A spiritual journey is when you increase your competency of the different religions in the world to better help you during your job. My spiritual journey is very important to me. Your level of spirituality is defined by how well you believe in a supreme being. If I know more about spirituality I will become more culturally competent. I hope that I will stick to the goals that I make in this paper. I believe that I am still at the very beginning of my journey. This journey will be long, but I think that I can get through it within the next few years. This journey will strengthen my skills in social work. I believe that religion shapes everyone’s life. Religion is very important to me because I think that everyone should have a religion. I believe …show more content…
I hope to be very knowledgeable of different religions when I become a social worker. I want to be able to help my clients any way that I can. So many people in the world today need help that do not receive it. I see so many people on television and in real life that are misunderstood because of their religion. They are often turned away because people do not understand how they think or why they do the things that they do. Immigrants that are trying to come into this country today have been banned because the United States has grouped them in one population. I want to be a social worker the for underdogs or oppressed people. I want to advocate for the family that is trying to escape to the United States because they cannot live freely in their countries. Spirituality should also be brought up in the medical setting. Some people believe that as God said that they should go forth and multiply. Some people wonder why they have so many kids. They believe that they fulfilling God’s plan by having many children. I think that it is important for social workers to stand up for people of different religions. Social workers should study and have a general understanding of each religion so that they can accurately help their client in their time of need. I plan on blocking out stigmas that have been placed on religions that I am not knowledgeable …show more content…
It is important to know what the pros and cons are before mentioning spirituality to a client. A pro of spirituality in social work is knowing information about my clients. It will allow me to know more about my potential client’s beliefs. It will allow me to support my clients in any way. It will also help me understand my clients. The topic spirituality could affect a client’s decision. For example, you may need not understand why a young woman does not want birth control. If she is a part of certain religions it may go against her belief system. A patient in hospice may wish to connect with their religion since it is close to the end of their life. Some cons would be that it might make the client uncomfortable. The client may take offense if you try to offer them serves that go against their religion after they have told you what they are comfortable with. As a social worker, it is crucial to make sure that the topic of spirituality in social work is only brought up when necessary. It is important that as social workers we remember the pros and cons of bringing up
Cunningham, M. (2012). Integrating Spirituality in Clinical Social Work Practice: Walking the Labyrinth (1 ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.
I knew I loved to help others but it was not until I was an emerging adult that I knew what my calling was. My devotion to improve the quality of life for those who are disadvantaged is one of the reasons I have chosen to pursue a Master’s in Social Work. After obtaining my masters, I plan on diversifying my masters by getting licensed and becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I would like to study social work because I feel it will lead me directly to one of the most emotionally fulfilling careers available, as well as giving me the chance to combine helping people 's mental well being with their physical
Religion and spirituality is a major essential part of one’s’ health. They have included things such as prayer in healing, counseling, and the use of meditation. Spiritual issues make a difference in an individual’s experience of illness and health. With spirituality, the health care providers can learn to support the values for the art of healing. The health care provider must have respect for their patient’s religion. (Larry Dossey. Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. Harper Collins, San Francisco. 1993.)
A difficulty that has occurred commonly is that a definition of spirituality cannot be agreed on. In a broad explanation of both religion as well as spirituality, religion constitutes the organization of faith, implementing prayer, ministry and theology. Spirituality could be viewed as a more individualized experience with a higher being, creator or idea (Walker et al., 2004, p. 70). These expressions allow a vision of client diversity that is found in all counseling classifications. While defining religion and spirituality properly seems trivial, when training counselors to properly apply the use of such variables in their therapies, a concrete explanation is imperative.
As Christians today, we are told in our church that it is well to serve our community or if lucky enough, to go overseas to serve in a sometimes dangerous country. In today’s society, the need for help around the world is greatly increasing. The issue of AIDS in Africa has been present for years now and we have just started to find ways to help with that issue. Due to this enormous dilemma that has hit our hearts, programs such as IFSW (The International Federation of Social Workers) and Compassion International have come about to try there hardest in treating this fast growing and deadly disease. Another way to serve internationally is to become a Social Worker. The definition of Social worker is someone who wants to better the environment and community around their hometown or state. Just as there are many jobs here in America, there are as many or more out there internationally.
I am a social work major here at OU and I am very passionate about by spirituality, so I thought it would be interesting to research and see how I could tie these two subjects together on a Native base. I have learned that it is very important for social workers to know a lot about their clients and who they are working with. After all, their clients are more than likely going to come from different cultures and be sensitive to that. While learning about their clients and the culture that they come from, social workers need to be able to see and understand how powerful and meaningful culture is to the client. It will help them understand the behavior, values, ideas, passions, and beliefs that the client has.
