Spirituality in Social Work Practice

SW616, Section 001

This course provides a framework of knowledge, values, skills, and experiences for culturally competent, ethical, and spiritually-sensitive social work practice. This course is focused on providing specialized understanding of spiritual diversity in social work practice along with application of that understanding to people of diverse religious and nonreligious spiritual perspectives and traditions and its relevance to practice, policy and research. This course will promote exploration of values, knowledge and skills to ethically and effectively provide services to clients that take into account diverse expressions of spirituality. The roles of religion and spirituality in supporting or impeding individual strengths and social justice will be considered. The relationship between spirituality concepts pertaining to gender, ethnicity, culture, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religious and spiritual beliefs, ability, social class, and age as well as spirituality across the life cycle will be addressed.