0:00:00.006,0:00:07.280
So Dr. Edward Canda is a professor[br]at the School of Social Welfare

0:00:07.280,0:00:11.210
at the University of Kansas and[br]he's been specializing in the theory and

0:00:11.210,0:00:15.570
practice of spirituality in[br]a sense of its social work.

0:00:15.570,0:00:21.640
And he has a master's degree in From the[br]University of Denver of religious studies,

0:00:21.640,0:00:27.550
1979 and the MSW Ph.D Degree and Social[br]work from the Ohio State University.

0:00:29.110,0:00:32.549
Where he incorporated a lot[br]of various spirituality and

0:00:32.549,0:00:37.000
anthropology and[br]religious studies into social work.

0:00:37.000,0:00:41.230
He's working with CSWE as[br]a part of their religious and

0:00:41.230,0:00:44.830
spirituality clearing house for[br]educational resources.

0:00:44.830,0:00:49.666
His focus on spirituality, focuses[br]a lot on Southeast Asia, Hong Kong,

0:00:49.666,0:00:51.930
South Korea, Japan.

0:00:51.930,0:00:53.618
More than 150 publications.

0:00:53.618,0:00:58.345
And actually the thing that I have to[br]be amazing, and I didn't know this

0:00:58.345,0:01:02.861
until last night it's in Cleveland,[br]Ohio, which is also where I'm from.

0:01:02.861,0:01:03.381
[LAUGH].

0:01:03.381,0:01:07.245
So, until we're both from the home town.

0:01:07.245,0:01:12.265
So we had a chance chat a little bit about[br]the unique things about Cleveland, Ohio.

0:01:12.265,0:01:13.580
Would know what I mean.

0:01:15.020,0:01:18.672
So I'm really pleased to have you here and[br]look forward, the title of this talk is

0:01:18.672,0:01:22.326
Spirituality and spiritual Diversity in[br]Social Work, the Heart of Helping, so

0:01:22.326,0:01:25.090
Doctor Canda welcome to[br]the graduate school of social work.

0:01:25.090,0:01:28.383
>> Thank you very much, [INAUDIBLE].

0:01:28.383,0:01:31.670
>> [APPLAUSE][br]>> And I want to thank Eugene Williams for

0:01:31.670,0:01:36.470
your invitation and your hospitality,[br]as well as for setting things up,

0:01:36.470,0:01:37.840
everything has gone very smoothly.

0:01:37.840,0:01:42.210
And Professor Benson has set up[br]an evening event for me too,

0:01:42.210,0:01:43.609
and I appreciate that as well.

0:01:45.020,0:01:49.645
Coming back to DU is[br]very significant to me.

0:01:49.645,0:01:53.540
Ike as you've heard I got my first[br]master's degree here in religious studies

0:01:53.540,0:01:57.680
which used to be over in the building[br]right over here I think, wasn't it?

0:01:57.680,0:02:01.525
And that was a big turning point for[br]me because I was coming back from,

0:02:01.525,0:02:06.576
I'd come back from studying[br]East Asian philosophy in South Korea.

0:02:06.576,0:02:10.400
And not quite sure where[br]to go from there and

0:02:10.400,0:02:14.520
made a very fortunate connection[br]with religious studies here.

0:02:14.520,0:02:18.910
That gave me a wonderful background for[br]my career in social work, actually.

0:02:18.910,0:02:23.930
So after that when I went into the MSW and[br]doctoral programs at Ohio State,

0:02:23.930,0:02:27.130
I was able to bring that religious[br]studies background into social work and

0:02:27.130,0:02:31.600
that really helped me to fill a niche[br]that was largely open in the profession.

0:02:31.600,0:02:34.750
So that's what I'm gonna talk about today,[br]how to converge

0:02:34.750,0:02:37.970
understanding of spirituality and[br]religion with social work.

0:02:39.420,0:02:44.810
And especially I wanted to also thank[br]professor Will Gravelly who's here.

0:02:44.810,0:02:48.110
He was my teacher in the 70's and has[br]been my friend and mentor since then so

0:02:48.110,0:02:51.900
it's really wonderful to have you[br]here in the audience, so thanks.

0:02:51.900,0:02:54.560
As well as Doug Carrol who was[br]a student with me back then.

0:02:54.560,0:02:56.860
So I have a good connection.

0:02:56.860,0:02:58.170
He's a social worker too.

0:02:58.170,0:03:01.070
So another religious studies[br]social work connection.

0:03:03.110,0:03:09.350
So in this presentation I'm[br]covering a huge topic area, really.

0:03:09.350,0:03:13.180
Literally for me it's been a lifelong,[br]pursuit of study, but

0:03:13.180,0:03:16.690
I am going to do this in about 50 minutes,[br]and then have discussion.

0:03:16.690,0:03:20.520
So this is the brief capsule version.

0:03:20.520,0:03:26.530
The way I want to do it then is give you[br]an overview of major values, perspectives,

0:03:26.530,0:03:31.895
some practice implications, and[br]touch on a lot of things quickly.

0:03:31.895,0:03:35.350
Today in the context of a large[br]perspective to kind of expand awareness

0:03:35.350,0:03:37.560
around spiritually sensitive practice.

0:03:37.560,0:03:41.172
And hopefully that'll touch various[br]different interests for you and

0:03:41.172,0:03:45.370
then in the question and answer period[br]please bring up whatever you would like.

0:03:45.370,0:03:47.320
I can talk more about that.

0:03:47.320,0:03:51.160
For those who are in the evening[br]session that'll be more of a workshop.

0:03:51.160,0:03:56.810
We'll have some discussion and[br]exercises around dealing with stress and

0:03:56.810,0:04:02.839
personal growth through meditation and[br]related practices for that session.

0:04:07.661,0:04:12.340
So, in the background of this slide,[br]I have a mandala.

0:04:13.970,0:04:19.450
I like to compose mandala sometimes just[br]because I enjoy the designs but mandalas

0:04:19.450,0:04:27.180
are very helpful to portray insights in[br]more than just a linear thinking way.

0:04:27.180,0:04:31.840
In a nutshell, literally mandala[br]is from Sanskrit, it means circle.

0:04:31.840,0:04:34.480
So it represents wholeness in connection

0:04:34.480,0:04:37.610
among many different aspects[br]of the self or the universe.

0:04:37.610,0:04:42.470
Comes originally out of Hinduism and[br]Buddhism but mandalas were,

0:04:42.470,0:04:45.713
have been adapted widely even[br]in therapeutic contexts.

0:04:45.713,0:04:49.046
Carl, you'll like to use[br]mandalas therapeutically.

0:04:49.046,0:04:54.370
So I used mandalas as a way of helping[br]to represent the bringing together of

0:04:54.370,0:04:58.740
diverse aspects of oneself or[br]different theoretical ideas and

0:04:58.740,0:05:00.890
how to converge them in a holistic way.

0:05:00.890,0:05:05.880
So you'll see some mandala diagrams that I[br]have spread out through the presentation.

0:05:07.230,0:05:10.020
Especially around this topic[br]I think it's important

0:05:10.020,0:05:12.440
not to be limited to only linear thinking.

0:05:14.030,0:05:16.940
Linear thinking and rationality[br]are really important, they're crucial,

0:05:16.940,0:05:20.070
but they're necessary but not sufficient.

0:05:20.070,0:05:24.155
So using artistic ways of communicating[br]also I think is very helpful.

0:05:24.155,0:05:29.500
[COUGH][br]So I'd like to start

0:05:29.500,0:05:34.549
out by clarifying how this topic relates[br]to basic professional purposes and values.

0:05:35.940,0:05:40.050
My approach to the topic isn't[br]theological, it's not religion specific.

0:05:40.050,0:05:44.205
It's attempting to provide a framework so[br]that people of diverse religious and

0:05:44.205,0:05:47.090
non-religious perspectives[br]can relate to it.

0:05:47.090,0:05:50.120
And also so social workers[br]can connect with clients and

0:05:50.120,0:05:54.380
communities of diverse religious and[br]non-religious perspectives.

0:05:54.380,0:05:57.760
So here's some ideas that we talk[br]about commonly in social work but

0:05:57.760,0:05:59.260
I'm gonna link it to spirituality.

0:06:00.730,0:06:06.390
We often say the mission of the profession[br]is to advance human fulfillment and

0:06:06.390,0:06:08.050
social justice for everyone.

0:06:09.390,0:06:13.163
That's in common with spiritually[br]sensitive social work [COUGH].

0:06:13.163,0:06:17.620
The differences It's taking it a little[br]farther, it's expanding that notion

0:06:17.620,0:06:21.390
beyond what has been common in[br]conventional social work in the past.

0:06:23.240,0:06:28.630
So when we talk about fulfillment of[br]the person it's common in social work to

0:06:28.630,0:06:32.490
say we want a holistic view, we wanna deal[br]with the whole person in the environment.

0:06:32.490,0:06:37.655
Spirituality highlights[br]the aspects of the person

0:06:37.655,0:06:42.730
that goes beyond just[br]the bio/psycho/social.

0:06:42.730,0:06:45.410
And we'll talk about that some more later.

0:06:45.410,0:06:50.520
It also considers the whole person in[br]relation with all people and all beings.

0:06:50.520,0:06:57.605
Of course, social work is dedicated to[br]work with people, that makes sense.

0:06:57.605,0:07:03.540
But people exist of course in[br]the total web of life on this planet.

0:07:04.850,0:07:10.610
So, more and more, spiritually[br]sensitive social work is attending to

0:07:10.610,0:07:16.170
the ecological connections of all beings[br]and the total planetary ecosystem.

0:07:16.170,0:07:19.856
Deep ecology and[br]ecofeminism are good examples of that.

0:07:22.482,0:07:26.149
We also are very much concerned[br]as a field with appreciating and

0:07:26.149,0:07:30.520
respecting diversity and engaging[br]in culturally appropriate practice.

0:07:31.550,0:07:36.170
So spiritual diversity intersects[br]with all other kinds of diversity.

0:07:36.170,0:07:38.300
That brings up many[br]wonderful opportunities, and

0:07:38.300,0:07:43.100
also sometimes, complexities,[br]ambiguities and conflicts.

0:07:43.100,0:07:47.890
So, this is a lot of what we deal with in[br]spiritually sensitive practice as well.

0:07:51.794,0:07:57.230
Finally, I'm coming from[br]the standpoint of our codes of ethics.

0:07:57.230,0:08:02.840
Any SW code of ethics expects us[br]to work culturally competently.

0:08:02.840,0:08:08.060
It requires us to respect religious[br]diversity and our CSWE educational

0:08:08.060,0:08:12.790
guidelines include those[br]two principles but

0:08:12.790,0:08:17.320
also it says that students need to[br]learn about spiritual development.

0:08:18.640,0:08:22.410
So this movement has[br]really paid more attention

0:08:22.410,0:08:25.760
to those things than has[br]been done in the past.

0:08:25.760,0:08:29.390
On an international level[br]there's a lot of movements

0:08:31.220,0:08:34.799
to address spirituality and[br]social work around the world now.

0:08:34.799,0:08:41.559
It started primarily in North America but[br]there are movements in many countries now.

0:08:41.559,0:08:44.039
So I'll touch on that a little bit and

0:08:44.039,0:08:46.620
if you're interested I can give[br]you more information later.

0:08:46.620,0:08:51.660
But the International Association[br]of Schools of Social Work and

0:08:51.660,0:08:53.970
the International Federation[br]of Social Workers.

0:08:53.970,0:08:57.666
Their statement of principals[br]also includes respect for

0:08:57.666,0:09:01.673
cultural diversity and[br]spiritual and religious diversity.

0:09:01.673,0:09:05.965
So the way I'm approaching[br]this topic based

0:09:05.965,0:09:09.681
on all of those kinds of commitments.

0:09:15.916,0:09:20.216
[COUGH] When I started in social work,[br]my MSW program in 1980,

0:09:20.216,0:09:23.265
coming out of the religion[br]studies program and

0:09:23.265,0:09:26.960
previously my background[br]was cultural anthropology.

0:09:28.210,0:09:31.000
I was taught that we wanted to look at[br]the whole person in the environment,

0:09:31.000,0:09:32.860
which sounded great to me.

0:09:32.860,0:09:36.350
But there was no mention about religion or[br]spirituality.

0:09:36.350,0:09:37.360
I mean literally zero.

0:09:38.380,0:09:42.240
If I looked hard enough I could[br]find some articles here and

0:09:42.240,0:09:45.850
there in some important[br]historical documents.

0:09:45.850,0:09:50.800
But I couldn't figure out why is it if we[br]say we're looking at the whole person in

0:09:50.800,0:09:55.300
the environment,[br]this area of human experience was omitted?

0:09:55.300,0:10:01.130
Especially because all human cultures[br]include religious and spiritual features

0:10:01.130,0:10:06.920
in every person, is engaged in some way[br]in a search for meaning and purpose.

0:10:06.920,0:10:12.140
So that's when I began[br]to shift to advocate for

0:10:12.140,0:10:16.620
more attention to that,[br]in effect I decided later,

0:10:16.620,0:10:21.790
when I was a doctoral student,[br]that I would apply

0:10:21.790,0:10:27.970
social work principles of social change[br]to advocating with the profession.

0:10:27.970,0:10:30.740
To help change the profession, and

0:10:30.740,0:10:36.280
so compared from then til now[br]there's a tremendous difference.

0:10:36.280,0:10:40.680
We have in our accreditation standards[br]recognition of spirituality and religion.

0:10:40.680,0:10:43.840
Now textbooks usually,[br]at least briefly, mention it.

0:10:43.840,0:10:47.090
We have textbooks dedicated to the topic.

0:10:47.090,0:10:51.140
There's at least 40 graduate[br]programs around the country

0:10:51.140,0:10:53.630
that have specialized[br]courses on this topic.

0:10:53.630,0:10:56.850
There's a lot of movement around it now.

0:10:56.850,0:11:01.490
Not due simply to me, but as you know[br]a major social work practice skill

0:11:01.490,0:11:05.810
is to network and[br]create organizations so really building

0:11:05.810,0:11:10.150
a set of enthusiastic people around[br]the country and around the world.

0:11:10.150,0:11:12.290
So there's a lot going on.

0:11:12.290,0:11:16.140
So spiritually sensitive practice

0:11:19.050,0:11:23.040
addresses the ways that practitioners,[br]clients or consumers, and

0:11:23.040,0:11:27.200
their communities seek a sense of meaning,[br]purpose, and connectedness.

