Handbook of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice and Research

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxii

   PDF

2. Foundations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Religion, Spirituality, Belief, and Culture

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 3-15

   3. Social Work Values, Ethics, and Spirituality

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 17-35

   4. Cultural and Spiritual Humility: A Guiding Principle

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 37-49

   5. The Meaning and Purpose of Ritual

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 51-64

   6. Conducting Religious/Spirituality/Belief Assessments and Histories in Clinical Practice

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 65-79

   7. Life Cycles Across Faith Traditions

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 81-101

   8. Religious Observances, Festivals, and Celebrations

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 103-120

3. Preventing, Healing, and Coping with Illness and End of Life

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 121-121

      PDF

   2. Understanding Religion-Based Healing Traditions

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 123-142

   3. Religion, Spirituality, Mental Health, and Mental Illness

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 143-161

   4. Preventing and Treating Disease

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 163-177

   5. Religious and Spiritual Practices and Coping

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 179-194

   6. Understandings of Dying, Death, and Mourning

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 195-217

4. Relationship and Community

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 219-219

      PDF

   2. Spirituality, Belief, and Relationship

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 221-236

   3. Family Violence and Abuse in the Context of Faith and Belief

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 237-261

   4. (Re)Building Bridges in and with Family and Community

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 263-279

   5. Religious and Spiritual Traditions of Altruism, Community Service, and Activism

      • Sana Loue

      Pages 281-294

This singular reference explores religion and spirituality as a vital, though often misconstrued, lens for building better understanding of and empathy with clients. A diverse palette of faiths and traditions is compared and contrasted (occasionally with secularism), focusing on areas of belief that may inspire, comfort, or trouble clients, including health and illness, mental illness, healing, coping, forgiveness, family, inclusion, and death. From assessment and intervention planning to conducting research, these chapters guide professionals in supporting and assisting clients without minimizing or overstating their beliefs. In addition, the book’s progression of ideas takes readers beyond the well-known concept of cultural competence to model a larger and more meaningful cultural safety.

Among the topics included in the Handbook:

• Integrating religion and spirituality into social work practice. 
  
• Cultural humility, cultural safety, and beyond: new understandings and implications for social work.
  
• Healing traditions, religion/spirituality, and health.
  
• Diagnosis: religious/spiritual experience or mental illness?
  
• Understandings of dying, death, and mourning. 
  
• (Re)building bridges in and with family and community.
  
• Ethical issues in conducting research on religion and spirituality.
  

The Handbook of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice and Research is a richly-textured resource for social workers and mental health professionals engaged in clinical practice and/or research seeking to gain varied perspectives on how the religion and spirituality of their clients/research participants may inform their work.

• Social Work Practice
• Religion and Spirituality
• Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Social Work Practice
• Cultural Competence
• Life Cycle across Faith Traditions
• Religion-Based Healing Traditions
• Religion in Mental Health Care
• Family Violence and Abuse in the Context of Faith and Belief
• Community Worship
• Religion and Spirituality in Research
• Spirituality, Religion, and Radicalization

• School of Medicine, Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA

  Sana Loue

Dr. Loue is a Professor in the Department of Bioethics and serves as the Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity in the School of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. She has secondary appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Psychiatry, and Global Health and at MSASS, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Dr. Loue holds graduate degrees in law (J.D.), epidemiology (Ph.D.), medical anthropology (Ph.D.), social work (M.S.S.A.), and secondary education (M.A.). She is also ordained as an interfaith minister. Dr. Loue’s primary research focus is on HIV risk and prevention and family violence in marginalized communities, such as non-English speakers, immigrants, sexual and ethnic/racial minorities, and persons with severe mental illness. Other research interests include forensic epidemiology, severe mental illness, and ethical issues in the conduct of research with vulnerable persons. 

Policies and ethics