Widening the Lens / Deepening the Practice
by Mary Leslie, MSW RSW
Social Work has deep roots in the domain of Spirituality. In
the early movements that
initiated formal social work in England and the United States
in the late 1800’s and early
1900’s, Christian beliefs in the equality of man, of friendship
and the power of compassion
were foundational influences. As social work became more aligned
with the fields of
psychiatry and psychology, ‘scientific’ theories predominated
and issues of spirituality faded
in importance. Carl Jung’s work is an exception to that
trend.
From the mid 1940’s onwards, prominent theorists such
as Rollo May, Carol Rogers, Erich
Fromm, Fritz Perls, Viktor Frankl and Joseph Campbell broke ranks
with the traditional
mainstream psychologists and began exploring and espousing more
non-orthodox western
psychologies, as well as extending into the contemplative writings
of the East. By the
1970’s, theorists such as Ken Wilber, Stanislav Groh, Virginia
Satir and others, believing
that western theories were limiting our view of the potential
of human development,
began integrating eastern wisdom traditions and spiritual dimensions
more fervently. They
introduced transpersonal theories of human behaviour, acknowledging
that humans are
capable of tapping into a higher level of consciousness beyond
our previously recognized
limits, and of transformation. In the past ten years, an increasing
number of social work
theorists have been incorporating transpersonal views of human
development and potential
with social work methodology. In May 2005, the fourth annual conference
on Social Work
and Spirituality will be held in London, Ontario.
The integration of our own spirituality with our professional
practice begins with:
1) how we prepare for each encounter with our client(s),
2) how we set our ‘lens’ regarding their capability
and potential for healing,
3) how we set our intention for our work with them, and
4) an acknowledgement of a force greater than our technical expertise
that can empower
the interactions with our clients in subtle but powerful ways,
with not so much as a
word exchanged between our client and ourselves re our own or
the clients’ spiritual
values or beliefs.
Carl Rogers addresses the phenomena of Therapeutic Presence:
“I believe the quality
of my encounter is more important in the long run than is my scholarly
knowledge, my
professional training, my counselling orientation, or the techniques
I use in the interview”.
Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing addresses the significance of
integrating internal felt bodily
sensations (felt sense) in assisting clients to heal and resolve
ongoing issues and is grounded
in the belief of clients’ rich inner resources, choices
and infinite capacity for deep growth
and healing. This belief is also the foundation of Virginia Satir’s
work with families and
individuals, as she focuses on strengths, rather than on pathology,
on resources rather than
limitations, and stresses the importance of holding a rein on
our ego: “If my ego is involved,
or I need them to get well, then it is a different story”.
She speaks of her client interactions
as “life reaching out to life”.
This integration demands of the practitioner a state of intent
mindfulness, supported by
regular spiritual practice, such as meditation, but has rich benefits
for self care, as we shift
from seeing ourselves as ‘prime mover’ to ‘informed
accomplice’ in our practice.
Mary has been teaching Therapeutic Touch for eight years and
has been integrating the
principles of TT into her counselling practice increasingly over
the last ten years. She also
established a Therapeutic Touch Clinic, with volunteers that she
supervised at the Fraser
Valley Cancer Centre, as part of her work at BCCA in 1998. Mary
has a private practice in
West Vancouver and Bowen Island, in addition to her consulting
and teaching.
Mary believes that training for Therapeutic Touch has been an
excellent addition to her
social work/counselling skills, particularly in the areas of assessment,
self awareness and
self care. This has become a valuable tool for integrating her
spirituality into her cognitive
approaches in a gentle, non-invasive way. Her training in Satir
Brief Therapy has also
proven to be complementary to her energy perspective.
For further information, please call Mary at (604) 290-3149
or e-mail her at:
meleslie at interchange.ubc.ca.