0:11:29.080,0:11:34.130
As they strive toward their highest[br]aspirations, maximize their strengths and

0:11:34.130,0:11:38.640
resources, and work to overcome personal[br]obstacles and environmental blocks and

0:11:38.640,0:11:39.419
gaps in resources.

0:11:42.940,0:11:47.400
If that sounds a lot like[br]typical social work, it is.

0:11:47.400,0:11:49.980
That's good.

0:11:49.980,0:11:54.516
But it's highlighting things that[br]aren't so commonly addressed.

0:11:54.516,0:11:59.119
For example, the themes of meaning,[br]purpose and connectedness.

0:12:02.010,0:12:07.410
There have been, for a long time, certain[br]strands of social work that focus on that.

0:12:07.410,0:12:10.690
A major one being existential social work,[br]and Don Krill,

0:12:10.690,0:12:13.280
who teaches a course here still,[br]he's taught for

0:12:13.280,0:12:17.235
many many years, existential social work,[br]is a good example of that.

0:12:17.235,0:12:22.920
[COUGH] But sometimes social work is[br]delivered in a way that's focused on

0:12:23.970,0:12:30.220
practical goods and services or[br]measurable outcomes.

0:12:30.220,0:12:34.200
That doesn't look at what is the meaning,[br]purpose, context of that.

0:12:34.200,0:12:39.950
So if we're not careful even the delivery[br]of needed services the worst

0:12:39.950,0:12:44.390
case is if we ignore this quality of[br]meaning and purpose and connection.

0:12:44.390,0:12:48.360
People actually feel objectified and[br]dehumanized in the process.

0:12:50.760,0:12:54.380
It also has to do with helping people[br]strive to their highest aspirations.

0:12:55.550,0:12:58.360
In this case,[br]highest aspirations can include,

0:12:58.360,0:13:02.210
what are their most compelling and[br]significant life goals?

0:13:02.210,0:13:06.030
What conserve as transformative[br]ideals in their life.

0:13:06.030,0:13:10.100
What kinds of spiritual practices and

0:13:10.100,0:13:13.195
community connections can help[br]them deal with adversity.

0:13:13.195,0:13:16.620
[COUGH] Personal adversity,[br]social injustice, oppression.

0:13:16.620,0:13:23.850
And this can even include people's[br]experience of states of consciousness

0:13:23.850,0:13:28.260
that go well beyond an ego-centered[br]understanding of self and world.

0:13:30.480,0:13:33.560
What helps people maximize their[br]strengths and resources and

0:13:33.560,0:13:38.040
pay special attention to religiously and[br]spiritually based strengths and resources.

0:13:38.040,0:13:42.489
Those can be internal and external in[br]the community and the larger world.

0:13:44.070,0:13:48.280
And all of this to work to overcome[br]personal obstacles environmental blocks,

0:13:48.280,0:13:50.470
and gaps in resources.

0:13:50.470,0:13:55.600
Another feature of social work that is[br]congruent with the strengths perspective,

0:13:55.600,0:13:58.880
as it happens the strengths[br]perspective was originally developed

0:13:58.880,0:14:02.070
at my university in the mid to late 80s,[br]at KU.

0:14:03.760,0:14:09.710
So the strengths perspective[br]doesn't look at clients in terms of

0:14:12.280,0:14:16.780
pathologies, deficits, diagnostic labels.

0:14:16.780,0:14:20.000
Of course those things can be[br]pertinent to their situation but

0:14:20.000,0:14:22.290
it never reduces people to those things.

0:14:22.290,0:14:28.670
Instead it focuses on goals, solutions,[br]possibilities, talents, skills,

0:14:28.670,0:14:34.070
resources and[br]never limits the possibility for clients.

0:14:34.070,0:14:39.010
Always considers at any point in time[br]no matter what the person's situation

0:14:39.010,0:14:43.419
there could always be an opportunity for[br]something far more than what it appears.

0:14:45.290,0:14:49.597
So for many people, spirituality is[br]a way to open up those unexpected and

0:14:49.597,0:14:51.657
transformative possibilities.

0:14:59.468,0:15:04.990
So before I go on too much farther[br]with these kind of abstract ideas.

0:15:04.990,0:15:11.140
I wanna tell you a story that puts in[br]a nutshell some of the main points.

0:15:12.510,0:15:15.600
In the 1980s, a lot of my social work

0:15:15.600,0:15:19.559
practice in research related[br]to Southeast Asian refugees.

0:15:21.460,0:15:24.210
So one time,[br]when I was at the university of Iowa I

0:15:25.250,0:15:28.436
was working with the refugee[br]resettlement program for the state.

0:15:28.436,0:15:33.190
And a Methodist minister

0:15:33.190,0:15:38.890
gave me a call and said, there's an issue[br]going on with two loud roommates.

0:15:38.890,0:15:44.730
Would you come to meet them and me,[br]and talk through what's going on.

0:15:44.730,0:15:46.550
Okay, what's the situation.

0:15:46.550,0:15:49.700
He said well,[br]they've been having a lot of arguments.

0:15:49.700,0:15:51.020
It's getting heated.

0:15:51.020,0:15:54.130
One of the roommates has a knife and has[br]been threatening to stab the other one.

0:15:55.180,0:15:57.400
I'm thinking to myself that[br]sounds like a lot fun.

0:15:57.400,0:15:58.966
Sure, I'll go right over there.

0:15:58.966,0:16:03.070
[LAUGH] See if,[br]I've never learned martial arts so

0:16:03.070,0:16:06.456
I wasn't too confident [LAUGH] while I[br]was dealing with possible knife play.

0:16:06.456,0:16:12.330
But, all right so, I was working with[br]a Thai international student who

0:16:14.050,0:16:20.320
also spoke Lao, and then we had[br]Lao interpreters who joined us.

0:16:20.320,0:16:23.660
So we had a team there, the two roommates,[br]the Methodist minister,

0:16:23.660,0:16:25.310
myself, my assistant.

0:16:26.460,0:16:30.910
So as a group, we started talking[br]through what were the issues.

0:16:30.910,0:16:35.920
We found out that the disagreements were

0:16:35.920,0:16:40.460
not really that significant but they were[br]becoming just agitated with each other.

0:16:40.460,0:16:42.970
And a lot of it had to do with[br]their post-traumatic stress.

0:16:44.200,0:16:47.040
So keep in mind the context [COUGH] they

0:16:48.730,0:16:52.378
had to escape Laos under[br]conditions of grave danger,

0:16:52.378,0:16:57.750
genocide, mass killings.

0:16:57.750,0:17:01.630
Escaping on boats that were[br]very difficult, dangerous.

0:17:02.720,0:17:05.300
Spent a long time in refugee camps

0:17:05.300,0:17:06.859
not knowing when they[br]were gonna get out of it.

0:17:07.920,0:17:10.079
Finally, resettled in the US.

0:17:10.079,0:17:11.609
In the US, they encountered language and

0:17:11.609,0:17:15.020
cultural differences that[br]brought about further stress.

0:17:15.020,0:17:17.329
Sometimes they experienced[br]discrimination and racism.

0:17:18.700,0:17:20.030
And then in addition to that well,

0:17:20.030,0:17:24.140
it was great that there was this[br]community based support system.

0:17:24.140,0:17:28.830
Once they were settled this Methodist[br]congregation provided helped

0:17:28.830,0:17:31.000
them get housing.

0:17:31.000,0:17:33.720
Invited them to their worship services.

0:17:33.720,0:17:35.800
Helped with material needs.

0:17:35.800,0:17:36.960
Provided emotional support.

0:17:36.960,0:17:43.540
All that was great but some members of[br]the congregation have the idea that if

0:17:43.540,0:17:47.790
they have come here and we're sponsoring[br]them, they should become Methodists too.

0:17:49.220,0:17:51.250
So there was a further tension.

0:17:51.250,0:17:56.100
This was very common I found with[br]Southeast Asian refugees who

0:17:56.100,0:17:57.079
frequently were Buddhist.

0:17:58.700,0:18:00.975
They were very grateful to[br]the Christian sponsors.

0:18:00.975,0:18:04.190
And they were comfortable going[br]to Christian services, but

0:18:04.190,0:18:07.790
they also wanted to maintain[br]their Buddhist practices,

0:18:07.790,0:18:11.320
go to the Lao Buddhist temple,[br]preserve their language.

0:18:11.320,0:18:14.761
So in other words,[br]they wanted to construct a bi-cultural,

0:18:14.761,0:18:16.185
bi-religious system.

0:18:16.185,0:18:19.090
But some of the sponsors[br]weren't cool with that.

0:18:19.090,0:18:21.050
It's one or the other.

0:18:21.050,0:18:24.230
So that brought about[br]a further level of stress.

0:18:24.230,0:18:27.660
In the case of this minister,[br]he did not have that attitude.

0:18:27.660,0:18:29.320
He had a both/and perspective.

0:18:30.950,0:18:35.890
So the minister was quite comfortable[br]with this idea that the Lao roommates,

0:18:35.890,0:18:38.980
if they want to tap the Buddhist[br]support systems, they can do that,

0:18:38.980,0:18:44.190
as well as connect with the Methodist[br]support system and maximize both of them.

0:18:44.190,0:18:49.250
So with further conversation [COUGH] at[br]one point it got pretty intense actually.

0:18:49.250,0:18:50.350
I was getting worried and

0:18:50.350,0:18:53.700
I realized I made one big mistake,[br]if you do safety training and

0:18:53.700,0:18:58.547
you make a home visit, you don't sit[br]the farthest place from the exit [LAUGH].

0:18:58.547,0:19:04.060
And that's where I and my assistant where[br]I'm thinking that was a bad choice.

0:19:04.060,0:19:08.940
And so you could feel the emotional tone[br]getting more intense, more agitated,

0:19:08.940,0:19:12.310
and I could tell there was a change in me.

0:19:12.310,0:19:16.800
As I became more anxious, my breathing[br]changed, it was becoming more tight and

0:19:16.800,0:19:20.540
becoming a little bit scanning[br]as to where was the exit.

0:19:21.620,0:19:27.010
Well, once I realized that,[br]it occurred to me that if I let

0:19:27.010,0:19:32.730
this communication intensity escalate,[br]and my internal

0:19:32.730,0:19:36.390
anxiety symptoms escalate, the combination[br]was not gonna be good for anybody.

0:19:37.610,0:19:41.109
So and my assistant,[br]who was mediating a lot of this,

0:19:42.410,0:19:45.110
linguistically, she was[br]bearing the brunt of it.

0:19:45.110,0:19:47.670
Cuz it's not just[br]the words going in between,

0:19:47.670,0:19:50.120
it's the emotional energy going through.

0:19:52.120,0:19:57.230
So it occurred to me I had to some[br]way politely stop that dynamic.

0:19:57.230,0:19:59.180
And I was running out of water.

0:19:59.180,0:20:04.140
It's very polite in [COUGH][br]Southeast Asian cultures to offer

0:20:04.140,0:20:08.330
people food or drink when you visit so[br]I asked for some more water.

0:20:08.330,0:20:13.250
Well that simple thing, asking for water,[br]the roommate went out to the kitchen and

0:20:13.250,0:20:16.990
filled up the glass, brought it back,[br]it interrupted that escalation.

0:20:16.990,0:20:21.830
Plus it showed instead of[br]this escalating hostility,

0:20:21.830,0:20:24.850
it made a little occasion of[br]friendliness and politeness.

0:20:24.850,0:20:28.450
So it shifted, and then I could[br]also pay attention internally.

0:20:28.450,0:20:32.980
I could watch my breathing,[br]I could let it flow more smoothly, I could

0:20:32.980,0:20:36.880
restore a kind of mindful awareness of[br]what was going on in the moment [COUGH].

0:20:36.880,0:20:40.060
Once that happened,[br]everything de-escalated.

0:20:40.060,0:20:44.070
We're able to talk through the issues, and

0:20:44.070,0:20:47.340
one of the big conclusions was there[br]was one roommate who wanted to

0:20:47.340,0:20:51.420
go spend some time in retreat at[br]the Lao Buddhist monastery nearby.

0:20:51.420,0:20:56.710
And actually, at that time these community[br]Buddhist centers were very small and

0:20:56.710,0:20:59.488
informal because they[br]didn't have a lot of money.

0:20:59.488,0:21:04.260
And so like this was set up in house and[br]they set up an alter room.

0:21:04.260,0:21:08.700
But the way it's set up, it provides[br]a symbolically protective space.

0:21:08.700,0:21:14.820
The monks have a routine out of ritual and[br]meditation that he could participate in.

0:21:14.820,0:21:20.320
So he went there,[br]that helped him into get re-centered.

0:21:20.320,0:21:22.375
We broke the conflict with the roommate.

0:21:22.375,0:21:28.310
[COUGH] And it affirmed a positive[br]mutual respective relationship with

0:21:28.310,0:21:33.710
the Methodist minister as well because the[br]minister was very comfortable with that.

0:21:33.710,0:21:37.820
So that to me a good example of[br]spiritually sensitive practice

0:21:37.820,0:21:39.150
that respects diversity.

0:21:39.150,0:21:43.520
It shifts from an either or competitive[br]approach to the differences towards

0:21:43.520,0:21:47.650
a both and complementary[br]mutually respectful approach.

0:21:47.650,0:21:50.580
It taps the resources and[br]insights on both sides.

0:21:50.580,0:21:52.099
It respects everybody involved.

0:21:53.890,0:21:57.680
But it's not only an external[br]process at that, it's also internal.

0:21:57.680,0:22:02.960
What I said about having to become[br]aware of my own anxiety and

0:22:02.960,0:22:08.208
the change of my breathing, and[br]to intervene on that level too.

0:22:08.208,0:22:12.778
So spiritual sensitive practice[br]is both internal work and

0:22:12.778,0:22:16.049
external in weaving those two together.

0:22:33.920,0:22:37.597
Here's a few other broad ethical[br]principles to think about drawing on

0:22:37.597,0:22:41.160
spirituality and religion which[br]by the way I haven't defined yet.

0:22:41.160,0:22:43.170
So you might be wondering what[br]is he really talking about.

0:22:43.170,0:22:44.619
I'm gonna get to that in a minute.

0:22:47.844,0:22:51.302
So first of all,[br]just like social practice in general,

0:22:51.302,0:22:53.590
we have to start where the client is.

0:22:54.800,0:22:58.350
So we focus on the consumer client's[br]beliefs, goals, interests and

0:22:58.350,0:22:59.560
comfort level.

