The practitioner's attitudes toward religion and spirituality in social work practice

This is a survey study of NASW members, self-reported as clinical practitioners, randomly selected from the national NASW member list with two years post master's degree experience, measuring their religious and social work education experiences, therapeutic practice frameworks and attitudes about religious and spiritual issues in therapy. The analysis of the data indicated that clinician's worldview was spiritual and the majority viewed their client's religious and spiritual belief as a strength rather than a pathology with females more inclined toward strength than men. Findings also demonstrated that practice frameworks affected the clinicians' view that their client's religious and/or spirituality were a strength or pathology. Other important findings indicate that the sample members more closely aligned themselves with the general population in terms of spirituality. The significance of the movement away from classic psychoanalysis toward the systems-centered and cognitive-behavioral approaches was evident in those who responded. Given the historical development of the profession, it may be said that we are returning to a belief in God and that clinicians are choosing to use that belief with clients as a strength.