Soul work in social work

ABSTRACT

The field of social work has seen an increasing interest in approaches that utilize the integration of the physical, cognitive, and spiritual components of practice. Social workers are looking for innovative and integrative approaches to help clients reconnect with their deepest and truest selves. If the soul represents the total self, mind, body, and spirit, it is important for social workers to help clients heal from soul wounds through evidence based practices meant to emphasize the whole person, not just the mind. In this paper, we explore the function of the soul in clinical practice, identify key social work skills and evidence based practices that heal a wounded soul, and discuss implications for its use in practice, research, and social work education. Social workers who tend to soul wounds can facilitate internal discoveries and transformations that enable people to live their best lives.

KEYWORDS:

• Spirituality
• Mindfulness
• Mental Health
• Clinical Practice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.