0:22:59.560,0:23:03.170
This isn't about the social[br]worker's own agenda.

0:23:04.470,0:23:07.540
I think meditation is really great, I'm[br]gonna make sure all the clients do that.

0:23:07.540,0:23:11.010
Or I think prayer is the best thing,[br]I'm gonna make sure they all do that.

0:23:11.010,0:23:16.190
That's not the point,[br]it's assessing understanding the clients

0:23:16.190,0:23:19.880
interest goals, resources, where they're[br]at, what they would like to tap and

0:23:19.880,0:23:23.920
then you facilitate it [COUGH].

0:23:23.920,0:23:27.190
So as I said before it also means working[br]in a culturally appropriate manner.

0:23:29.190,0:23:33.490
If we're engaging direct spiritually[br]based helping practices,

0:23:33.490,0:23:36.680
such as meditation, or prayer, or ritual.

0:23:38.020,0:23:39.890
As I said,[br]we have to start with assessment.

0:23:41.040,0:23:45.290
So even with assessment it's wise,[br]just like in ethnography or

0:23:45.290,0:23:50.339
cultural anthropology, to begin with[br]the least intrusive open ended assessment.

0:23:51.480,0:23:54.210
We have to be careful if[br]the way we do assessment

0:23:54.210,0:23:57.950
isn't either steering people in a certain[br]direction or cutting off possibility.

0:23:57.950,0:23:59.150
Place.

0:23:59.150,0:24:03.020
Many agencies don't even have guidelines[br]for the practitioners how to do

0:24:03.020,0:24:08.010
basic assessment around spirituality and[br]religion of the clients.

0:24:08.010,0:24:12.140
That's one problem, and if you don't[br]inquire at all, that can be a message

0:24:12.140,0:24:15.160
to the client implicitly,[br]you're not interested and you don't care.

0:24:16.990,0:24:19.140
But if you ask about it in a certain way,

0:24:19.140,0:24:22.990
it can be another message that[br]you're imposing some assumptions.

0:24:22.990,0:24:27.947
Like some agencies will have an intake[br]form that'll say something like here

0:24:27.947,0:24:34.880
are some options, Catholic,[br]Protestant, Jewish, other.

0:24:36.080,0:24:36.770
Find that out.

0:24:36.770,0:24:40.419
To tell you the truth, that is useless.

0:24:41.520,0:24:42.840
If that's what you asked someone,

0:24:42.840,0:24:46.610
by the way what it's saying is[br]we're not really very interested.

0:24:46.610,0:24:50.180
We're asking very broad questions and[br]a lot of agencies will collect that

0:24:50.180,0:24:53.380
information it's checked off, it goes in[br]a file somewhere and nothing happens.

0:24:55.300,0:24:57.770
Well what if the person is Buddhist or[br]Hindu?

0:24:59.170,0:25:02.278
And among Christians, there are tremendous[br]variation of denominations and

0:25:02.278,0:25:05.710
within that, then there's[br]non-denominational Christians.

0:25:05.710,0:25:09.330
Similarly in Judaism,[br]there's many different styles of Judaism.

0:25:09.330,0:25:11.480
So, Islam.

0:25:11.480,0:25:16.950
This kind of question is really[br]narrowing and excluding.

0:25:16.950,0:25:20.640
Besides that, it doesn't yield[br]much helpful information anyway.

0:25:20.640,0:25:22.280
Even if someone says,[br]yeah, I'm a Christian.

0:25:22.280,0:25:25.545
Well, there's more than 900 Christian[br]denominations in the United States and

0:25:25.545,0:25:29.510
many non-denominational[br]Christian communities.

0:25:29.510,0:25:33.000
And even if you know, I'm a Roman[br]Catholic, that's what the person says.

0:25:33.000,0:25:35.120
Within Catholicism there's[br]tremendous variety,

0:25:36.390,0:25:41.050
including on some basic social justice and[br]theological issues.

0:25:42.680,0:25:46.560
On the other hand, I don't mean with[br]assessment we should be too intrusive.

0:25:46.560,0:25:50.160
So we start with a open ended,[br]non-threatening,

0:25:50.160,0:25:54.128
exploratory question and[br]then the client will cue us.

0:25:54.128,0:25:57.330
Is this relevant to them,[br]do they want to pursue it or not, and

0:25:57.330,0:25:59.900
then we follow their cues to go further.

0:26:01.392,0:26:04.680
[COUGH] So, I could talk more[br]about that later, if you want.

0:26:04.680,0:26:09.970
But the basic principle is starting with[br]the least intrusive, open-ended approach,

0:26:09.970,0:26:14.650
identify the consumer's level of interest,[br]and then move to a more

0:26:14.650,0:26:20.070
explicit spiritually based practices[br]only if the consumer prefers.

0:26:20.070,0:26:23.710
And sometimes that means within the[br]helping relationship with a social worker,

0:26:23.710,0:26:25.810
sometimes it means referral and[br]collaboration.

0:26:27.770,0:26:32.730
Another issue that I think is a big one,[br]much neglected,

0:26:32.730,0:26:35.330
is spiritually sensitive[br]organizational culture.

0:26:37.270,0:26:40.930
Actually, it's kind of interesting to me,[br]if you look at business research

0:26:40.930,0:26:45.600
literature, about the factors that[br]reduced the likelihood of burn out and

0:26:45.600,0:26:49.310
turnover, and[br]increase employee satisfaction.

0:26:49.310,0:26:53.450
Those businesses that attend to[br]the spiritual qualities of the work

0:26:53.450,0:26:58.570
environment and the relationships there,[br]tend to have lower burnout, turnover, and

0:26:58.570,0:27:00.490
higher employee satisfaction.

0:27:00.490,0:27:04.790
So there's more discussion about that[br]in the business sector than I see in

0:27:04.790,0:27:07.180
the social literature which[br]a little bit boggles me.

0:27:08.250,0:27:12.860
So in human service organizations[br]the optimal would be a congruence

0:27:12.860,0:27:17.260
between spiritually sensitive[br]administrative style and policies,

0:27:17.260,0:27:21.550
and the practitioners engaging[br]in that way with the clients.

0:27:21.550,0:27:26.167
When there's a misfit between those, even[br]if the practitioners are interested and

0:27:26.167,0:27:29.158
committed to doing this,[br]they might have no support or

0:27:29.158,0:27:31.579
even find obstacles from administration.

0:27:34.779,0:27:38.035
Or the workers themselves[br]are getting burnt out,

0:27:38.035,0:27:42.180
because their full human growth[br]needs are being dealt with.

0:27:42.180,0:27:45.352
And so then it's hard to[br]work well with the clients.

0:27:45.352,0:27:52.566
[COUGH][br]I'm

0:27:52.566,0:27:54.895
finally going to tell you[br]what I mean by spirituality.

0:27:54.895,0:27:58.960
[LAUGH] I think you can get the sense[br]of it from what I've said already but

0:27:58.960,0:28:01.200
this is a more formal definition.

0:28:01.200,0:28:04.430
I'm first gonna tell you what I mean[br]by spirituality as an aspect, and

0:28:04.430,0:28:06.753
then give you more holistic[br]ways of looking at it.

0:28:06.753,0:28:12.248
But what I'm going to describe now[br]is the most common way it's looked

0:28:12.248,0:28:17.660
at in social work medicine,[br]nursing, psychology, psychiatry.

0:28:17.660,0:28:20.240
By the way all of those fields have[br]parallel movements to social work around

0:28:20.240,0:28:21.340
this now, and

0:28:21.340,0:28:25.740
there's a lot of interdisciplinary[br]stuff happening around it.

0:28:25.740,0:28:29.360
So spirituality is a process[br]of human life and development.

0:28:30.390,0:28:34.969
Spirituality isn't just a thing or[br]an affiliation, it's a life process.

0:28:36.950,0:28:40.910
It focuses on the search for[br]a sense of meaning, purpose, morality and

0:28:40.910,0:28:44.460
well being in relationship with oneself,

0:28:44.460,0:28:48.530
other people, other beings of the universe[br]and ultimate reality, however understood.

0:28:49.870,0:28:53.340
It orients around centrally[br]significant priorities.

0:28:53.340,0:28:58.010
It engages a sense of transcendence,[br]experienced as deeply profound, sacred, or

0:28:58.010,0:28:58.830
transpersonal.

0:29:00.270,0:29:03.060
So some of these keywords[br]here that I bolded,

0:29:03.060,0:29:07.730
you find across disciplines[br]around the term spirituality.

0:29:07.730,0:29:11.330
There's no uniformly accepted[br]definition actually.

0:29:11.330,0:29:14.525
But these themes are very common,[br]meaning relationship,

0:29:14.525,0:29:19.245
centrally significant priorities,[br]our ultimate concern, and transcendence.

0:29:19.245,0:29:25.060
[COUGH][br]With the concept of transcendence,

0:29:25.060,0:29:30.070
I've added a few possibilities there,[br]because if you look at spiritual

0:29:30.070,0:29:35.960
traditions around the world, there's[br]a great deal of variety about this.

0:29:35.960,0:29:41.230
For theistic traditions,[br]transcendence is, can be,

0:29:41.230,0:29:45.660
often relate in terms of experiencing[br]relationship with a personal God.

0:29:47.490,0:29:51.660
And sometimes that can be very deep, very[br]transforming and consciousness changing.

0:29:52.890,0:29:55.460
But many religious[br]traditions are not theistic.

0:29:59.730,0:30:05.820
Even the concept of the sacred is[br]widespread, but it's not universal.

0:30:05.820,0:30:08.860
And for some traditions, the sacred and[br]the profane are not a dichotomy at all.

0:30:08.860,0:30:12.500
That ordinary daily life[br]itself can all become sacred.

0:30:14.980,0:30:19.640
And for many nonreligious people,[br]even using words like holy,

0:30:19.640,0:30:24.010
sacred, divine, it just doesn't work.

0:30:25.860,0:30:30.840
I have a friend who describes himself,[br]he's a social work professor,

0:30:30.840,0:30:35.580
he describes himself as a secular,[br]scientific, humanist, Jew.

0:30:37.170,0:30:40.690
So, and we participated in[br]some spirituality conferences.

0:30:40.690,0:30:44.808
And he would explain to people[br]as a nonreligious, non-theistic,

0:30:44.808,0:30:47.855
cultural Jew,[br]what is spirituality mean to him.

0:30:51.908,0:30:55.429
One time my wife and[br]I were invited to his home for

0:30:55.429,0:31:00.420
a Sabbath meal and I was kinda wondering,[br]how's this gonna work?

0:31:00.420,0:31:07.990
[LAUGH] Well,[br]they had the Sabbath style prayers

0:31:07.990,0:31:13.050
and welcoming of people but[br]the wording was, you might say, edited.

0:31:13.050,0:31:16.900
It was changed to remove[br]any theistic references.

0:31:16.900,0:31:20.670
But it emphasized the community[br]connectedness, caring, and

0:31:20.670,0:31:22.050
love and sharing.

0:31:22.050,0:31:27.160
And afterwards he had a gathering[br]of other secular Jews and

0:31:28.380,0:31:32.550
they had hymns and prayers and[br]told stories and talked.

0:31:32.550,0:31:37.140
All of those didn't have[br]any theistic frame to them.

0:31:37.140,0:31:41.390
But they created an informal spiritual[br]support group around these common

0:31:42.460,0:31:44.150
beliefs and styles.

0:31:44.150,0:31:47.070
So they were preserving[br]Jewish heritage and concerns.

0:31:47.070,0:31:49.520
One of the main themes for[br]them was social justice and

0:31:49.520,0:31:52.470
how to link your personal life to justice.

0:31:52.470,0:31:55.690
So that [COUGH], to him,[br]made perfect sense.

0:31:55.690,0:32:01.740
But if I were to approach someone with his[br]point of view with words like Religion or

0:32:01.740,0:32:08.630
sacred or god, it wouldn't connect,[br]so we have to be careful about that.

0:32:08.630,0:32:12.030
Give another example, in the same town,[br]I had another Jewish friend.

0:32:12.030,0:32:17.950
She was an Orthodox,[br]a very devout Orthodox Jew.

0:32:17.950,0:32:19.620
So she was very observant.

0:32:19.620,0:32:22.750
Even to the point where when[br]we went to lunch with her.

0:32:22.750,0:32:26.030
We had to find a restaurant that[br]didn't just have kosher, but

0:32:26.030,0:32:27.930
kosher food approved by her rabbi.

0:32:30.830,0:32:35.520
And so she had a very different[br]style from my other friend.

0:32:35.520,0:32:39.349
Both identify as Jewish,[br]but quite different styles.

0:32:40.720,0:32:42.500
And she was also very open.

0:32:42.500,0:32:45.410
So she participated in many of[br]our national spirituality and

0:32:45.410,0:32:47.360
social conferences.

0:32:47.360,0:32:48.900
Was very interested in outreach and

0:32:48.900,0:32:51.840
connecting with people of[br]many different perspectives.

0:32:51.840,0:32:53.140
And that was a nice lesson, too.

0:32:53.140,0:32:58.920
Because it showed me that [COUGH][br]whatever the person's perspective.

0:32:58.920,0:33:02.670
If they have both a clear[br]commitment to where they're at and

0:33:02.670,0:33:05.010
an openness to where others are at.

0:33:05.010,0:33:09.440
We can join and connect and[br]collaborate and support each other.

0:33:09.440,0:33:12.430
The trouble comes in when[br]people who are highly committed

0:33:12.430,0:33:16.370
to their own view see those[br]as exclusive of others.

0:33:16.370,0:33:19.610
Or hostile to others and promote conflict.

0:33:19.610,0:33:21.789
And in the worst cases even violence.

0:33:32.042,0:33:37.289
So religion.

0:33:37.289,0:33:42.067
Will, forgive me if my definition doesn't[br]measure up to religious studies' standards

0:33:42.067,0:33:43.955
but I'm gonna give it a shot here.

0:33:43.955,0:33:49.500
[LAUGH] Within social work,[br]given our professional context.

0:33:49.500,0:33:52.640
By the way since the early 80s

0:33:52.640,0:33:56.099
there has been a tendency to distinguish[br]the term spirituality and religion.

0:33:57.160,0:34:01.370
For a lot of reasons, but one is[br]because in our profession there was so

0:34:01.370,0:34:04.428
much allergic reaction to[br]the topic of religion.

0:34:04.428,0:34:09.085
It's like pushing people's alarm buttons[br]when you even say it in many settings.

0:34:09.085,0:34:11.480
[LAUGH] And they're worried,[br]what does it mean?