More importantly, if the religious values/belief system are too difficult to over look then the social worker can ask for the transfer of the client to another worker. However, this does not help the social worker improve because by going into a carrier such as social work individuals must view each client without judgement. Hence, once you are in the profession of social work your religious values should not change how you view your clients, as doing so will impede the time allotted for listening to them unbiasedly and the chance to help them solve their
On January 31st, I attended the 11:15 service at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Brossard. I do not have any religious background, but I would consider myself as Agnostic. I do believe that there is a greater power in this world that does have influence on beings and nature. Although, I have been in a Catholic place of worship, like the St Joseph Oratory when I was younger for a school outing, but never attended a service. Before entering the church I noticed a cross carved on the exterior of the building present above the tall glass window.
Spirituality is often confused and intertwined with the concept of religion, causing health care professionals to flee (Govier 2000). It is important to avoid the stereotypical view of spirituality being purely religious, and recognize that spirituality affects all that we are and do; regardless of religious affiliation, or lack of (Govier 2000). In instances in which nurses endorsed the importance of spirituality many were still unsure as to how to go about providing such care (Nixon et al., 2013). Education and guidance facilitating the implementation of spiritual care is limited; lack of adequate training and education is evident (Nixon et al. 2013).Common in more instances, spirituality is just not seen as a priority within the healthcare system with which nurses work (Nixon et al., 2013). Spirituality continues to be seen as a burden; financially, economically, and politically (Nixon et al., 2013). Inadequate staffing and economic constraints of the highly pressurized work environment place the focus of nursing care back to the physical domain rather than the holistic, despite recognition of its importance (Nixon et al.
My first obstacle in becoming the social worker I envision is myself. As a Southern woman, I was taught to pray, have good manners, to cook, not to display behaviors in public unbecoming of a lady, to honor my word, and that it was my duty to help those in need. These principles speak to the social work values of service by helping others, integrity in being honest and ethical in the things I say, and dignity and worth of a person, by treating others in a respectful manner.
The term has been related with the charisma of certain religious requests, for example, the Carmelites or Franciscans of the Catholic Church or the Cabala of Jewish magic, and has spoken to the conviction that an individual can be influenced specifically by an otherworldly, divine soul inside the setting of a set up religious framework Sigmund (2002). Spirituality is found within one’s self, a person who is spiritual is kind, loving, caring to people, animal and all things that matter in this world. Spirituality in work place is important. Nurses respect patients and their cultural, religious and spiritual beliefs, show kindness, provide comfort and assurance in times of need among other things.
Spirituality is “an individual's personal philosophical beliefs” or the meaning and purpose an individual interprets from life and times of crisis (Carrol, 2001). Spirituality may overlap with religious beliefs but can exist outside religion (Carrol, 2001). The idea of spirituality has different connotations for the Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and atheist (Carrol, 2001). Nonetheless, the sociological aspect of spirituality can be seen in social behavior, social interaction or how a person lives. The Christian may proselytize, the Muslim abstains from pork, the Buddhist will not kill a fly and the atheist calls on no higher power.
My understanding about the social work profession is one that works with a diverse group of people to better their well-being in all aspects. Social workers requires: responsibility, passion, and knowledge. The social worker has to understand their own personal cultural values, beliefs, and appreciate the multicultural identities of different people. The profession of social worker requires a lot of skills because they have different tasks and responsibilities. They are aware of social policies and programs for the diverse clients advocating.
On the down side there are a limited number of educational programs that adequately deal with the issue of incorporating religion and spirituality in therapeutic/counseling settings. This can be attributed to the fact that counseling is based in psychology, a scientific field, which has traditionally neglected issues of a spiritual nature (Nelson, Kirk, Ane, & Serres, 2011) as well as the practice used within the United States to separate education and religion (Cashwell and Young, 2011). This then results in a significant portion of therapist and counselors who are not prepared to address the issue of spirituality and religion with their clients. One would think that with the value many Americans place on the topic of religion and spirituality that there would come a time when a client would want to address this topic during his or her session.
This paper will include a self-assessment of my own spirituality and how I view spirituality. Peer-reviewed scholarly articles will be included in the essay pertaining to spirituality and my belief. In the following paragraphs will also include the integration of spirituality within social work practice. I believe spirituality does various things for me in my life: it heals me, helps in a time of need, and guides me towards positive aspects of life, which many people believe the spirit does the same for them.