceptual framework is considered in relation to the findings, and it is concluded that emotions are an inescapable aspect of the individual and collective experience of social work, in spite of the aforementioned contextual issues. Conclusions and implications for practice are drawn, and a model is developed which identifies the cultural and organisational shift required to reduce the perceived disjuncture between emotions and social work as a profession.
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Sierra, Marisol. "LEVELS OF COMFORT WITH SPIRITUALITY AMONG SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/318.
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This research study examined the spirituality comfort levels amongst social work students. This study examined 48 social work students who participated in this study with most participants being Hispanic females, however, there were other various participants. Quantitative research was used for this study by handing out surveys to Master of Social Work students at California State University, San Bernardino. Students were asked to state their opinions and views to the following: spirituality in social work practice, spirituality and professional interventions, need for spirituality education and training, personal ideology, and demographics.
The results of this study suggest that students are open and comfortable with the idea of spirituality in social work practice, however, they are uncomfortable when applying concrete terms and ideology to practice. This is due to the fact that students have stated they are not satisfied with their spirituality education and need more of it to integrate it into practice. Students have stated they have not received the proper spirituality education needed to serve clients, and are willing to enroll in spirituality integration classes for further professional growth.
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Chavez, Stacey Lynn. "Spirituality and coping with Master's of Social Work education." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2003. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2420.
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This study explored how students utilized spirituality as an effective coping mechanism for the stress they faced while in the Master's of Social Work program at California State University, San Bernardino. A stress and spirituality scale was used to measure each student's spirituality and perceived stress. Most students stated that spirituality and religious activity was helpful in coping with the stress of the MSW program. In addition, spirituality was found to have a strong positive impact on a person's abilities to cope with the stress of the program.
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Morrison-Orton, Debra J. "How rehabilitation professionals define and use religion and spirituality in practice." Access restricted to users with UT Austin EID Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3034940.
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Sasso, Matthew. "SPIRITUALITY OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELORS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/669.
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The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of spirituality among substance abuse counselors for those who in the recovery process. The research demonstrates the effectiveness of how personal beliefs of substance abuse counselors influence the treatment experience. This study uses a qualitative post positivist paradigm to study the impact of practitioners’ personal beliefs towards spirituality in the treatment of clients. It addresses essential factors from a spiritual and religious framework and reveals the consideration of personal beliefs of substance abuse counselors and its impact on the treatment experience of an individual’s recovery. The content of the research is derived from personal experience and then interpreted through reason and logic to understand the layers of spirituality and religion. The results of this analysis can be used to illustrate the impact that spirituality has within the field of substance abuse treatment.
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El-Amin, Cheryl W. "Personal and professional spirituality: Muslim social workers' perspectives." ScholarWorks, 2009. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/676.
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Research in the area of religion and spirituality in social work practice is lacking minority practitioner representation. This phenomenological study explored the questions of how American Muslim social workers define and experience the religious/spiritual, and perceive the propriety of integrating either, in practice. Ibn Khaldun and Durkheim, early social theorists, suggested that group feeling and affiliation impact personal and professional perception and decision making. American societal views of Muslims are often negative and uninformed. A group of 15 Muslim practitioners with bachelor's or more advanced degrees in social work were recruited through a survey administered via an Internet survey site. In depth telephone interviews were conducted that clarified personal and professional descriptions and experiences of the religious/spiritual. Transcript statements were critically reviewed for range of meaning (horizonalization) and reduced to their thematic essences following the phenomenological thematic analysis paradigm. Trustworthiness of the study was verified through ongoing bracketing of the researcher's assumptions and maintenance of a data collection journal. Findings indicated that participants favored a client-centered approach based on the social work standard of self determination. Most participants differentiated and acknowledged the value of spirituality more than religion in practice. Practitioners, cognizant of possible negative interpretations of Muslims and Islam, rely on the client to initiate religious themes in therapy. This finding suggests the need for future study of client views. Implications for social change are evidenced in the clients' assurance that Muslim practitioners' professional integration of the religious/spiritual is client driven and bound by competent social work ethical practice.
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Vailu'u, Carley Yvonne. "Social Work Practice with Older Adults." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5669.