0:34:11.480,0:34:18.594
Is this person gonna be trying to[br]proselytize or to manipulate, or etc.

0:34:18.594,0:34:23.150
So it became common to distinguish[br]between spirituality and religion.

0:34:23.150,0:34:27.920
And you find this in many other helping[br]professions nowadays, by the way.

0:34:27.920,0:34:32.620
So religion is an institutionalized,[br]I mean formally structured.

0:34:32.620,0:34:37.469
Systematic pattern of beliefs,[br]values, symbols,

0:34:37.469,0:34:40.399
behaviors, and[br]experiences that involves spirituality.

0:34:41.610,0:34:43.139
But, not limited to that.

0:34:43.139,0:34:45.620
It involves a community of adherents.

0:34:45.620,0:34:47.230
You can't have a religion of one person.

0:34:48.810,0:34:52.460
It involves transmission of[br]traditions over time, and

0:34:52.460,0:34:54.020
community support functions.

0:34:55.030,0:34:57.990
For example, through organizational[br]structure, material assistance,

0:34:57.990,0:35:00.380
emotional support, political advocacy.

0:35:00.380,0:35:03.500
So religious groups engage[br]in many kinds of activities,

0:35:03.500,0:35:06.950
some of which are clearly explicitly[br]spiritual and others are not.

0:35:06.950,0:35:10.430
But everything has a connection[br]to their spiritual frame.

0:35:12.230,0:35:18.050
So spirituality can express[br]through religious settings,

0:35:18.050,0:35:20.430
and outside of religious settings.

0:35:20.430,0:35:24.975
And for some people their spiritual[br]way includes both religious and

0:35:24.975,0:35:27.730
non-religious expressions.

0:35:27.730,0:35:30.710
If you think about it like a Venn diagram,

0:35:30.710,0:35:35.810
spirituality is a large circle and[br]religion is a circle within it.

0:35:35.810,0:35:40.531
And some people identify as simply[br]their religious perspective is

0:35:40.531,0:35:42.148
their spirituality.

0:35:42.148,0:35:45.508
Others are non-religious but[br]they're spiritual,

0:35:45.508,0:35:48.200
others are both religious and spiritual.

0:35:49.460,0:35:54.220
And actually surveys of clients in the US[br]show that many people are identifying in

0:35:54.220,0:35:55.940
this variety of ways.

0:35:55.940,0:35:59.562
And in American popular culture[br]this distinction has become common.

0:35:59.562,0:36:03.308
It's become more and more common for[br]baby boomers and younger to say,

0:36:03.308,0:36:05.223
I'm spiritual but not religious.

0:36:10.826,0:36:15.276
So, in this slide,[br]I wanna move towards a more holistic view.

0:36:18.761,0:36:19.624
If we start,

0:36:19.624,0:36:25.220
the definition I just gave you that[br]spirituality is an aspect of the person.

0:36:25.220,0:36:28.660
Bio, Psycho, Social, and[br]now many people add Spiritual.

0:36:28.660,0:36:30.070
Bio, Psycho, Social, Spiritual.

0:36:31.800,0:36:32.510
It's like a pie.

0:36:33.810,0:36:36.430
The person has four slices now.

0:36:36.430,0:36:38.110
Including the spiritual slice.

0:36:38.110,0:36:40.240
Some people don't include[br]the spiritual slice.

0:36:40.240,0:36:41.723
I like pie so I want all four slices.

0:36:41.723,0:36:48.320
[LAUGH] But one very peculiar special[br]thing about the spiritual aspect.

0:36:49.360,0:36:52.490
Since it focuses on the theme[br]of meaning and purpose.

0:36:52.490,0:36:54.832
And the possibility of[br]moving towards transcendent,

0:36:54.832,0:36:57.930
connecting modes of consciousness.

0:36:57.930,0:37:01.045
Spirituality can pay attention to and

0:37:01.045,0:37:03.129
infuse all of these[br]aspects around the circle.

0:37:04.510,0:37:07.450
It's not an isolate,[br]none of these are actually isolated,

0:37:07.450,0:37:10.620
this is just a simplification,[br]to separate them out.

0:37:10.620,0:37:13.680
But, let me give you an example[br]of how spirituality can connect

0:37:14.760,0:37:15.500
all the way around.

0:37:15.500,0:37:20.310
If you think about one of the most basic,

0:37:20.310,0:37:23.219
fundamental, universal things[br]about human experience.

0:37:24.770,0:37:26.508
Hope this doesn't come as[br]a surprise to anybody.

0:37:26.508,0:37:28.592
Death.

0:37:28.592,0:37:31.930
All right.

0:37:31.930,0:37:33.270
Everybody alive dies.

0:37:34.890,0:37:36.580
Because it's inescapable.

0:37:38.370,0:37:42.300
We know from practice when we[br]work in medical settings or

0:37:43.890,0:37:47.400
hospice or palliative care or[br]grief and bereavement.

0:37:47.400,0:37:51.870
We know that often when[br]people are more closely

0:37:51.870,0:37:55.150
aware of their own mortality or[br]their loved one's mortality.

0:37:55.150,0:37:57.600
It raises these big questions[br]of meaning and purpose.

0:37:59.020,0:38:00.160
Maybe it's even why?

0:38:01.990,0:38:02.960
Why is that happening?

0:38:04.100,0:38:11.670
I had a friend whose four year old[br]daughter developed a serious cancer.

0:38:13.990,0:38:17.020
He was very spiritual in a kind[br]of alternative religious group

0:38:18.510,0:38:21.170
practice dealing meditation and[br]healing visualizations.

0:38:22.300,0:38:25.120
So he brought all that to bear for[br]his child.

0:38:26.470,0:38:30.220
But this was of course a terrible shock,[br]and she didn't recover either.

0:38:31.940,0:38:35.310
So he would sit with his daughter and[br]they wold meditate together.

0:38:37.380,0:38:39.670
In fact I had a quartz[br]crystal that she liked.

0:38:39.670,0:38:40.750
I gave it to her.

0:38:40.750,0:38:44.070
And she said,[br]I'd like to sit with my daddy and

0:38:44.070,0:38:46.700
mediate with this crystal and watch it.

0:38:46.700,0:38:50.340
And actually, she said a lot of really[br]profound things at four years old

0:38:50.340,0:38:55.330
by her own facing her situation[br]of illness and mortality.

0:38:55.330,0:38:56.880
She was, in many ways, very profound.

0:38:58.300,0:39:06.739
So the physical event of death evokes[br]these deep spiritual questions.

0:39:08.050,0:39:11.677
And also beliefs like[br]is there an afterlife.

0:39:11.677,0:39:14.790
If so what is it, where is it?

0:39:14.790,0:39:18.500
Is there even anything that exists, is[br]there a separate ego, or should there be?

0:39:20.090,0:39:24.735
An ultimate goal in Buddhism[br]is to transcend attachment to

0:39:24.735,0:39:27.119
a separate individual self.

0:39:27.119,0:39:30.018
So just being a kind of[br]soul hanging around for

0:39:30.018,0:39:33.795
all eternity isn't really[br]an optimal ideal in Buddhism.

0:39:33.795,0:39:36.662
[LAUGH] So[br]there's all these different ideas.

0:39:36.662,0:39:39.595
And what the client's belief is[br]is going to have a big effect

0:39:39.595,0:39:41.830
on how they prepare for death.

0:39:41.830,0:39:45.552
Their level of anxiety or[br]hope about death.

0:39:45.552,0:39:51.630
And how that may affect their[br]connection with their loved ones.

0:39:54.410,0:40:00.340
So in fact by engaging in spirituality,[br]even death itself can be transformed

0:40:01.760,0:40:05.835
As an experience of growth and

0:40:05.835,0:40:09.914
[COUGH] further possibility.

0:40:09.914,0:40:13.234
Even for someone who doesn't[br]believe there's any afterlife.

0:40:13.234,0:40:18.090
By living, dying, to its best way.

0:40:19.150,0:40:22.310
It can enhance the relationship[br]with others and

0:40:22.310,0:40:26.263
the sense of how precious even[br]the last moments of life are.

0:40:29.803,0:40:33.363
[COUGH] Well here's another way[br]of looking at spirituality,

0:40:33.363,0:40:36.100
this is a different metaphor.

0:40:36.100,0:40:38.340
Spirituality as the center of the person.

0:40:40.192,0:40:43.370
In idiomatic English we have[br]this expression to be centered.

0:40:44.380,0:40:48.762
For you, here's a little bit[br]of audience participation,

0:40:48.762,0:40:52.187
when you feel centered[br]what does it feel like?

0:40:52.187,0:40:54.323
>> [INAUDIBLE][br]>> Calming.

0:40:54.323,0:40:57.765
>> [INAUDIBLE][br]>> In control.

0:40:57.765,0:41:01.625
>> [INAUDIBLE][br]>> Peace.

0:41:01.625,0:41:04.366
>> [INAUDIBLE][br]>> Balance.

0:41:04.366,0:41:08.031
Okay, those are good,[br]those are like feeling qualities.

0:41:08.031,0:41:09.157
What's happening in your body?

0:41:12.858,0:41:13.555
Yes?

0:41:13.555,0:41:17.258
>> Relaxed breathing.

0:41:17.258,0:41:18.396
>> Okay.

0:41:18.396,0:41:23.420
>> [INAUDIBLE][br]>> Relaxed breathing, calm mind.

0:41:23.420,0:41:27.530
Right, so if you, when you feel centered[br]and you're paying attention to that,

0:41:27.530,0:41:29.320
you're aware.

0:41:29.320,0:41:32.360
Your breathing is usually,[br]it's a kind of smooth flow.

0:41:32.360,0:41:35.340
But even if you're centered[br]while you're jogging or

0:41:35.340,0:41:39.990
doing athletics, your breathing might[br]be accelerated but it's also smooth.

0:41:41.430,0:41:45.390
And your breath moves through your center,[br]literally.

0:41:45.390,0:41:47.660
So many meditation practices, and

0:41:47.660,0:41:50.780
prayer practices involve paying[br]attention to the breath.

0:41:52.000,0:41:54.250
Letting it move smoothly and

0:41:54.250,0:41:59.470
freely through your central chamber,[br]and having your awareness focused.

0:41:59.470,0:42:04.650
Some traditions on the heart,[br]some on the energy point below the navel.

0:42:06.240,0:42:08.990
So across many traditions it's recognized

0:42:08.990,0:42:11.440
that there's a physical[br]component to centering.

0:42:11.440,0:42:14.350
There's an emotional[br]intellectual component to it.

0:42:14.350,0:42:19.480
And when we feel more centered[br]it's not egocentric actually.

0:42:20.620,0:42:22.465
It's opening to others.

0:42:22.465,0:42:24.566
So in social practice if[br]you're talking with a client.

0:42:28.152,0:42:32.184
What happens if you're not centered and[br]the client is telling you some story

0:42:32.184,0:42:36.230
that's kind of shocking, or[br]upsetting to you, and you're not centered?

0:42:36.230,0:42:38.301
What's going on in your mind and[br]body then?

0:42:41.376,0:42:41.906
Yes?

0:42:41.906,0:42:42.973
>> [INAUDIBLE] separate?

0:42:42.973,0:42:44.099
>> You're feel, okay, separating?

0:42:44.099,0:42:44.920
>> Yes.

0:42:44.920,0:42:48.350
>> And you might even be[br]separating inside yourself.

0:42:49.750,0:42:52.350
Your thoughts are starting to run,[br]my gosh.

0:42:52.350,0:42:55.850
Like when I was in that[br]situation with the roommate who,

0:42:55.850,0:42:57.830
there was the threat of knife play.

0:42:57.830,0:43:01.520
My mind is starting to what's[br]gonna happen, what's gonna happen?

0:43:01.520,0:43:02.560
So then to get

0:43:04.120,0:43:08.970
lost down that train of thinking[br]can pull you away from the moment.

0:43:11.400,0:43:17.149
Your breathing might become too tight, or[br]in panicky situations hyperventilating.

0:43:18.810,0:43:24.600
So when we're centered it actually[br]enhances our sense of interconnectedness.

0:43:25.770,0:43:26.960
And when it's very deep,

0:43:26.960,0:43:31.980
when we go to a sense of our very[br]deep most profound true center.

0:43:31.980,0:43:35.380
We might even have an experience of[br]consciousness, which is joined or

0:43:35.380,0:43:38.530
unified with others, or[br]with God, or with the universe.

0:43:39.780,0:43:43.940
So, all traditions have ways[br]of talking about that as well.

0:43:43.940,0:43:48.659
Within Native American traditions,[br]many people including

0:43:48.659,0:43:53.610
some Native social workers[br]use medicine wheel diagrams.

0:43:53.610,0:43:55.540
Similar to the mandalas I'm talking about.

0:43:55.540,0:43:57.600
To help look at all these the connections.

0:43:57.600,0:44:02.150
And the center point Is[br]sometimes referred to

0:44:02.150,0:44:07.050
as a sacred center in which all these[br]aspects are joined and connected.

0:44:07.050,0:44:09.509
So when we can connect to[br]that center within us,

0:44:09.509,0:44:13.387
it helps us connect with everyone[br]else's and everything else's center.

0:44:16.080,0:44:19.537
I have up on there, on the left,

0:44:19.537,0:44:24.670
a depiction of the Chinese character for[br]mind.

0:44:26.220,0:44:28.340
This is another good way of[br]thinking about the center.

0:44:30.080,0:44:36.030
The Chinese character for mind is composed[br]of an ideograph for the heart actually.

0:44:36.030,0:44:38.999
So in traditional East Asian[br]thought the mind isn't up here.

0:44:40.881,0:44:45.848
[COUGH] Many years ago one of the first[br]times I met a practicing Buddhist

0:44:45.848,0:44:46.970
monk in Korea.

0:44:49.855,0:44:53.930
At that time [COUGH] I was[br]still in my hippie days.

0:44:53.930,0:44:57.750
I had long shoulder length hair and[br]I met this monk who was bald.

0:44:59.570,0:45:03.200
And in conversation, and[br]we were similar ages.

0:45:03.200,0:45:08.060
And I said it's really interesting[br]about your shaving your head.

0:45:08.060,0:45:10.660
And he was remarking about my long hair.

0:45:10.660,0:45:13.750
So we were talking to,[br]what is this no hair and long hair mean?

0:45:13.750,0:45:16.649
And we found out it meant[br]very similar things to us.

0:45:16.649,0:45:21.030
[LAUGH] Both counter-cultural, and engaged[br]in a search, and not wanting to conform.

