Social Work Commons^™

How Ethics Can Inform Spiritually Sensitive Social Work, Ann M. Callahan

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Sensitivity to spirituality in social work practice has grown over the past thirty years; however, social work practitioners and educators express discomfort in addressing spirituality. This workshop provides an opportunity for participants to learn more about ethics-based practice models for the delivery of spiritually sensitive social work.

Relational Spirituality: An Opportunity For Social Work In Long-Term Care, Ann M. Callahan

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Aim

Sandage and Shults (2007) suggest that “all spirituality can be viewed as relational” (p. 263). Likewise, according to Heyse-Moore (1996), “we exist to relate to each other and if we do not our spirit dries up within us like a desert” (p. 307). Spirituality reflects our “innate human yearning for meaning through intra-, inter-, and transpersonal connectedness” (Belcher & Griffiths, 2005, p. 272). If spirituality is the experience of meaningful relationships, then it is important to understand what relationships are meaningful to clients. These relationships are particularly important in long-term care.

Background

Long-term care involves a network of relationships …