Therapists and clients can complete a spiritual genogram. Spirituality in clinical practice theory and practice of spiritually oriented psychotherapy. What are your thoughts? Have you asked your clients about their spiritual practices? Have you partaken in any of these spiritual practices yourself? Are they beneficial? I think I could develop a deeper understanding of my clients if I learned more about their spiritual practices and see how those practices contribute to their growth and development as a person. Often I find that I have gained so much, maybe even more so than those I am helping to serve. I feel as though I am growing spirituality as I partake in an activity that helps another person, a family, or even a community. I have always enjoyed participating in service trips, volunteering, and community service. It has been particularly hard for me to have a peaceful mind during this very hectic year of school, working, and planning major events in my personal life. I find many of these activities difficult to engage in regularly (especially developing a peaceful mind, and recognizing the sacred in all). I think many of these spiritual practices would be beneficial to me on a personal level. Cultivating Wisdom and Spiritual Intelligence Sperry writes about eleven spiritual practices that can be utilized. Clients may already partake in some spiritual practices. Social workers can assign spiritual practices as “homework” to their clients in between sessions. Spiritual practices are activities or rituals that can foster spiritual development and psychological growth. Len Sperry (2012) writes about spiritual practices and how they can be spiritual interventions. Here is a picture of a statue of the Virgin Mary (there are many different interpretations, and designs but I wanted to share a picture with you)ĭr. I hope to learn more skills on how to continue to assess and engage client spirituality.ĭo you have any experiences where there was an opportunity to discuss spirituality and/or religion with a client and you did not? Do you have a story of when you did engage in a discussion of spirituality with a client? I’d love to hear more about it. I am glad I was able to return to that conversation and to ask some questions about the relevance of the statue of the Virgin Mary. She liked having the statue and she hopes to borrow it again. The client reported to me that every week members from her church take turns borrowing the statue. I am happy to say that before I terminated with the above client, I was able to speak with her about the statue of the Virgin Mary. As I read more, I became more interested in becoming a culturally competent and spiritually sensitive social worker and that work lead me to this blog and my thesis project. I also found that the social work students in the studies also felt that they were not learning enough about religion and spirituality. As I read some of the studies, I learned that there were other social work students who had a desire to learn more about spirituality and religion. I then began researching and reading different literature and empirical studies on the inclusion of spirituality and religion in social work education and practice. After reflecting on this, I realized I needed to learn more about when and how to ask clients about their spiritual and religious beliefs. I felt I had missed an opportunity to ask my client about her religious and spiritual beliefs and the significance of the statute. After I left the room, I was very frustrated with myself. So instead I just said to my client that the statue was pretty and my client nodded. I did not know how to put my questions and thoughts into words. I wanted to ask questions about the significance of the statue, and what it mean to her but I froze. My client noticed that I was looking at the statue. As I was talking with the client, my eyes gazed towards the statue. The statue immediately caught my attention as it was large and had vibrant shades of blue. I was with a client in her daughter’s hospital room and I noticed a 2 foot statute of the Virgin Mary (the Mother of Jesus Christ) on a nearby desk. I became more aware of my own personal lack of knowledge around engaging spirituality in October 2012.
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