0:45:21.030,0:45:24.190
And so in the course of that,[br]we were talking about the mind.

0:45:25.230,0:45:26.440
In Korean the world is maeum.

0:45:26.440,0:45:33.280
So when he used the word maeum,[br]he was gesturing like this, automatically.

0:45:33.280,0:45:36.340
When I was using the word mind,[br]I was going like this.

0:45:36.340,0:45:39.810
And after awhile I thought wait a minute,[br]we're pointing different places.

0:45:39.810,0:45:40.700
What does that mean?

0:45:42.140,0:45:47.160
So then I learned that the mind[br]is understood as centered here.

0:45:47.160,0:45:54.080
Actually that's true in Europe,[br]in the Middle Ages and earlier as well.

0:45:54.080,0:45:58.947
So that is recognizing that[br]kind of the root of our

0:45:58.947,0:46:02.760
feelings and thoughts arise here.

0:46:02.760,0:46:05.430
We process through thinking up here.

0:46:05.430,0:46:08.913
But there is a deeper level[br]of connection in here.

0:46:13.109,0:46:16.057
This logo, by the way,[br]is from the Center for

0:46:16.057,0:46:19.690
Behavioral Health at[br]the University of Hong Kong.

0:46:19.690,0:46:26.610
This is one of the most creative centers[br]for holistic social work that I think.

0:46:26.610,0:46:31.520
They incorporate eastern and[br]western approaches to therapy and

0:46:31.520,0:46:37.410
social work as well as evidence based[br]practice research in a very creative way.

0:46:37.410,0:46:43.070
So if you're interested to find out about[br]that you can check out their website.

0:46:43.070,0:46:47.370
This last metaphor is spirituality[br]as wholeness of the person.

0:46:48.820,0:46:50.610
That's the outer circle.

0:46:50.610,0:46:54.859
This is the metaphor that Carl Jung[br]emphasized, the Swiss depth psychologist.

0:46:55.890,0:46:59.300
So he talked about the lifespan,[br]especially in adulthood,

0:46:59.300,0:47:02.960
as potentially being a process[br]of movement towards wholeness.

0:47:02.960,0:47:05.480
In which we connect up our[br]different aspects of ourselves and

0:47:05.480,0:47:09.240
our relationships so that they're[br]all brought into a kind of harmony.

0:47:09.240,0:47:13.590
And we have a sense of ourself[br]that encompasses all of that.

0:47:13.590,0:47:17.100
So when that kind of[br]developmental path is diagrammed

0:47:17.100,0:47:18.630
you could think of it like a spiral.

0:47:18.630,0:47:23.100
Moving towards a whole circle that[br]ends up including all of yourself and

0:47:23.100,0:47:24.150
your relationships.

0:47:25.710,0:47:28.680
This earlier way I mentioned[br]of spirituality of center,

0:47:28.680,0:47:32.750
if you think theologically, it's[br]a more eminental way of looking at it.

0:47:32.750,0:47:37.980
The experience of the sacred or[br]the ultimate within.

0:47:39.430,0:47:42.220
This is more of a transcendent[br]way of looking at it.

0:47:42.220,0:47:46.986
Through expansion of consciousness,[br]you can come to a point where

0:47:46.986,0:47:51.370
your experience of who you[br]are embraces all of your components,

0:47:51.370,0:47:54.380
all of your relationships,[br]even the entire world or universe.

0:47:54.380,0:47:55.860
But it's not limited to any part.

0:47:57.590,0:48:01.750
So transpersonal theory addresses[br]These kinds of experiences a lot.

0:48:01.750,0:48:04.584
Transpersonal theory[br]developed in the 60's, and

0:48:04.584,0:48:08.190
has began influencing social[br]works since the 70's.

0:48:08.190,0:48:10.640
It's became more prominent in the 90's.

0:48:12.350,0:48:17.710
It looks at how people are, may have[br]powerful experiences of changes of

0:48:17.710,0:48:25.040
levels of consciousness in world view,[br]that become more embracing of diversity.

0:48:25.040,0:48:29.220
So we're no longer the little[br]ego-body limited self.

0:48:29.220,0:48:31.020
That's one aspect.

0:48:31.020,0:48:35.875
But the total, or[br]whole self includes and transcends that.

0:48:45.050,0:48:51.760
So many spiritual perspectives emphasize[br]compassion as a key cardinal virtue.

0:48:51.760,0:48:53.499
And I think it's very significant for[br]social work.

0:48:55.830,0:49:00.600
Compassion very simply can[br]mean engaging with self, and

0:49:00.600,0:49:03.320
others, and with life with passion.

0:49:03.320,0:49:05.980
So from Latin literally[br]means with passion.

0:49:07.940,0:49:11.380
Spiritual traditions that talk about[br]the way of cultivating compassion,

0:49:11.380,0:49:16.080
especially in a helping process,[br]emphasize that real compassion, or

0:49:16.080,0:49:18.607
the most helpful kind compassion[br]is not egotistical compassion.

0:49:19.660,0:49:20.750
It's not pity.

0:49:20.750,0:49:21.770
It's not sympathy.

0:49:21.770,0:49:25.540
It's not projecting your own ideas about[br]how it should be for the other person.

0:49:25.540,0:49:29.780
It's a capacity to really[br]engage empathetically and

0:49:29.780,0:49:33.285
genuinely with the other[br]in their situation.

0:49:33.285,0:49:37.740
[COUGH] It's engagement empathetically but[br]it's not enmeshment.

0:49:39.110,0:49:44.280
That's a really tricky distinction, but[br]that is important for social workers.

0:49:44.280,0:49:50.130
Because when we get enmeshed in the social[br]workers sense of anxiety, life problems,

0:49:50.130,0:49:55.260
or hopelessness and helplessness, it's[br]easy for us to get pulled down that way.

0:49:55.260,0:49:57.515
It's like emotionally going down a drain.

0:49:58.810,0:50:00.400
So we have to be really[br]careful about that.

0:50:00.400,0:50:03.410
And we'll talk more about that[br]sort of thing in the afternoon.

0:50:04.450,0:50:07.260
So it's also non-judgmental[br]clear awareness.

0:50:09.550,0:50:10.840
And a skill for reaching out.

0:50:12.330,0:50:17.070
It's a careful, caring,[br]non-attachment to the fruits of actions.

0:50:18.220,0:50:21.930
If any of you have read the Bhagavad Gita[br]from the Hindu tradition,

0:50:21.930,0:50:24.326
it's really powerful about this lesson.

0:50:27.241,0:50:35.190
Arjuna is on the battlefield with[br]the chariot ready to go into battle.

0:50:35.190,0:50:38.160
Unfortunately, the enemies[br]are his relatives.

0:50:38.160,0:50:42.520
Lucky for him Krishna, incarnation of God,[br]happens to be the charioteer.

0:50:42.520,0:50:45.320
Wow, that's lucky,[br]I can ask you some questions.

0:50:45.320,0:50:47.270
At this terrible situation[br]what do I do about it.

0:50:47.270,0:50:53.090
So the book is conversations[br]between Krishna and Arjuna.

0:50:53.090,0:50:57.425
So, one of the messages[br]that comes out of that is,

0:50:57.425,0:51:04.566
engaging in necessary action with clarity[br]and with non-attachment to results.

0:51:04.566,0:51:06.000
And that's hard.

0:51:06.000,0:51:11.080
And, by the way, in social work nowadays,[br]evidence-based practice is all the rage.

0:51:12.670,0:51:17.070
Does this mean we shouldn't care[br]about the results of our actions?

0:51:17.070,0:51:18.320
No, I don't mean that.

0:51:18.320,0:51:21.210
That's why I added caring on attachment.

0:51:21.210,0:51:26.050
But of course we don't wanna injure[br]people, and we wanna help them.

0:51:26.050,0:51:30.139
But even in that we don't wanna be[br]egoistically attached to the result.

0:51:32.040,0:51:37.200
My wife is a medical social worker,[br]and for

0:51:37.200,0:51:39.300
recent years she's been working[br]mainly in the emergency room.

0:51:39.300,0:51:45.487
So every day she's encountering[br]people with disasters.

0:51:45.487,0:51:49.389
Maybe decades long patterns[br]of self destructive behavior.

0:51:50.570,0:51:51.910
Inadequate resources.

0:51:53.230,0:51:58.070
If she was attached to the idea that[br]somehow she's gonna fix or cure everything

0:51:58.070,0:52:01.450
or she knows how it should be for that[br]person and she's gonna make sure they get

0:52:01.450,0:52:05.130
there and if they don't she's gonna[br]be upset, she would be devastated.

0:52:06.660,0:52:08.210
So it doesn't make sense for the client,

0:52:08.210,0:52:09.629
it doesn't make sense[br]to the social worker.

0:52:10.650,0:52:15.040
So, this kind of caring[br]non-attachment is very important but

0:52:15.040,0:52:17.300
a little tricky to cultivate.

0:52:17.300,0:52:20.440
I'd like to give a couple[br]images to symbolize that.

0:52:25.122,0:52:28.260
On the right is the sacred heart of Jesus.

0:52:28.260,0:52:33.602
This is a kind of informal street[br]mural I ran across in Chicago once.

0:52:33.602,0:52:34.864
I grew up with this,[br]my tradition is Catholic.

0:52:34.864,0:52:41.010
So I grew up with portraits

0:52:41.010,0:52:46.350
of Jesus with this exposed heart on fire,

0:52:46.350,0:52:50.230
and drops of blood coming from it,[br]it's pretty intense [LAUGH] actually.

0:52:51.780,0:52:58.850
But what that means is Jesus lived and

0:52:58.850,0:53:05.620
died with compassion and is committed[br]to love and care and help for others.

0:53:05.620,0:53:09.590
So when I learned the expression[br]bleeding heart liberal,

0:53:09.590,0:53:12.200
I thought that's what[br]they're talking about.

0:53:12.200,0:53:14.830
Although people often use[br]that in disparaging meaning,

0:53:14.830,0:53:19.080
this kind of bleeding heart liberal[br]I think is a positive ideal.

0:53:19.080,0:53:21.530
But it suggests some difficult things.

0:53:21.530,0:53:27.129
It means sometimes compassion carries[br]you into some dangerous situations.

0:53:28.300,0:53:31.995
It means stretching beyond your own self

0:53:31.995,0:53:38.310
comfort and your own personal goals.

0:53:38.310,0:53:40.140
It can involve sacrifice.

0:53:40.140,0:53:41.280
Some people don't like that word.

0:53:41.280,0:53:45.119
But actually from Latin,[br]sacrifice means to make sacred.

0:53:47.490,0:53:51.830
So being able to engage in helping in[br]a way that connects with the other and

0:53:51.830,0:53:57.000
transcends egotism can be very[br]powerful in the helping process.

0:53:57.000,0:53:57.860
And notice again,

0:53:57.860,0:54:02.690
like the concept of the center in[br]Maum as rooted here in the heart.

0:54:02.690,0:54:05.330
I think that's depicted[br]very strongly there.

0:54:05.330,0:54:10.840
On the left side this is a Korean Buddhist[br]painting of Kwan Seum Bosal in Korean.

0:54:10.840,0:54:13.220
You may have also heard[br]of this as Kwan Yin,

0:54:13.220,0:54:16.700
is common word representing the Chinese.

0:54:16.700,0:54:20.832
So Kwan Yin is the bodhisattva[br]of compassion.

0:54:20.832,0:54:26.250
A bodhisattva is an enlightened being[br]who chooses to stay in the realm

0:54:26.250,0:54:30.140
of existence rather than simply[br]dissipating into Nirvana,

0:54:31.400,0:54:35.480
in order to continue working for[br]the benefit of all beings.

0:54:35.480,0:54:40.819
And in particular,[br]Kwan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion.

0:54:40.819,0:54:47.020
Kwan Yin has such profound compassion that[br]it reaches out to all beings everywhere.

0:54:48.410,0:54:51.830
That's why in this depiction,[br]it might be a little hard for

0:54:51.830,0:54:55.480
you to discern on the picture,[br]but there are hands and

0:54:55.480,0:54:58.270
arms coming out all the way around[br]in all directions, reaching out.

0:55:00.840,0:55:04.670
Every hand has a tool,[br]different kind of tool.

0:55:05.780,0:55:10.020
On top of the main head there are 11[br]other heads looking in all directions.

0:55:11.020,0:55:13.930
Actually each face has[br]a different expression.

0:55:13.930,0:55:17.920
That means with compassionate[br]awareness of other beings

0:55:19.250,0:55:22.160
there are many different compassionate[br]responses that you may have.

0:55:23.850,0:55:28.050
Love, commiseration, anger, even anger.

0:55:28.050,0:55:33.280
But compassionate anger is anger for[br]the benefit of the other.

0:55:33.280,0:55:36.600
Not anger because you're trying[br]to impose your will on the other.

0:55:36.600,0:55:41.886
[COUGH] So the different tools in hands,

0:55:41.886,0:55:46.110
[COUGH] means that with[br]the compassionate vantage,

0:55:46.110,0:55:50.020
you reach out skillfully,[br]adapting to whatever the situations,

0:55:50.020,0:55:52.420
whatever the person or[br]the being needs to help.

0:55:54.330,0:55:57.430
And on top of the main[br]head there's another

0:55:58.630,0:56:00.960
figure that represents Amitabha Buddha.

0:56:00.960,0:56:02.180
The Buddha of infinite light.

0:56:03.930,0:56:07.630
That means this kind of compassion[br]is coming out of a kind of universal

0:56:07.630,0:56:12.470
consciousness, not egoistic consciousness,[br]but it's connected with each moment,

0:56:12.470,0:56:15.690
each person, each situation,[br]and reaches out with skill.

0:56:15.690,0:56:20.682
So some Buddhist social workers in East[br]Asia use Guanyin as a kind of symbol of

0:56:20.682,0:56:21.935
good social work.

0:56:21.935,0:56:26.885
Well, actually that would be like a super[br]social worker if you can achieve that.

0:56:26.885,0:56:30.419
>> [LAUGH][br]>> Wow, that once I was,

0:56:35.132,0:56:39.599
When I was teaching in[br]Japan on this topic,

0:56:39.599,0:56:47.330
I had visited a famous Japanese shrine[br]in Kyoto called Sanjusangen-do.

0:56:47.330,0:56:54.060
In that shrine, there's a huge statue[br]of [FOREIGN] kinda like this form.

0:56:55.170,0:57:02.230
On this side 500 [FOREIGN] statues,[br]on that side 500 more.

