Exploring Spiritual Diversity as a Healing Mechanism in Social Work Practice: A Phenomenological Study
Pious Malliar Bellian, MSW, Indiana University School of Social Work, Indianapolis, IN
Background/Rationale: Empirical studies have identified various spiritual practices that bring happiness and inner healing to people, including meditation, yoga, prayer, breathing techniques, and daily affirmations, especially when they are overwhelmed and feel a great void. Social work professionals have begun to recognize spirituality as an all-embracing source of wisdom, exploring the possibility of a theistic perspective precisely over the last two decades. Spirituality and spiritual practices are used as tools to promote the quality of life of their clients. Canda’s Holistic Model of Spirituality has been widely used as a synergy for healthcare and spirituality in social work practice settings. However, the unmapped terrain exists in spirituality, social work, the healthcare sector, and religion. More distinctive contributions of spirituality to health need to be captured, as there are inequities existing between spirituality and the health sector and spirituality and social work. Therefore, the study aimed to explore social workers' lived experiences around the meaning and the role of Spiritual Diversity practices and uncover various dynamics of perspectives in diverse social work practice settings on the pathway to holistic health and healing.
Methods: Seven in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with spiritually informed social workers to examine how they apply spiritual diversity in their discourses with their clients and further identify their diverse perspectives and practices. The study raised important questions about diversity, spiritual practices, healing processes, racism, justice, and human rights of the clients and practitioners in their settings. This has acknowledged the benefits and challenges of practicing a spiritual diversity approach in social work settings. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the data was analyzed thoroughly following the guidelines of IPA.
Results: The qualitative study has generated 130 codes based on the exploratory comments and observations made by the researcher on the collected data. The findings were clustered into five major themes: Spiritual turn in social work, Connectedness and belonging, Spiritual Diversity Practice as a healing mechanism, Fostering spiritual diversity innovations, and Assessing the increased vitality of the clients in a healing process. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating the spiritual diversity approach and critical conversations on structures of discrimination. SD advocates a continued role in shaping a fruitful dialogue that targets self-awareness, openness, flexibility, and non-judgmental to redress imbalances between practitioners and clients. Forgiveness and unconditional love are potential spiritual practices that align with the spiritual diversity enterprise, besides establishing safety in the body, mind, and spirit. The IPA study narrated the following lessons: Being in harmony with other people and being open to other religious traditions and spiritualities is another profound perspective that practitioners have emerged. While not only grappling with various issues of the clients but also assessing their needs, the essential connection practitioners can make is appreciating those clients' values and religious, non-religious, and spiritual orientations. The spiritual turn discussion embraces an informal ground by breaking some conventional understanding of spirituality. Practitioners can reach beyond mundane, ordinary affairs and navigate a profound way of helping others with their spiritual capacities.
Conclusions: Implications for social workers to design spiritually informed interventions and authentic tools for future practitioners to deepen the understanding of the nuanced nature of spiritual diversity. The spiritual realm of the clients must be substantially analyzed and assessed by the practitioners. SD is an engaging practice for those who try to integrate it with ecological perspectives. It would also add to sociological understandings of how caring and helping professionals construct meaning around the trend toward promoting spiritual perspectives to assess clients when providing services. This study would add to a growing body of literature showing the increased value of spiritual diversity initiatives in social work settings, even though the sampling and their assumptions may impact the findings. In addition, the study promulgated the need for establishing harmony between oneself and other beings by respecting all living beings' religious backgrounds, worldviews, and characteristics. The Spiritual Diversity Approach embodies an indicator of progress in addressing the nuanced needs of the clients and their complex traumatic situations. The Spiritual Diversity Approach will be ideal for social workers to get grounded in deepening the concepts of closeness to God, religious support, and holistic well-being.
Methods: Seven in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with spiritually informed social workers to examine how they apply spiritual diversity in their discourses with their clients and further identify their diverse perspectives and practices. The study raised important questions about diversity, spiritual practices, healing processes, racism, justice, and human rights of the clients and practitioners in their settings. This has acknowledged the benefits and challenges of practicing a spiritual diversity approach in social work settings. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the data was analyzed thoroughly following the guidelines of IPA.
Results: The qualitative study has generated 130 codes based on the exploratory comments and observations made by the researcher on the collected data. The findings were clustered into five major themes: Spiritual turn in social work, Connectedness and belonging, Spiritual Diversity Practice as a healing mechanism, Fostering spiritual diversity innovations, and Assessing the increased vitality of the clients in a healing process. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating the spiritual diversity approach and critical conversations on structures of discrimination. SD advocates a continued role in shaping a fruitful dialogue that targets self-awareness, openness, flexibility, and non-judgmental to redress imbalances between practitioners and clients. Forgiveness and unconditional love are potential spiritual practices that align with the spiritual diversity enterprise, besides establishing safety in the body, mind, and spirit. The IPA study narrated the following lessons: Being in harmony with other people and being open to other religious traditions and spiritualities is another profound perspective that practitioners have emerged. While not only grappling with various issues of the clients but also assessing their needs, the essential connection practitioners can make is appreciating those clients' values and religious, non-religious, and spiritual orientations. The spiritual turn discussion embraces an informal ground by breaking some conventional understanding of spirituality. Practitioners can reach beyond mundane, ordinary affairs and navigate a profound way of helping others with their spiritual capacities.
Conclusions: Implications for social workers to design spiritually informed interventions and authentic tools for future practitioners to deepen the understanding of the nuanced nature of spiritual diversity. The spiritual realm of the clients must be substantially analyzed and assessed by the practitioners. SD is an engaging practice for those who try to integrate it with ecological perspectives. It would also add to sociological understandings of how caring and helping professionals construct meaning around the trend toward promoting spiritual perspectives to assess clients when providing services. This study would add to a growing body of literature showing the increased value of spiritual diversity initiatives in social work settings, even though the sampling and their assumptions may impact the findings. In addition, the study promulgated the need for establishing harmony between oneself and other beings by respecting all living beings' religious backgrounds, worldviews, and characteristics. The Spiritual Diversity Approach embodies an indicator of progress in addressing the nuanced needs of the clients and their complex traumatic situations. The Spiritual Diversity Approach will be ideal for social workers to get grounded in deepening the concepts of closeness to God, religious support, and holistic well-being.