What is MIND BODY Social Work?

Mind ~ Body ~ Social Work focuses on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, behavior, and on the powerful ways in which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioral factors can directly affect health, social competence and creating societal conditions which supports life goals.  Mind ~ Body ~ Social Work purports and enhances each individuals capacity for self-knowledge, self-care, self-awareness, self-determination and optimal wellness as the ultimate goal of achievement.  Mind ~ Body ~ Social Work Practices focuses on intervention strategies that are thought to promote physical health, socail well-being, and societal fitness.  Integrative practices such as relaxation, visulaization, hypnosis, reiki, cognitive-behavioral therapies, group support, autogenic training, emotional intellegence, and spirituality are the primary passage ways of intervention.  Mind ~ Body ~ Social Work views disorders and pathology as an opportunity for personal growth and transforamtion.  Social Workers, Case Managers, Family Support Workers, Community Support Workers, Macro and Micro interventionalist are the premier guides and catalysts for change in this most powerful and timely process.

What do you think about this new approach to Social Work intervention.  Actually it is not really new.  I have been engaged in these practicesnow for over 30 years.  It has finally come full circle and the proffession is ready to integrate more than ever.

As I reflect on the past 33 years of my professional and  personal life, I realize now that my vision of spirituality in Social Work Practice was not that far off from the truth in my life time, it was just before it’s time.  As I began to write this blog, it was clear to me that I should start with the beginning of the journey and share my original thoughts on the subject written 33 years ago as a thesis for my graduate studies at Atlanta University School of Social Work.  The research was more than just a paper; it had become a way of life and practice for me.  The elements of each chapter transformed into hundreds of life lessons and powerful experiences in my private practice with clients in search of emotional wellness.  I knew that somehow this approach to social and spiritual fulfillment in modern life must become a standard in the educational and practical process of all social work professionals. 

The demands of modern life make it difficult for us to strike a harmonious balance in the development of our spiritual, intellectual and physical aspects of self.  The pressures of life force us to give more attention to our intellectual growth.  In this western society, that is what counts in our educational path and in finding a “good job” etc.  Society as a whole values intellectual and physical growth as a way of reaching a so called successful life and career. 

Unfortunately, society does not place a high value on spiritual development.  With the advent of the industrial age, the technological and information age, and now the age of green technology and industrial forecasting, more and more demands are placed upon us with regard to our time and attention.  This will result into more stress and social problems throughout the world.  The social work profession must be prepared for the new era which will be the only way out, and that is the era of spirituality and practice.  We are brought up to associate spirituality with the rites and rituals of religious institutions.  In fact spirituality and religion are not one in the same.  Spirituality is the science of being; an individuals search for meaning and purpose in life.  Religion is the method of acknowledgment of that being; an organized structure of spiritual beliefs and practices.

The following excerpts from my substantive paper written in 1979 speak to the integration and acknowledgment of spirituality in social work practice.  Now 33 years later, the New Millennium offers permission to move into the mainstream of the profession with a psycho-spiritual message.

In Social Work, there is a need for the practitioner to have knowledge in the area of understanding a person holistically, the spiritual self as well as the biological, emotional and psychological self.  The majority of our Colleges and Universities do not encourage students to engage in what I consider to be in-depth perception of people as a four dimensional; psychical, social, psychological and spiritual being.  A great deal of emphasis is placed on the biological, social and physiological aspect of the individual.  These components are important in understanding human behavior.  However, the spiritual self is an essential component of the human being entirely.

The concept of consciousness has slowly developed since approximately 4000B.C.  The consciousness evolution is still developing, therefore, there is much to learn.  The spiritual self serves as a mediator between the biological, psychological and social self.  It serves to unify the conscious and subconscious level of functioning.  Without the most essential component of the self- the spiritual self, it is difficult to enhance the development of the human personality holistically.

My paper discussed two counseling approaches to healing. The first approach is basic social work counseling and the second approach is a metaphysical approach to counseling.  Most basic approaches tend to focus primarily on externals (economic, social, and political) or on partial internals (psychological, biological).  These approaches fail to focus on the wide range of spiritual resources available for individual maintenance and development of the self.  Metaphysical counseling approaches would enhance and broaden the student’s perspective of human development due the principals that focus on the internals which make up the whole person.

  Metaphysics is defined as the science that investigates first causes, natural laws, basic wisdoms and bodies of knowledge that pertain to the natural forces of the universe.  Those forces that govern the divine spiritual forces which manifests in the mundane material realm.  The purpose of this study is to introduce an alternative conceptual framework in which the social work practitioner can develop a habit for in-depth external and internal study of human development.  The metaphysical approach focuses on helping an individual to tap their own inner resources (spiritual in nature) in order to find self- awareness and peace within.  The spiritual approach intends to prepare the individual for re-discovering his/her own potential and for instructing the individual to get in touch with the inner divine mind of self.

A Masters Degree in Social Work implies that one has mastered a body of theory, principals and practices related to people in general.  However, it is of utmost importance to have first mastered significant theories, principals and practices of the self first.”

These excerpts reveal the initiation and foundation of my practice for the last 33 years which has now evolved into what I call “Soul Regeneration”, a psycho-spiritual approach to treatment.  Soul Regeneration addresses the connection between spiritual, emotional, bio-physiological and physical well-being.  The soul is a vital, immaterial life principle that must be recognized in the healing process.  To practice an approach that lends itself to acknowledging the damage to the soul offers a new paradigm in the integration of alternative contemplative practices in social work.  We are finally learning that integration of intellect and sprit is vital, and that no therapy that neglects the dimension of the soul is fit to be applied to human beings.  Soul Regeneration is an indicator of these transitions.  It is a beacon pointing to the future directions of the Social Wok profession.