During the course Human Behaviour it was shared that spirituality must explore and go beyond faith affiliation. As defined in Malcolm’s Payne’s fourth edition of Modern Social Work Theory, spirituality is a human search for meaning and purpose in life, and integrating a wide variety of experiences into a whole personality (pg.275).Throughout this journal the writer will explore the spirituality of an individual referred by pseudonym of “Vivian” through an interview, writers own personal spirituality and a reflection on feelings brought forth by the competition of the journal. The interview began with Vivian through non specific communication and conversations to build trust and create a comfortable environment. Once having open communication …show more content…
The odd time, if I highly respect the person or if some words get me, I am put into a spiritual place. I can count on my fingers the people in my life that have affected my spirituality and it is small. Also, I do not have to agree to appreciate what they are saying about spiritual life. I can appreciate some other spiritual ways without them directly affecting me. For example, a spiritual song of some other cultures makes me feel spiritual although it is not my way of life. It all depends on the piece or if something is beautiful to me. In my own life, hearing people sing or watching people dance can affect me but it is in a private way: I reflect and am spiritual in my own immediate body. For me it is intimate and personal and I do not share it with anyone. Another example, I was at a concert this summer and he was amazing (Charles Bradley). He sings amazing and he spoke about his life and how he has been through hard, hard times. He told a story about my favourite song of his and it made me feel so good and I was in a spiritual place hearing him sing it. He was crying while singing and it was about how thankful he was for his life. I do not share his religion but I was able to go into a spiritual place because he influenced
Religion has 7 core attributes that allow someone to call it a religion, these include Narrative, Doctrine, Emotional, Material, Ethical, Ritual and Social. These seven attributes help individuals identify what can be classified as a “religion”, however spirituality has no “easy way” to identifying it. Spirituality can be found within the individual looking for their “meaning” but not physically expressed.
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.
Worthington, E. L. Jr., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., & McDaniel, M. A. (2011). Religion and spirituality. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press
Spiritual empathy is to be able to feel and understand what another person is feeling or trying to communicate. As social workers, we work with clients who are going through a life crisis. A life crisis would be anything that threatens the clients well being. Stress and anxiety can lead to health problems and damaging dysfunctional behaviors. To best serve our clients we have to show spiritual empathy. Spiritual methods of therapy are controversial among workers in the health field including social workers. Many are not comfortable using spiritual interventions. Being spiritually empathetic can help the social worker notice signs of spiritual need. I believe that spiritual empathy is crucial in order to help the client’s needs. In this paper I will go over the importance of spiritual empathy, recognize spiritual needs, and interventions.
Cunningham, M. (2012). Integrating Spirituality in Clinical Social Work Practice: Walking the Labyrinth (1 ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.
As I reflect on spiritual disciplines it is easy for me to look at them and weed out the ones that I do not think apply to me and the ones that I am drawn towards. But as I press into God and ask him what he sees fit and what I need more of, the picture begins to looks different than what I thought I saw before. Since I am so obviously human, I would rather see my life through a different more accurate lens than one that is tainted and imperfect like those of my human eyes. When I look at my life spiritually it is easy for me to see the spiritual disciplines that just come naturally to me such as worship and service. Since I know that those are areas of my faith that I thrive in, I tend to gravitate towards those to try and satisfy my spiritual life but I leave other parts to suffer. I want to gain better understanding of my faith and ultimately cultivate a deeper relationship with the Father.
Now in order to fully understand the importance of addressing the topics of religion and spirituality into therapy as well as with grasping the importance of becoming skilled at integrating these issues into counseling, it is of great importance to distinguish between spirituality and religion and knowing how a client identifies with each one. And with religion and spirituality playing significant roles in aiding emotional well-bein...
A spirit is something that may be felt in the essence of the world but ultimately guides understanding into the meaning of life. Spirituality is often perceived in different ways by different cultures, religions, families, or even the individual. Often, the common theme that spirituality focuses on something greater than the physical world and allows people to feel connected to what it truly means to be a human on earth.
As I gradually make my way through this semester, I have come to realize that I am called to go into Psychology. I love watching people and trying to figure out why they act the way that they do. I, also, love knowing that I have finally figured out what careers I want to pursue. I want to become either a clinical or counseling psychologist, which both have the same requirements for everything – majors , classes, ect. So, I do not have to decide right off the bat on which career I want to pursue. Since I am planning on majoring in Psychology, I decide to do some research on my own, as well as go to a major’s fair hosted at the IU Southeast campus.
In the early 1970’s, Betty Neuman created a holistically based, open-system theory to aid nurses in organizing the voluminous information needed to deal with complex client situations (Meleis, 2007, p.307). One component of the Neuman Systems Model is spirituality, which is described as being related to beliefs and influences that are spiritual. It should be noted that this was absent in her initial conceptualization and was developed later (Meleis, 2007, p.307). While utilizing the Neuman framework for client assessment, religion is often applied as a spiritual factor. Using this theory as basis one might conclude that religion and spirituality are synonymous in concept. This begs the question: Are they, in fact, equal in meaning or at the very least required of each other for synergistic forward movement? I am not certain that the answer is clear-cut and I believe that personal observations will allow for objective thought for argument – pro or con.
I know it 's too late for tonight, but I wanted to add something. You can read it tomorrow. And it 's philosophical. It 's about Spirit. Let 's agree that our consciousness is Spirit. That is, non-material. A question that used to vex me is what exactly is Spirit. What 's it made up of? It 's easy enough to say that Spirit is non-material being, but that doesn 't explain what it really is. After much thought, I finally concluded that our Spirit consists of God 's mindfulness of us (meaning it derives from God 's mind) and the associated memories and decisions we accumulate with it in life. One can not ask what is it made up of or what is its substance. Spirit can not be made of energy (photons) or any quantum particle, because these are material.
The soul is a developing expression of God; it is our inner being. The soul is immortal on the human being and is a potential intellect. Every person has a soul. Plato believed that the soul emanates from the intelligence, what Aristotle called the nous or the intelligence. The intelligence emanates from the One.
My definition of religion has mostly stayed the same, but my perception of it has changed. At the beginning of the class, I assumed religion was something you believed based on your moral principles. I now believe that those moral principles are based on the religion that you believe in. Your religion changes your perception of the world and how to go about in it. Your religion tells you what is right and wrong in the world and answers all of the big questions one asks. Religion according to our book is, “A pattern of beliefs and practices that expresses and enacts what a community regards as sacred and/or ultimate about life” (Van Voorst 6). That definition was one thing that really got me thinking about my own personal idea of what religion
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.
Growing up I was raised in a religious household, so, of course, I’m a big believer in God and my faith. To me, God is the creator of all and I believe Judgment Day is going to come very soon.The definition of faith is the belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion. My faith and the reason for my faith goes hand in hand because it makes me know the truth and opens my eyes to this world. Also, I get clarity of why I’m in this world which is to make it a better place. But seeing the world as faith with reason or reason with faith has a few challenges and can make things a little bit difficult. Same goes for science and religion which butt heads a lot. Some may feel that the Big Bang Theory created