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Social workers working for adult protective services (APS) face many clinical challenges to ensure the safety and well-being of older adult clients. APS social workers often interact with older adults who engage in self-neglecting behaviors that compromise their ability to function in a healthy and independent manner. The purpose of this research study was to explore challenges in direct social work practice to identify how APS services can be improved when working with the older adult population, particularly individuals who engage in hoarding behaviors. Using action research methodology, 2 focus groups were conducted to explore the experiences and knowledge of social workers who are trained in APS and in-home supportive services programs and work directly with the older adult hoarding population when investigating cases of self-neglect. The theoretical framework of cognitive behavioral theory guided the analysis of focus group data to provide insights into understanding the core manifestations of hoarding and how social workers working with this population can provide appropriate services. The overall findings of the study resulted in identifying improvements to APS service interventions. Study findings inform recommendations that allow APS social workers to effectively work with older adults who exhibit hoarding behaviors, while also advancing professional development in the field of social work. Understanding practice challenges to appropriately serve older adults that exhibit hoarding behaviors is essential in effecting positive social change in the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged older adults, APS agencies, and communities.
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Sheehan, Brooke. "Prison Nurseries and Social Work Practice." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7745.
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This study sought to examine what gaps existed in practice through the perspectives of correctional social workers in terms of helping incarcerated mother–infant dyads bond. Additionally, it examined whether a prison nursery was viewed as a possible option within a smaller correctional facility. Theories used to guide this study included attachment theory and separation-individuation theory, which align with the research questions that sought to explore gaps in services, supports that could be established, and program feasibility. Action research, using an anonymous online survey, resulted in N = 6 social work participants who worked as prison social workers in the northeast region of the United States. Data were coded using thematic analysis to explore latent and semantic themes. Conclusions drawn from the dataset include the restrictive nature of the prison setting being a barrier to promoting attachment. An increase in parenting classes, substance use programming, and mental health treatment was seen as beneficial for supporting attachment. Promoting childhood normalcy and having access to nature and play things was seen as integral to the development of a prison nursery program. A prison nursery was seen as feasible within a smaller correctional facility in the northeast. Potential positive social change resulting from these findings include development of specific interventions to maintain mother–infant bonding in small departments of correction.
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Sills, Deborah Elaine. "The prevalence of utilization of spirituality in clinical counseling." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 2002. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/2135.
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The purpose of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of the utilization of spirituality in clinical counseling and the need for spirituality to be integrated into counseling curriculums. The study was based on the premise that the prevalence of the utilization of spirituality is based on one's formal training, experience, knowledge, perception, and personal stressors. The researcher investigated five independent variables: formal training, experience, knowledge, perception, and personal stressors. These variables were examined in relation to clinical counselors' prevalence of utilization of spirituality in counseling. The following demographic variables were also analyzed: gender, race, education, license, employment, work experience, work setting, and annual income.
The investigation included a review and critique of related literature. Primary variables addressed included the following: the use of spirituality, formal training, experience, knowledge, perceptions, and personal stressors.
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Pelayo, Aida Araceli. "BELIEFS ABOUT RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY AMONG SOCIAL WORKERS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/334.
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The present study focused on the social workers perspectives regarding the integration of religion and spirituality in therapy. Understanding these components will expand the knowledge of social workers and it will enhance the therapeutic relationship among clients and clinicians. It also allows social workers to provide a comprehensive service to a multicultural and diverse population. In order to provide a holistic approach, social workers need to address the issues of clients through a biopsychosocial perspective that includes religion and spirituality. For the most part, religious and spiritual people use these components in their daily lives to cope with unanswerable questions of life. Then, social workers may utilize these concepts as coping mechanisms when treating clients.
Eight participants provided their professional experiences regarding the integration of religion and spirituality in therapy and its effectiveness. Participants for this study average 17.6 years of experience. Participants have extensive experience in providing individual counseling and group therapy. Participants are from various educational background, ethnicity, age and gender.
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Starnino, Vince. "Religion, spirituality, and social work education : taking the next step." Thesis, McGill University, 2001. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=32830.
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Despite calls for increased attention to religion and spirituality in social work education and practice, the topic remains a neglected area. This small exploratory study seeks to examine barriers that cause religion and spirituality to continue to be on the periphery in social work education. Involved are six faculty members, teaching a range of social work courses. Insights into some of the controversial issues that arise in the classroom when religion and spirituality are discussed are offered. Findings suggest a lack of uniformity in teaching approaches, indicating that educators may be unclear about how to address the topic.
