On Our Own : Social Workers Talk About Spiritually-Sensitive Practice Within an Organizational Context

While research has stressed the need for self-awareness on the part of social workers, few scholars have addressed the influence of organizational policies on spiritually-sensitive practice. Focus groups and interviews, conducted with 11 practitioners, suggested that agencies require information about clients' religious or spiritual background as part of an initial assessment; however, the parameters for using that information were ambiguous. Lacking clear guidelines, each social worker developed a personal policy for spiritually-sensitive practice, based on the practitioner's personal belief system and the NASW Code of Ethics. Recommendations are made to align spiritually-sensitive practice at the organizational and the practitioner level.