0:57:02.230,0:57:07.760
So it was literally a thousand[br]golden statues in this huge expanse.

0:57:07.760,0:57:08.977
It was very peaceful, but very powerful.

0:57:08.977,0:57:14.360
In fact, when I was there,[br]it happened that a typhoon moved through.

0:57:14.360,0:57:16.160
Outside it was windy like crazy.

0:57:16.160,0:57:19.950
Luckily, we got into the building just[br]before the typhoon and we got out just

0:57:19.950,0:57:26.652
after the typhoon, so I thought,[br]that was very fortunate thanks to Guanyin.

0:57:26.652,0:57:31.899
But then it occurred to me, in social[br]workers and community members and

0:57:31.899,0:57:38.558
other disciplines, when we all connect and[br]cooperate we're all collectively Guanyin.

0:57:38.558,0:57:44.120
When we put all of our compassionate[br]caring and skill together,

0:57:44.120,0:57:48.549
that's when we really can[br]be like this enlightened

0:57:48.549,0:57:53.082
powerful being that reaches[br]out to help all beings.

0:57:55.486,0:58:00.267
So this is just a couple of minutes,[br]as I talk, think about these questions for

0:58:00.267,0:58:03.818
yourself, [COUGH] some of you[br]maybe recent to social work,

0:58:03.818,0:58:07.090
some of you may have been in[br]the field a very long time.

0:58:08.230,0:58:14.420
But if you, sometimes need to regenerate[br]your sense of why are you doing this,

0:58:14.420,0:58:19.240
it can help to go back to your personal[br]development roots in the profession.

0:58:19.240,0:58:22.400
So think back to why you decided[br]to become a social worker.

0:58:22.400,0:58:23.350
What motivated you?

0:58:23.350,0:58:24.078
What compelled you?

0:58:24.078,0:58:28.090
Were there certain relatives or[br]mentors or friends or

0:58:28.090,0:58:31.380
exemplars of spiritual ideals[br]that motivated you to do this?

0:58:31.380,0:58:35.200
And most of us don't go into social work[br]because we think we're gonna become rich.

0:58:35.200,0:58:37.385
Hopefully we can subsist on the salary,[br]but

0:58:37.385,0:58:41.294
that's not a really good occupation if[br]your goal is simply to become wealthy.

0:58:41.294,0:58:45.852
And we're often working in stressful and[br]difficult situations.

0:58:45.852,0:58:49.010
So why would we do that?

0:58:49.010,0:58:49.940
What motivates you?

0:58:49.940,0:58:53.090
What's your kind of core life purpose for[br]doing that?

0:58:55.410,0:58:58.840
Was there any key event that triggered[br]your sense of compassion and a dedication

0:58:58.840,0:59:04.300
to serve, and how can you keep that[br]sense of inspiration and motivation now?

0:59:04.300,0:59:05.640
How can you re-enliven it?

0:59:07.410,0:59:10.205
So we'll talk more about this sort[br]of thing in the afternoon with

0:59:10.205,0:59:11.098
the student group.

0:59:14.419,0:59:19.891
Okay, I'm gonna finish up the last part[br]of this without too much longer so

0:59:19.891,0:59:22.906
that we can have questions and answers.

0:59:28.525,0:59:30.330
I mentioned evidence based practice.

0:59:32.210,0:59:34.160
Actually, this area of spirituality and

0:59:34.160,0:59:40.090
religion has exploded as a research[br]topic in the last 15 years.

0:59:41.340,0:59:44.931
Within social work,[br]there was very little 20 years ago, but

0:59:44.931,0:59:48.001
the pace of work on it has[br]accelerated tremendously.

0:59:48.001,0:59:52.480
So there are dedicated journals, there[br]are many articles in mainstream journals.

0:59:52.480,0:59:55.030
National, international conferences,[br]all kinds of stuff going on.

0:59:56.260,1:00:00.060
And if you look beyond that to[br]medicine and psychology and

1:00:00.060,1:00:02.110
psychiatry and nursing, it's just huge.

1:00:02.110,1:00:03.140
I can't even keep up with it.

1:00:04.400,1:00:07.719
So I'm just mentioning a few key findings.

1:00:09.870,1:00:13.056
One thing that fits very well[br]with social perspective,

1:00:13.056,1:00:17.259
if you look across at all different[br]kinds of therapeutic modalities, and

1:00:17.259,1:00:21.075
what factors contribute to clients'[br]sense of positive outcome.

1:00:21.075,1:00:24.912
One of the biggest is the quality[br]of the therapeutic or

1:00:24.912,1:00:30.211
helping relationship, not just the skill[br]used or the theory frame used.

1:00:30.211,1:00:35.430
But was the relationship one of empathy,[br]rapport, trust, caring and hope?

1:00:35.430,1:00:40.596
When that's there, the outcomes[br]are more often report as favorable and

1:00:40.596,1:00:43.060
there's a higher satisfaction.

1:00:43.060,1:00:48.410
Instillation of hope and sense of meaning[br]has also been found to very important.

1:00:49.770,1:00:53.890
Referral and collaboration for support[br]of effects of religious involvement,

1:00:53.890,1:00:55.350
if that fits the client's point of view.

1:00:55.350,1:00:59.380
So these are like big surveys of[br]religious populations into looking

1:00:59.380,1:01:01.990
at impacts on health outcomes.

1:01:03.830,1:01:07.789
One that's very popular in social work and[br]mental health field is mindfulness.

1:01:09.360,1:01:12.940
So, there's two versions that[br]are kinda common in social work,

1:01:12.940,1:01:17.900
one is from Marsha Linehan's[br]Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

1:01:17.900,1:01:21.790
Mindfulness is a major component of that,[br]which originally came out of Buddhist,

1:01:22.860,1:01:26.560
some Buddhist meditation techniques and[br]became extracted from that and

1:01:26.560,1:01:31.750
kind of turned into a method[br]without a religious frame

1:01:31.750,1:01:36.600
that anyone can learn to practice[br]centering mindful awareness of the moment.

1:01:37.690,1:01:41.010
And the point of that is to[br]reduce suicidal ideation,

1:01:41.010,1:01:43.850
symptoms of anxiety and[br]depression and such.

1:01:43.850,1:01:47.890
It's been shown to have[br]a lot of positive impact for

1:01:47.890,1:01:51.050
many people at mental health diagnoses.

1:01:52.880,1:01:55.660
There's also in the health field[br]dialectical behavior, I'm sorry,

1:01:55.660,1:01:59.630
mindfulness based stress[br]reduction from John Kabat Zinn.

1:02:00.640,1:02:04.360
There's a lot of medical[br]research around this.

1:02:07.170,1:02:10.640
So meditation has to do with[br]intentionally focusing our attention,

1:02:11.990,1:02:16.500
letting go of ordinary preoccupations and[br]ruminative thinking, deepening insight and

1:02:16.500,1:02:18.890
experience of consciousness.

1:02:18.890,1:02:23.310
That's critical for social workers in some[br]way, even if it's not formal meditation

1:02:23.310,1:02:27.460
but some way to keep ourselves centered[br]and focus in the helping process.

1:02:27.460,1:02:31.632
And for some clients, benefit from[br]learning to practice meditation.

1:02:34.985,1:02:38.948
But actually there are many,[br]many different types of and techniques of

1:02:38.948,1:02:43.250
meditation that have important[br]differences, so you have to be sure.

1:02:43.250,1:02:47.470
If you're using it, first of all, that you[br]are well-qualified and experienced in it.

1:02:47.470,1:02:51.700
And that whatever particular technique[br]matches the beliefs and comfort and

1:02:51.700,1:02:53.160
interests of the client.

1:02:54.990,1:02:57.640
Mindfulness is paying[br]attention in the present

1:02:57.640,1:03:00.540
moment with a clear mind that[br]acknowledges but doesn't judge.

1:03:02.880,1:03:04.689
I've given examples of that already today.

1:03:07.981,1:03:12.373
We'll be talking about this more later for[br]people who are coming to the afternoon or

1:03:12.373,1:03:13.260
evening event.

1:03:14.590,1:03:19.240
But so we have to pay attention to our own[br]situation, our own personal experience and

1:03:19.240,1:03:21.090
development as social workers.

1:03:23.336,1:03:28.145
On one side so that our engagement[br]in social work itself could

1:03:28.145,1:03:31.929
be part of our spiritual[br]development process.

1:03:33.570,1:03:36.830
And by the way, there are some religious[br]traditions that make that explicit.

1:03:36.830,1:03:39.940
A good example is karma yoga in Hinduism.

1:03:41.510,1:03:43.660
Karma literally means action.

1:03:43.660,1:03:48.010
Karma yoga means the yoga of[br]social action, of helping.

1:03:48.010,1:03:54.570
So in that type of social service,[br]people are conscious and clear that

1:03:54.570,1:03:59.780
the process of helping is also the process[br]of engaging in their spiritual growth.

1:04:01.420,1:04:05.482
But even without a formal religious[br]frame to it, anybody, if they want to,

1:04:05.482,1:04:08.781
can link their professional lives and[br]their personal lives so

1:04:08.781,1:04:11.082
that everything is fueling their growth.

1:04:15.075,1:04:19.920
So, on the other hand, we have to[br]worry about our own stress level.

1:04:21.220,1:04:23.940
So we know that social workers and[br]other helping professionals,

1:04:23.940,1:04:27.670
unfortunately, were more at risk for

1:04:27.670,1:04:32.720
stress related physical and[br]metal disorders and suicide.

1:04:34.260,1:04:39.450
So if we're not paying attention to[br]ourselves, we can place ourselves at risk,

1:04:39.450,1:04:41.567
which isn't good for ourselves,[br]but also not good for clients.

1:04:41.567,1:04:46.380
In the Confucian tradition,[br]it said that the noble minded

1:04:46.380,1:04:51.170
person takes care of oneself in[br]order to be of service of others.

1:04:51.170,1:04:54.966
If you are not taking care of yourself,[br]you can't help others.

1:05:01.157,1:05:04.625
But, stress can become eustress.

1:05:04.625,1:05:07.725
Often when we say stress,[br]what we really mean is distress.

1:05:08.895,1:05:13.960
The kind of stress that involves harm,

1:05:13.960,1:05:17.630
discomfort, depression,[br]anxiety, frustration.

1:05:17.630,1:05:21.580
But stress can be positive.

1:05:21.580,1:05:26.820
Like there's the stress of engaging in[br]an intense activity that you really like.

1:05:26.820,1:05:31.150
If somebody loves to jog,[br]there's stress involved in jogging, but

1:05:31.150,1:05:36.550
the stress is a free-flowing energy[br]that actually strengthens the body.

1:05:36.550,1:05:42.250
If somebody's a musician and is involved[br]in a very intense kind of performance,

1:05:42.250,1:05:46.380
that performance is stressful,[br]but it's eustress.

1:05:46.380,1:05:50.830
So eustress, from Greek, eu means good,[br]or good or positive stress.

1:05:50.830,1:05:54.180
If we pay attention to the nature[br]of our stress and what's behind it,

1:05:54.180,1:05:56.049
we can convert distress into eustress.

1:05:58.710,1:06:03.750
So, I'd like to ask you to think about for[br]later, maybe after this,

1:06:03.750,1:06:08.500
reflect on yourself,[br]what activities do you engage in regularly

1:06:09.770,1:06:15.820
to decrease your stress,[br]increase your eustress, and keep

1:06:15.820,1:06:21.480
yourself centered in your personal lives,[br]and in your work as a social worker.

1:06:21.480,1:06:22.560
If you think about that and

1:06:22.560,1:06:28.161
can't come up with any, I'd like to[br]suggest you [LAUGH] find something.

1:06:29.540,1:06:35.975
Or maybe you say, I used to do this thing[br]back five years ago, that was wonderful.

1:06:35.975,1:06:40.740
But I got so busy, my caseload is so[br]high, or my teaching load is so heavy, or

1:06:40.740,1:06:42.030
I'm trying to publish so much.

1:06:42.030,1:06:45.190
I could then next week [LAUGH] go[br]through these stress things too.

1:06:45.190,1:06:51.160
And I forgot about that, I stopped doing[br]it, so then it can become like a battery.

1:06:51.160,1:06:53.460
A battery is a closed energy system.

1:06:53.460,1:06:56.130
If you just keep draining[br]the energy out of that battery,

1:06:56.130,1:06:58.130
at some point that's gone.

1:06:58.130,1:07:00.988
So how do we keep[br]recharging our batteries?

1:07:03.435,1:07:05.240
I just wanna mention this.

1:07:06.360,1:07:09.128
I focused more on a micro-level[br]in my examples so far, but

1:07:09.128,1:07:10.832
this has many macro implications.

1:07:10.832,1:07:14.732
One of them is the importance of[br]social work going through faith based

1:07:14.732,1:07:15.775
organizations.

1:07:15.775,1:07:17.590
.And of course that's always happened.

1:07:18.760,1:07:20.900
But in the, [COUGH], since the Bush and

1:07:20.900,1:07:25.610
Clinton administrations, there's formal[br]policy around trying to increase and

1:07:25.610,1:07:28.820
encourage social services to[br]the faith based organizations.

1:07:28.820,1:07:32.480
So NASW has a policy[br]recommendation around that.

1:07:33.820,1:07:36.600
So on the constructive side,

1:07:36.600,1:07:40.630
NASW recognizes that those kind of[br]partnerships with community organizations

1:07:40.630,1:07:45.650
can be very powerful, very helpful,[br]and that's encouraged.

1:07:45.650,1:07:50.780
But if that means that the state simply

1:07:50.780,1:07:55.994
passes its responsibility onto[br]non-government organizations and

1:07:55.994,1:08:00.640
expects them to take up the slack,[br]that's not realistic.

1:08:00.640,1:08:04.530
In fact many faith based organizations[br]have protested against this trend.

1:08:06.420,1:08:11.022
Rather than it simply being, this is[br]a nice partnership, if it really means

1:08:11.022,1:08:16.066
dumping work on organizations already with[br]scarce resources, that's not so good.

1:08:16.066,1:08:19.294
The other problem is[br]that if volunteers and

1:08:19.294,1:08:25.122
other workers within faith based[br]organizations are not properly trained and

1:08:25.122,1:08:29.697
prepared to deal with serious[br]issues like substance abuse or

1:08:29.697,1:08:33.410
family violence, just to mention two.

1:08:33.410,1:08:37.319
It can be very dangerous if[br]they're meddling wIth it.

