Spirituality: Assessment and Intervention in Social Work Practice

This minicourse will explore contemporary issues in spirituality and social work focused on what it means to competently integrate spirituality into one's social work practice. In adopting a holistic perspective to guide practice, spirituality will be viewed as a vital and essential dimension in the biopsychosocial assessment and treatment planning process. This course will explore the rationale and need to integrate assessment and interventions related to spirituality in social work in a manner that supports cultural humility and competent practice. It will examine spirituality as rooted in the history of social work practice as well as exploring how to best define, integrate, and use spiritual assessment and interventions in addressing presenting client issues in clinical setting today. The relationship between spirituality and issues of race, gender and social class as well as spirituality across the life cycle will be addressed. Specific methods and interventions will be highlighted and applied to practice with a variety of client populations. Relevant readings, discussion, case presentations, and experiential exercises will be used to deepen one's competence and comfort level with spirituality in social work practice.