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Canda, Edward R. "A conceptualization of spirituality for social work : its issues and implications." The Ohio State University, 1986. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1239808378.
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Ferguson, Debbie Elizabeth. "White racial identity and social work practice." Thesis, McGill University, 2003. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=78182.
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A most deafening silence is the effect created by the omission of Whiteness from racial discourses. Those within the social work profession, who seek to eradicate racism have for the most part, restricted their analyses to dissecting and defining the racial "Other". This has perhaps unwittingly implied an acceptance of "Whiteness" as an all-powerful, unnamed normality, exempted from the requirement of definition. This examination of White racial identity is an attempt to engage in a discussion of a different sort---exploring racism at its source. Those actively involved in the practice and/or study of Social Work in Montreal (Quebec) were asked to contemplate the meaning of "Whiteness" in society and in their own lives. Their interpretations were aligned with social and cultural interpretations, as well as my own interpretations. This study illustrates that, in spite of its elusive nature, Whiteness does indeed have very powerful meanings for those who have access to this racial category, those excluded, and the society in which we live.
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Rew, Meera. "Family centred social work practice with stepfamilies." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ62833.pdf.
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Casey, Beth Anne. "Performing child neglect in social work practice." Thesis, Durham University, 2013. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6987/.
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Informed by Foucauldian and feminist theoretical positions, the study explores how child neglect is ‘performed’ by social work professionals and service users. Specifically it focuses on definitions of neglect, discourses of responsibility, assessment, interventions and responses. It explores how ‘normalising’ judgements were central to practice conceptualisations of neglect in which judgements about families were made based on comparisons to the ‘norm’. This encompassed the identification of an absence of physical care needs and emotional neglect, drawing upon legal, psychological and child development discourse and constructions of the domestic ideal. It identifies the subjectivities, specifically of the mother and child, and the consequences for evidencing and assessing neglect, deemed responsibility and interventions it produces and legitimises. The study explores how responsibility for neglect, embedded within neo-liberalist risk management, continues to be gendered. Dominant conceptions of responsibility were constructed through women’s dichotomous relationship to dangerous and/or absent men. Further, in this context specific subjectivities were constructed about the responsible ‘risky’ neglectful mother drawing on personality, psychological and parenting characteristics. Through the dominance of this focus the structural and social context of child neglect and women’s subjectivities fall from view, ‘justifying’ the neo-liberal position of self-governance and the rolling back of state support. It also identifies alternative discourses, encompassing women’s subjectivities which link neglect to social, cultural and structural context. The study deconstructs discourses in assessments of neglect. Bureaucratic and managerial constraints to quality assessments are identified. Professional debates surrounding contested thresholds and perceptions of ‘good enough’ mothering are explored. Women expressed their feelings on their ‘written’, documented identities and labelling as the ‘bad mother’. The study analyses how women conformed and resisted professional attempts to self-govern and empower. Dependent upon perceived levels of risk, responses encompassed coercive, empowering and normalising ‘re-parenting’ interventions.
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Kagin, Roberta Stewart. "The Relationship Between Music Therapists' Spiritual Beliefs and Clinical Practice." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2010. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/95327.
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Music TherapyPh.D.
This study examined the relationship between music therapists' spiritual beliefs and their clinical practices. A survey was sent to 4243 members of the Certification Board for Music Therapy, using an electronic program, SurveyMonkey. There was a return rate of 32%. The survey contained two parts; Part I was the Music Therapy Questionnaire, and Part II was the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS). Data were analyzed using a combination of Kruskal-Wallis Anova, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman Rho correlation tests to analyze both the relationships as well as significant variations in responses between the survey questions and the SIBS scores. Research questions focused on the relationships between the music therapists' spirituality scores (SIBS) and their demographics, their reported spiritual beliefs and practices, and their clinical practices. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in the relationship between SIBS scores and gender, age, and years of professional experience; however, there were no significant differences between SIBS scores and education level, regions of AMTA, or client populations served. Significant correlations were found between SIBS scores and music therapists' personal appraisal of their own spirituality, their use of music as a spiritual experience, the use of music in their own personal practice, and their belief in the importance of some type of contemplative experience in their own personal lives. Further statistical analyses also revealed significant correlations between music therapists' SIBS scores and the following clinical practices: 1) the role of spirituality as a sustaining force in their music therapy career, 2) their spiritual ideals as exemplified in their work, 3) attention to their own spirituality in their role as a music therapist, 4) their spiritual growth as a music therapist, 5) the classifying of their work as a spiritual endeavor, 6) their choice of music therapy as a profession. Additional positive correlations were found between music therapists' SIBS scores and the reported influence of spirituality on their choice of population, their comfort in addressing clients' spiritual needs when they are similar to their own, and their comfort in addressing clients' spiritual needs when they are different from their own.