1:08:37.319,1:08:39.636
So this is a tremendous opportunity for[br]collaboration.

1:08:39.636,1:08:42.787
But if it's not done right,[br]it can be a risky.

1:08:48.371,1:08:52.631
So, one of our major ethical manages for[br]cultural competence.

1:08:54.908,1:08:57.316
[COUGH] This is pretty[br]much my last piece here.

1:08:57.316,1:09:01.490
If we re-envision

1:09:01.490,1:09:06.460
cultural competence from the framework[br]of spiritually sensitive practice,

1:09:06.460,1:09:08.490
it can open up some other way[br]of looking at it, I think.

1:09:10.189,1:09:15.000
So if these four colored circles represent[br]four different cultural contexts, or

1:09:15.000,1:09:16.380
they could be religious contexts or

1:09:16.380,1:09:19.580
spiritual perspective contexts[br]just to make it simple.

1:09:20.740,1:09:27.630
If a social worker is originally from[br]the red circle, that's their culture or

1:09:27.630,1:09:32.720
religion of origin, and they learn[br]to connect with the blue circle.

1:09:32.720,1:09:38.760
If they learn to do that in a way where[br]their comfort, their value of respect,

1:09:38.760,1:09:44.180
and their skill becomes[br]fluid to move between both,

1:09:44.180,1:09:48.290
and to work within both, and[br]to live within both, that's a bi-cultural.

1:09:48.290,1:09:51.700
If it's moving across the four,[br]that's multicultural.

1:09:51.700,1:09:53.950
Now that's already a big task.

1:09:53.950,1:09:59.857
That even means basic things[br]like multlinguilasm So

1:09:59.857,1:10:04.800
we are advocating for bi-cultural,[br]multicultural competence in social work.

1:10:05.870,1:10:10.240
To do that requires not[br]just skill training, but

1:10:10.240,1:10:14.599
consciousness in lifestyle transformation,[br]I think.

1:10:16.180,1:10:19.050
If we're really meaningfully engaged with[br]people from different worldviews and

1:10:19.050,1:10:24.690
cultures and spiritual perspectives, it[br]means we're gonna be changed through that.

1:10:24.690,1:10:27.640
Mutually, we're transforming each other.

1:10:27.640,1:10:32.540
That means our perspective, our worldview,[br]has to become open and fluid.

1:10:32.540,1:10:38.180
So this may be still respecting our roots,[br]but also being able to

1:10:38.180,1:10:42.750
be comfortable in other contexts,[br]then we can become bridges and mediators.

1:10:44.490,1:10:45.870
But as I said, that's difficult.

1:10:47.030,1:10:51.330
If you go to the center point,[br]like centering as I talked before,

1:10:51.330,1:10:54.886
when you have that sense and[br]that's the basis you're relating.

1:10:54.886,1:10:58.670
You're aware of both differences in[br]the client systems you're working with and

1:10:58.670,1:11:00.680
yourself, and the commonalities.

1:11:00.680,1:11:02.720
The common connection as human beings.

1:11:04.110,1:11:06.730
And [COUGH] so[br]if you're from that center point,

1:11:06.730,1:11:12.370
that is the one spot in which all[br]of the diversities are connected.

1:11:12.370,1:11:14.750
So how can we train[br]ourselves in centering?

1:11:14.750,1:11:18.250
That kind of awareness to[br]enhance cultural competence.

1:11:18.250,1:11:22.520
If he go to the outer circle it's like[br]the outer circle of the spirituality

1:11:22.520,1:11:24.340
model I gave before.

1:11:24.340,1:11:29.622
When our consciousness, And our behavior,

1:11:29.622,1:11:34.043
and our teamwork, include diversity and

1:11:34.043,1:11:38.716
transcend each of the different contexts,

1:11:38.716,1:11:42.140
then we can embrace all of that.

1:11:43.200,1:11:45.970
So like I said before,[br]I don't mean it's realistic for

1:11:45.970,1:11:49.170
one social worker to become[br]fully multicultural,

1:11:49.170,1:11:53.520
multilingual, multi-religious,[br]multi-spiritual, and everything else.

1:11:53.520,1:11:57.750
But when we're working together[br]with others, we form teams,

1:11:57.750,1:12:00.300
partnerships, inter-agency collaborations.

1:12:00.300,1:12:03.530
Network with community support systems,[br]with spiritual leaders and

1:12:03.530,1:12:07.422
mentor all together that[br]becomes trans-cultural.

1:12:07.422,1:12:11.967
So by trans-cultural I don't mean[br]ignoring culture, or any differences.

1:12:11.967,1:12:16.801
It means embracing them, connecting them,[br]recognizing common connections and

1:12:16.801,1:12:19.683
a perspective that embraces[br]all of that as well.

1:12:24.544,1:12:29.370
Well that's my last,[br][LAUGH] my last point.

1:12:29.370,1:12:32.210
If you're interested in[br]additional resources,

1:12:32.210,1:12:37.420
a lot of stuff can be accessed free[br]through my web site, which I put up there.

1:12:37.420,1:12:40.080
Also, CSWE has a new clearing[br]house on religion and

1:12:40.080,1:12:44.990
spirituality in social work with some[br]teaching resources, and that's expanding.

1:12:47.080,1:12:48.970
So, questions, comments.

1:12:48.970,1:12:50.650
I kind of covered a huge territory.

1:12:50.650,1:12:53.750
I feel like I flew around the globe,[br]and so

1:12:53.750,1:12:56.980
I'd like to hear particular things you're[br]interested in and wondering about.

1:12:59.740,1:13:00.411
Yes.

1:13:00.411,1:13:03.640
>> Talking about organizational culture?

1:13:03.640,1:13:04.140
>> Yes.

1:13:05.550,1:13:11.205
>> And I think that social work so

1:13:11.205,1:13:15.700
hard for so long to not be spiritual or

1:13:15.700,1:13:20.785
religious showing preference.

1:13:20.785,1:13:21.319
>> Mm-hm.

1:13:21.319,1:13:26.377
>> That we have have any [INAUDIBLE][br]sign of spirituality really,

1:13:26.377,1:13:29.782
within [INAUDIBLE] educational process or

1:13:29.782,1:13:33.389
[INAUDIBLE] organizations[br]that [INAUDIBLE].

1:13:33.389,1:13:37.943
So I'm wondering if you say[br]an organizational culture

1:13:37.943,1:13:40.518
that supports spirituality.

1:13:40.518,1:13:44.450
What does it look like?

1:13:44.450,1:13:46.345
>> I wish we had more examples to know.

1:13:46.345,1:13:53.270
[LAUGH] But, well,[br]let's start with very concrete.

1:13:53.270,1:13:58.310
You've mentioned there might not be signs[br]of spirituality within our organizations.

1:13:58.310,1:13:59.200
That can be literal.

1:14:00.680,1:14:06.140
I remember talking to some social[br]workers in a state based agency, and

1:14:06.140,1:14:09.690
they were instructed, you're not permitted[br]to wear any kind of religious symbol.

1:14:09.690,1:14:13.192
Even in your own personal desk you're[br]not allowed to have anything that's

1:14:13.192,1:14:14.720
religiously explicit.

1:14:14.720,1:14:16.960
Well, I understand the caution of that.

1:14:18.080,1:14:22.800
Because especially if you're in[br]a place where clients are entering,

1:14:22.800,1:14:24.750
if you have a particular religious symbol,

1:14:24.750,1:14:30.380
say, someone who resonates with that,[br]that might help with a connection.

1:14:30.380,1:14:33.370
But somebody else for whom that doesn't,[br]that could really turn them off,

1:14:33.370,1:14:34.680
it could alienate them.

1:14:34.680,1:14:37.300
So, there needs to be some[br]caution about that, but

1:14:37.300,1:14:39.480
that would depend on the setting.

1:14:39.480,1:14:44.650
Let's say if I was, when I was doing work[br]with the southeast Asian communities, we

1:14:44.650,1:14:49.520
did referral and collaboration with monks,[br]with shamans, with traditional healers.

1:14:49.520,1:14:53.570
Of course,[br]they were fully expressive of their

1:14:53.570,1:14:56.590
particular religious practices and[br]symbols.

1:14:56.590,1:15:01.150
So I wasn't taking out, okay, here's I'm[br]gonna put my Buddha statue over here so

1:15:01.150,1:15:06.150
the client sees that and know, but[br]they could tell from our interaction that

1:15:07.430,1:15:11.320
I was very interested and[br]open, and make those links.

1:15:11.320,1:15:12.410
If you think about it,

1:15:12.410,1:15:16.420
let's say if you have a situation[br]where clients come to an office.

1:15:16.420,1:15:17.640
What's sitting in your office?

1:15:17.640,1:15:18.259
What kinda books?

1:15:19.320,1:15:21.030
What kind of paintings?

1:15:21.030,1:15:25.570
You can choose those in such a way[br]that they're giving messages

1:15:25.570,1:15:29.320
of kind of openness to spiritual themes[br]without being religiously limiting.

1:15:30.510,1:15:32.150
So that's a very concrete way.

1:15:32.150,1:15:34.570
Another is within[br]the administrative policies.

1:15:35.740,1:15:41.090
Does the agency set up a clear[br]spiritual assessment set of guidelines?

1:15:42.090,1:15:45.070
And there's a whole lot of them out there.

1:15:45.070,1:15:47.405
In my book on spiritual diversity[br]in social work practice,

1:15:47.405,1:15:51.690
I've explained some[br]spiritual assessment tools.

1:15:51.690,1:15:53.630
If there's no guidance even provided,

1:15:55.350,1:15:58.850
usually social workers feel like[br]they're floundering with that.

1:15:58.850,1:16:01.690
I'm working with a lot of[br]mental health settings.

1:16:01.690,1:16:05.350
Within the strengths model of case[br]management, we try to assess many

1:16:05.350,1:16:08.190
different life domains,[br]one of them being spirituality culture.

1:16:08.190,1:16:11.820
But that domain, I found,[br]in talking with the consumers and

1:16:11.820,1:16:16.145
providers, doing some qualitative[br]research, is the most neglected,

1:16:16.145,1:16:18.595
[COUGH] and least understood domain.

1:16:18.595,1:16:20.711
A lot of workers aren't sure[br]how do I get into that?

1:16:20.711,1:16:23.822
A lot of consumers are saying,[br]that's crucial to me, but

1:16:23.822,1:16:26.530
my worker's not comfortable with it.

1:16:26.530,1:16:30.702
So we're working at even how to clarify[br]some assessment guidelines within

1:16:30.702,1:16:35.335
the strengths model, and we're starting[br]to disseminate that to publications and

1:16:35.335,1:16:37.850
we're gonna put up some[br]very user friendly,

1:16:37.850,1:16:40.853
simple guidelines to providers and[br]consumers soon.

1:16:40.853,1:16:43.763
So anyway, whatever the agency situations,

1:16:43.763,1:16:47.200
they might have to tailor[br]the type of assessment tool.

1:16:47.200,1:16:48.110
But do they have any?

1:16:48.110,1:16:49.590
If they do, does it work well?

1:16:49.590,1:16:52.700
Have they talked with consumers[br]to find out is it working well?

1:16:54.170,1:17:01.900
And a broader thing is just[br]the humaneness quotients in the agency.

1:17:01.900,1:17:07.280
Some operate top-down executive[br]authoritarian control.

1:17:08.350,1:17:13.750
And the workers, they're kinda doing[br]all the ground level intense work,

1:17:13.750,1:17:18.400
but they have no input to[br]changes of practice and policy.

1:17:18.400,1:17:20.520
They just have to follow orders.

1:17:20.520,1:17:24.110
That's not what I mean by a spiritually[br]sensitive organizational culture.

1:17:24.110,1:17:30.360
Even like I say in the business world,[br]it recognizes that the more humanistic,

1:17:30.360,1:17:35.850
interactive, participatory styles of[br]decision making not only can help with

1:17:35.850,1:17:39.870
what you'd come out with as guidelines for[br]practice.

1:17:39.870,1:17:46.110
But the process itself is more[br]affirming and supportive to the staff.

1:17:46.110,1:17:46.610
Yeah?

1:17:48.370,1:17:52.198
>> In some ways, it feels more clear[br]to me about how to do that in an agency

1:17:52.198,1:17:54.907
setting where it's a client and[br]social worker.

1:17:54.907,1:18:00.588
Unless we can understand how to do it in[br]an educational setting like we have here.

1:18:00.588,1:18:05.830
Where there's been

1:18:05.830,1:18:10.750
such a long standing vision of[br]not talking about sexuality.

1:18:11.800,1:18:14.490
>> So that would mean I'm not comfortable

1:18:15.810,1:18:18.280
talking about it in classroom or[br][INAUDIBLE] really.

1:18:18.280,1:18:21.072
How do you change that structure?

1:18:21.072,1:18:23.765
>> Well your Dean invited me here.

1:18:23.765,1:18:26.290
[LAUGH] There's a good signal.

1:18:26.290,1:18:31.030
I'm not speaking for the dean,[br]but that's one way, right?

1:18:31.030,1:18:35.420
So I've gone to lots of social[br]work programs over the years.

1:18:35.420,1:18:38.030
Somebody says, well the students[br]have been talking about this,

1:18:38.030,1:18:40.280
faculty is starting talking about it, or,

1:18:40.280,1:18:43.980
CSWE says we have to help students[br]learn about spiritual development.

1:18:43.980,1:18:45.840
My gosh, how are we supposed to do that?

1:18:45.840,1:18:49.350
So even just having someone come in and[br]talk and

1:18:49.350,1:18:54.010
stimulate ideas, that helps,[br]but then what's next?

1:18:54.010,1:18:54.970
Is there a next?

1:18:54.970,1:18:58.020
Just like we all know,[br]when we do trainings anywhere.

1:18:58.020,1:19:02.030
If there's not a next, people say,[br]well, that was interesting.

1:19:02.030,1:19:04.650
Now we go on with the usual stuff,[br]forget about it.

1:19:04.650,1:19:08.030
So if there could be set up[br]an ongoing group, like you mentioned,

1:19:08.030,1:19:10.490
there's students who[br]are meeting around this topic.

1:19:11.580,1:19:13.350
Let's say curriculum.

1:19:13.350,1:19:19.730
If many programs have looked[br]at their course objectives and

1:19:19.730,1:19:23.750
to see where the things around religious[br]diversity and spiritual development,

1:19:23.750,1:19:26.920
which are accreditation issues,[br]appear in their objectives.

1:19:28.070,1:19:33.890
Some schools have electives that[br]focus on the course, on this topic.