Temple University--Theses
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Wuest, Leslie Grace. "Factors Associated with Inclusion of Spirituality in Secular Social Work Education." PDXScholar, 2009. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/301.
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In a diverse society, social work practitioners must be able to work with and respect people from a wide variety of cultures and ethnicities and with different value systems and ideological perspectives, including spiritual or religious beliefs. Accordingly, social work education has begun to incorporate the topic of spirituality. This study builds upon previous studies by Dudley and Helfgott (1990) and Sheridan et al. (1994) which focused on views of faculty members regarding spirituality in social work education and support for a course on spirituality in the social work curriculum. This study goes on to examine inclusion of spirituality in general social work courses. The study involved a survey of social work faculty members who teach courses in direct practice, human development, and diversity, with a response rate of 52% (N = 222). The 40-item web survey replicated items regarding faculty views about spirituality and social work, and measures of personal experience with spirituality from Sheridan's (1994) survey. Items regarding faculty and student inclusion of spirituality, classroom management strategies, and discussion outcomes were original to this study.Results showed that in addition to 9 faculty who teach courses in spirituality, 75.1% of faculty members surveyed report a moderate or substantial discussion of spirituality in half of the courses they teach. Multiple regression analyses showed an association of faculty inclusion of spirituality to student inclusion and constructive discussions of spirituality, the school offering a separate course on spirituality, female gender, and full time status (p < .001). Faculty-reported student inclusion of spirituality was associated with faculty inclusion, conflictual discussions, constructive discussions, and use of classroom rules (p < .001). Constructive discussions of spirituality were associated with use of modeling and facilitation, faculty inclusion, and student inclusion of spirituality (p < .001). Several path models were compared using AMOS software. Results suggest that when faculty members include spirituality, students are more likely to discuss the topic. Faculty members report frequently including the topic of spirituality in the content of general social work courses. Classroom rules are related to increased student participation, and modeling and facilitation promote constructive discussion of spirituality.
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McColgan, Karen Annette. "How spirituality shapes the practice of community health nurses who work in First Nations communities in British Columbia." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2516.
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In recent years nursing literature has featured a proliferation of discourse pertaining to many aspects of spirituality in nursing. However, there has been a dearth of research related to nurses' personal spirituality and whether or not it helps to shape their nursing practice.
This qualitative study explored how spirituality shapes the practice of community health nurses who work in First Nations communities in British Columbia (B.C.). The twelve participants, purposefully sampled, all had at least 2 years experience working in community health in First Nations communities. Using an interpretive descriptive research design, participants were interviewed to explore their lived experiences of spirituality relative to their nursing practice.
The analysis of the interview data identified that nurses' spirituality is essential to their practice in terms of "providing care spiritually" versus "providing spiritual care" interventions to their patients as typically depicted in the nursing literature. Moreover, their spirituality is discussed as a pervasive nursing ethic and motivation for patient care that manifests as respect, connectedness, love, acceptance, caring, hope, endurance and compassion towards patients. Furthermore, the findings of this study suggest the integration of community health nurses' spirituality into their nursing practice may contribute to the wider aim of health and healing within First Nations communities.
Four major themes are presented as research findings: (a) spirituality influences nurses' ability to remain self aware, open-minded and accepting in relation to others; (b) spirituality as a reflexive approach to grounding one's own nursing practice; (c) spiritual awareness fosters appreciation of the need for community healing, and finally (d) self-reflection and providing care spiritually as a route to reciprocal interaction. Also, it was identified that nurses' spirituality nurtures their reflexivity and helps them to: (a) foster culturally safe relationships with patients, (b) realize how colonial issues influence health status in First Nations patients, (c) recognize that cumulative work stress and burn out can be reduced and prevented through relational spiritual practices, and (d) work through their own values, beliefs and prejudices in order to practice nursing based on a model of reciprocal interaction, and culturally safe approaches.
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Housley, William. "Theory's work in text and talk within multidisciplinary social work practice." Thesis, Bangor University, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.263595.
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