1:19:33.890,1:19:37.430
Also, many practicum settings[br]are in faith-based organizations.

1:19:37.430,1:19:40.800
How do we pay more attention to[br]the fact that those already are there?

1:19:40.800,1:19:45.550
And we can draw on that as a more[br]powerful resource in the school.

1:19:45.550,1:19:51.023
So, further, what's the dynamics[br]in the faculty meetings,

1:19:51.023,1:19:53.410
or the next sort of agency?

1:19:53.410,1:19:57.270
So creating that kind of humane[br]interactive environment.

1:19:57.270,1:20:01.230
Giving explicit support to addressing[br]the topic, through course objectives.

1:20:01.230,1:20:05.694
Through what kind of courses exist,[br]through having organizations.

1:20:05.694,1:20:08.373
Those are some ways.

1:20:08.373,1:20:09.856
Yes?

1:20:09.856,1:20:11.078
>> Thank you.

1:20:11.078,1:20:12.109
>> You're welcome.

1:20:12.109,1:20:13.945
>> [CROSSTALK] Graduated this program,[br]and so

1:20:13.945,1:20:16.142
I definitely understand[br]what she's speaking of.

1:20:16.142,1:20:19.918
And it kind of segues to my question is,[br]what I find in the work I do now,

1:20:19.918,1:20:22.031
I'm a chaplain at a treatment center.

1:20:22.031,1:20:24.563
But I was also a dual[br]student in social work.

1:20:24.563,1:20:25.088
>> Great.

1:20:25.088,1:20:29.010
>> And even at school here it's kinda[br]the social theological experience

1:20:29.010,1:20:29.848
>> Mm-hm.

1:20:29.848,1:20:34.770
>> I wonder, [INAUDIBLE] do you just[br]avoid that theological work, or

1:20:34.770,1:20:40.597
can kinda focus on positive, or do you[br]actually go after those experiences?

1:20:40.597,1:20:43.040
>> Can you give me an example[br]of a dilemma like that?

1:20:43.040,1:20:48.004
>> Yeah, like in religion class,[br]I think that one of the biggest ones that

1:20:48.004,1:20:51.249
we got is how religion[br]responds imperfectly.

1:20:51.249,1:20:57.822
So the theology between good, whatever,[br]and salvation or around that.

1:20:57.822,1:21:01.829
You have some students who may be on[br]either side, or you have, in my facility,

1:21:01.829,1:21:03.500
how I respond to that.

1:21:03.500,1:21:06.590
Just, what would you do in that setting?

1:21:06.590,1:21:09.170
Well, I just say that I think[br]some of the tension comes

1:21:09.170,1:21:11.272
when the conflictual stuff comes up.

1:21:11.272,1:21:13.922
And that's something that no[br]one really wants to talk about.

1:21:13.922,1:21:14.770
Cuz I don't-[br]>> And

1:21:14.770,1:21:17.300
I think that's one reason why[br]the topic in general has been

1:21:17.300,1:21:19.770
neglected a lot in the profession.

1:21:19.770,1:21:24.690
So yeah, those kind of tensions and[br]disagreements definitely come up.

1:21:26.150,1:21:30.960
So if an organization sets up kind[br]of a safe environment to really

1:21:30.960,1:21:36.070
process it, including educational[br]settings, I think that's important.

1:21:36.070,1:21:39.913
So let's say specifically around the issue[br]of sexual orientation diversity.

1:21:41.299,1:21:48.720
Just one concrete way that I've tried[br]to help promote dialogue around it.

1:21:48.720,1:21:51.660
In this book Spiritual Diversity[br]in Social Work Practice,

1:21:51.660,1:21:57.040
there's a section about religious[br]perspectives on sexual orientation.

1:21:57.040,1:22:00.125
And it explicitly discusses and[br]it presents different,

1:22:00.125,1:22:02.759
it uses Christian traditions[br]as an example, but

1:22:02.759,1:22:06.111
then talks about their parallels[br]in other religions as well.

1:22:06.111,1:22:10.619
So it lays out a range of theological

1:22:10.619,1:22:15.582
positions from complete rejection and

1:22:15.582,1:22:22.797
stigmatization to the position[br]which is kind of common,

1:22:22.797,1:22:29.590
that so-called accept the person,[br]reject the sin.

1:22:29.590,1:22:35.415
That's a common one out there [CROSSTALK],[br]to complete acceptance and affirmation.

1:22:35.415,1:22:39.855
To many people saying just this[br]religious tradition's vantage sexual

1:22:39.855,1:22:44.896
orientation is so oppressive and unfit[br]with me, I'm getting the heck out of it.

1:22:44.896,1:22:47.250
So there's a range of this, right?

1:22:47.250,1:22:52.080
And so then I suggest that the social[br]worker reflect on that range and

1:22:52.080,1:22:54.940
where its fits with whatever[br]their own perspective is.

1:22:54.940,1:22:59.150
And how does that play out[br]partly with social work ethics?

1:22:59.150,1:23:02.450
Can they come to a point[br]where they can harmonize and

1:23:02.450,1:23:07.830
connect their theological position and[br]the social work ethics in context?

1:23:07.830,1:23:13.403
If they can't, I mean frankly,[br]if someone is determined

1:23:13.403,1:23:18.638
to maintain a hostile attitude[br]towards people who have

1:23:18.638,1:23:25.351
non-heterosexual orientations,[br]I think it's valid to question,

1:23:25.351,1:23:30.492
is that really a profession that fits for[br]the person?

1:23:30.492,1:23:35.035
On the other hand, I don't think it[br]helps when an educational setting

1:23:35.035,1:23:39.578
creates an atmosphere with people[br]who have theological questions and

1:23:39.578,1:23:44.275
concerns about sexual orientation[br]diversity or anything else feel like

1:23:44.275,1:23:49.219
they're not allowed to talk about it,[br]to process it, to engage around it.

1:23:49.219,1:23:54.020
Cuz if that happens, that's not[br]gonna help their growth around it.

1:23:54.020,1:23:59.040
I've found many social work students, when[br]they're engaged in a process of reflection

1:23:59.040,1:24:06.580
and dialogue around this or other kinds of[br]dilemmas, they really do grow around it.

1:24:06.580,1:24:09.350
But I also don't assume everybody[br]has to come out with the exact same

1:24:09.350,1:24:10.600
conclusion, either.

1:24:10.600,1:24:15.040
But it has to be one, I think, that is[br]congruent with professional ethics.

1:24:15.040,1:24:16.590
And if that doesn't work for

1:24:16.590,1:24:22.050
some people, there can be other[br]professions that would work for them.

1:24:22.050,1:24:25.140
There's a bigger question, though,[br]the social work profession as a whole

1:24:25.140,1:24:28.780
is advocating for nondiscrimination[br]based on sexual orientation, right?

1:24:28.780,1:24:31.880
So on the policy level, that's one issue.

1:24:31.880,1:24:35.650
And then the other level is[br]a social worker individual growth.

1:24:35.650,1:24:37.490
So it's complicated.

1:24:37.490,1:24:40.056
I don't know, does that-[br]>> Yeah, I just didn't know,

1:24:40.056,1:24:43.651
cuz when you came up, you said this[br]is not theological discussion.

1:24:43.651,1:24:44.822
I totally understood that.

1:24:44.822,1:24:49.762
I find myself trying to split between,[br]is this a theological situation

1:24:49.762,1:24:53.481
that I should engage with this client or[br]this person?

1:24:53.481,1:24:59.190
Or do I do the whole kinda facilitated[br]development and treatment side of it?

1:24:59.190,1:25:02.348
And I just didn't know if we[br]could do that back and forth, or

1:25:02.348,1:25:03.684
if you think [INAUDIBLE].

1:25:03.684,1:25:06.408
>> So that's a good question,[br]because what I meant was,

1:25:06.408,1:25:08.790
the framework I'm taking[br]is not theological.

1:25:08.790,1:25:13.290
But it is intended to embrace[br]diverse theological views.

1:25:13.290,1:25:15.900
So let's say,[br]within a particular religious frame,

1:25:15.900,1:25:19.860
it can be entirely appropriate, and that's[br]the only way that's culturally appropriate

1:25:19.860,1:25:26.270
to work within that particular theological[br]set of beliefs and symbols and language.

1:25:26.270,1:25:33.360
But to impose a different frame onto[br]someone over here, that wouldn't work.

1:25:33.360,1:25:36.150
So what I'm talking about[br]is kind of an inclusive,

1:25:36.150,1:25:40.530
embracing perspective that[br]includes diverse religious and

1:25:40.530,1:25:45.230
nonreligious spiritual perspectives,[br]isn't limited to them, but respects them.

1:25:45.230,1:25:48.818
And also is willing to grapple[br]with tough things, like you said,

1:25:48.818,1:25:50.396
including the macro level.

1:25:50.396,1:25:55.237
These are social,[br]nationwide conflicts that we engage in

1:25:55.237,1:26:00.220
around religious and[br]spiritual values, and global.

1:26:00.220,1:26:02.260
People are fighting over this stuff.

1:26:02.260,1:26:05.644
So to grapple with that is not easy,[br]but I think we need to.

1:26:05.644,1:26:09.109
>> Have a question,[br]probably one more quick question,

1:26:09.109,1:26:10.990
then we'll have to call it.

1:26:10.990,1:26:12.906
>> Okay, you've had your hand up for[br]a while.

1:26:12.906,1:26:14.624
>> Thanks, [INAUDIBLE].

1:26:14.624,1:26:16.783
I think you addressed half of it.

1:26:16.783,1:26:22.088
But the other half is that, so[br]I know that a lot of religions and

1:26:22.088,1:26:29.510
spiritual beliefs can kind of, accepting[br]one another and work together well.

1:26:29.510,1:26:34.077
But in the case when there is a belief[br]that there is very absolute and exclusive,

1:26:34.077,1:26:37.701
and let's say that your client[br]is based on this belief system.

1:26:37.701,1:26:38.730
>> Mm-hm.

1:26:38.730,1:26:43.418
>> And ethically, it's something that[br]may be based in guilt and shame, and

1:26:43.418,1:26:45.238
that sort of sinful nature.

1:26:45.238,1:26:48.937
Something like that, that is really[br]impacting them in their life and

1:26:48.937,1:26:51.444
the way that they think[br]in the way that they do.

1:26:51.444,1:26:55.938
To me, it feels like a conflict of[br]interest to be supporting them in

1:26:55.938,1:26:57.840
their spiritual belief.

1:26:57.840,1:27:01.428
And it kinda feels to me like[br]colluding with the oppressor, or

1:27:01.428,1:27:05.810
something that feels like their beliefs[br]themselves are oppressing them.

1:27:05.810,1:27:08.432
>> Okay.[br]>> And of course, that could be my bias,

1:27:08.432,1:27:09.278
obviously.

1:27:09.278,1:27:11.280
And maybe I'll just have[br]to work with that, but.

1:27:11.280,1:27:15.025
And there's [INAUDIBLE], but[br]how do you support somebody if you feel

1:27:15.025,1:27:18.976
like that thing that you're supporting[br]is actually oppressing them?

1:27:18.976,1:27:19.598
>> Yeah, that's good.

1:27:19.598,1:27:23.251
Well, and like empowerment theory says,[br]a lot of oppression is not just out there,

1:27:23.251,1:27:24.443
it becomes internalized.

1:27:24.443,1:27:26.510
I mean,[br]that's a very good way to control folks.

1:27:26.510,1:27:30.434
If you can get them to control their own[br]behavior through shame and guilt, or just

1:27:30.434,1:27:34.776
behaving, or just believing there's no[br]other alternative, that's very effective.

1:27:34.776,1:27:38.987
[LAUGH] So I'm not saying we[br]just go along with that stuff.

1:27:38.987,1:27:43.983
But I think it's probably,[br]I'm not certain.

1:27:43.983,1:27:47.440
But I think probably all religious[br]traditions make some distinctions between

1:27:47.440,1:27:49.662
inappropriate and[br]appropriate shame and guilt.

1:27:49.662,1:27:53.470
That doesn't mean that all[br]members have clarified that, or

1:27:53.470,1:27:56.390
that all religious[br]teachers make that clear.

1:27:56.390,1:28:00.200
But that is a legitimate thing to explore.

1:28:00.200,1:28:02.350
So what are the effects[br]of the person own belief?

1:28:02.350,1:28:03.910
You don't have to even take

1:28:05.580,1:28:08.135
a sophisticated theological[br]critique with the client.

1:28:08.135,1:28:11.720
[LAUGH] But what is the impact[br]of their way of shaming and

1:28:11.720,1:28:15.000
blaming themselves, and[br]where does it come from?

1:28:15.000,1:28:19.040
And are there alternatives congruent[br]with their beliefs and values?

1:28:19.040,1:28:24.561
Yeah, maybe there's even a kernel of[br]truth in whatever's about the shame and

1:28:24.561,1:28:28.590
guilt, but not to get stuck in it,[br]crushed by it.

1:28:28.590,1:28:32.560
How can they transform that through,[br]for example, many religious traditions

1:28:32.560,1:28:36.600
probably all have some kind of rituals and[br]practices around forgiveness.

1:28:37.760,1:28:42.370
Forgiveness is another, by the way, that's[br]another area of research being explored.

1:28:43.750,1:28:46.570
I don't mean that you set[br]yourself up as the granter of

1:28:46.570,1:28:50.830
forgiveness in a religious specific way,[br]but you can help them with that journey.

1:28:52.000,1:28:57.930
So many times when we feel like there's a[br]either/or conflict between what's good for

1:28:57.930,1:29:00.710
the client and what they're engaged in.

1:29:00.710,1:29:04.290
If we loosen up and explore,[br]even within their own perspective,

1:29:04.290,1:29:07.950
there may be some resources and[br]possibilities to transform it.

1:29:07.950,1:29:09.120
And that's where referral and

1:29:09.120,1:29:12.369
collaboration can help, especially[br]if you know who you're referring to.

1:29:13.500,1:29:16.125
It means someone who's[br]congruent with that client,

1:29:16.125,1:29:18.965
who also can be a partner with[br]you in the helping process.

1:29:18.965,1:29:20.897
Cuz you have to be careful,

1:29:20.897,1:29:25.353
sometimes you send somebody from[br]the frying pan into the fire.

1:29:25.353,1:29:26.918
>> All right, thank you.

1:29:26.918,1:29:27.727
>> Thank you.

1:29:27.727,1:29:34.390
>> [APPLAUSE]