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Despite the growing size of the American Muslim community, little research exists on the provision of culturally relevant services to members of this population. The purpose of this study was to identify American Muslims' perceptions regarding what practitioners should know about Muslims and Islamic culture to provide successful mental health services to members of this community. To conduct this study, a purposive snowball sampling method was employed to obtain a national sample of community-dwelling American Muslims (N = 213). Qualitative analysis identified eight interlaced themes, which can be summarized as follows: (1) know basic Islamic beliefs, (2) recognize intragroup ethnic/cultural differences, (3) develop self-awareness of personal biases, (4) respect Islamic gender roles, (5) avoid making assumptions, (6) use Islamic beliefs/practices as strengths, (7) understand bias in the larger secular culture, and (8) consult with Muslim therapists/Imams. The findings equip practitioners with the information they need to provide effective, culturally relevant services to members of the unique American Muslim community from a posture of respect and cultural humility., (© 2023 National Association of Social Workers.)

Despite numerous high-profile deaths of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement, little attention has been paid to the issue of police reform in the social work literature. To address this gap, this article focuses on a topic that has been singled out as the most important area of potential reform: restructuring the disciplinary provisions embedded in the contracts negotiated between police unions and municipalities. These provisions frequently shield problematic officers from public accountability by hindering their identification, sanctioning, and dismissal. Given that collective bargaining agreements are typically negotiated behind closed doors, social workers can play an essential role by advocating for public negotiations between municipal and union leaders, so provisions that obstruct public accountability for unfit officers can be identified and eliminated. The article concludes by delineating three alternative models to the status quo-increased neighborhood policing, disbanding or defunding police departments, and police abolition zones-and notes that no model can be successful if those who abuse their power cannot be removed from their positions of public trust. The authors suggest that social workers collaborate with African American residents in a given community to ensure that their preferences regarding community justice are enacted in a manner that reflects their aspirations., (© 2022 National Association of Social Workers.)

Hate crimes against members of the Jewish community have increased dramatically over the past few years. According to federal data, the number of hate crimes directed at Jews now appears to exceed those directed at many, if not most, minority groups. Yet, despite the number of hate crimes aimed at Jews, little recent scholarship has considered the issue of anti-Semitism. To address this gap in the profession's literature, this article examines the issue of anti-Semitism in the United States. Toward that end, the Jewish population is described and data on anti-Semitism are reviewed along with factors that contribute to this prejudice. The article concludes by discussing strategies that social work educators, practitioners, and researchers might pursue to help create a more socially just society for the Jewish community in the United States and elsewhere. For instance, social workers might seek to address spiritual microaggressions aimed at members of the Jewish community. As part of this process, social workers might help create a culture that respects religious freedom, a fundamental human right, and advocate for equitable portrayals of Jewish people and perspectives in diverse media. Particular attention should be paid to Orthodox Jews, who are often targets of anti-Semitism., (© 2021 National Association of Social Workers.)

This study examined the relationship between eight dimensions of spirituality (and religion) and people with four different types of disability status: hearing, vision, physical mobility, and emotional or mental disabilities. The overarching aim was to identify specific spiritual-religious profiles within each disability population relative to the general population. To conduct this cross-sectional examination, the authors used nationally representative data from the General Social Survey in the United States. The results reveal unique spiritual and religious profiles across the four types of disability status examined, although people with emotional or mental disabilities may have the most distinct profile. Compared with their counterparts among the general public, people with hearing, physical, and emotional disabilities were more likely to report praying several times a day; people with all four types of disability were more likely to report having a turning point when they became less committed to religion. Understanding which spiritual and religious dimensions are disproportionately more likely to exist among a given population with a particular disability helps practitioners provide more effective services to members of that group., (© 2018 National Association of Social Workers.)

Hijab or veiling is commonly practiced by Muslim women but remains controversial in the broader secular society. Some Western feminists argue that veiling is an oppressive behavior that negatively affects women by, for example, engendering depression. This article tests this hypothesis with a national sample of American Muslim women (N = 194). The results of the regression analysis did not support the hypothesis. Indeed, women who veiled more frequently reported lower, rather than higher, levels of depressive symptoms. In other words, wearing the hijab appears to be a protective factor in the area of depression. Given the prevalence of depression among women, the results have important implications for practice with Muslim women at both the micro and the macro levels., (© 2017 National Association of Social Workers.)

Depression is a widespread challenge that affects people in all cultures. Yet, despite the growth of the Muslim population in the United States, little research has been conducted on this topic with members of this cultural group. To address this gap in the literature, the present study examines the effect of discrimination and spirituality on depression with a sample of self-identified Muslims (N = 269). Consistent with our expectations, discrimination was a risk factor and spirituality was a protective factor. For instance, Muslims who reported being called offensive names were more likely (odds ratio [OR] = 3.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.82, 6.32) to report clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms compared with those who were not called offensive names, whereas saying daily prayers was associated with a lower likelihood of reporting elevated levels of symptoms (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.55, 0.97). The article concludes with a discussion of the implication of the results as they intersect social work practice and of avenues for future research.

Conceptualizations play a central role in social work discourse, shaping actions in the areas of practice, research, and education. Although many formulations of spirituality and religion have been advanced by social work scholars, the views of members of the general public have been largely absent from the professional conversation. The present article adds to the profession's evolving discussion on spirituality and religion by describing common understandings of spirituality and religion among the general population and by discussing the implication of these views for social work discourse on spirituality and religion. By understanding common views among the public, the social work profession is better positioned to provide ethical and professional services that respect clients' spiritual beliefs and values.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that has been modified to incorporate clients' spiritual beliefs and practices has been used to treat a variety of problems. This study examines the utility of this modality with the treatment of alcohol dependence and other forms of substance abuse. Toward this end, six focus groups (three therapist groups and three client groups) were conducted to identify the presumed benefits and limitations of using spiritually modified CBT in substance dependence treatment. In terms of benefits, spiritually modified CBT was perceived to enhance outcomes through operationalizing horizontal and vertical sources of social support, divine coping resources, and spiritual motivation. Potential challenges include the risk of therapists inadvertently imposing their own beliefs during the modification process and the possibility of offending clients when conflicts in belief systems emerge, particularly in group setting. The article concludes by providing suggestions for incorporating spiritually modified CBT into treatment and develops a number of illustrative examples of spiritually modified CBT self-statements.

Purpose: Although spirituality is typically intertwined with health in Native cultures, little research has examined the relationship between American Indians' spiritual needs and overall satisfaction with service provision during hospitalization. This study examined this relationship, in tandem with the effects of 8 potential mediators, to develop a model of spiritual care for older hospitalized American Indians., Design and Methods: Structural equation modeling was used with a sample of American Indians (N = 860), aged 50 and older, who were consecutively discharged from hospitals across the United States over a 12-month period., Results: As posited, addressing spiritual needs was positively associated with overall satisfaction with service provision. The relationship between spiritual needs and satisfaction was fully mediated by 4 variables: nursing staff, the discharge process, physicians, and visitors., Implications: As the first study to develop and test a model of spiritual care for older hospitalized American Indians, this study provides practitioners with the information to provide more effective, culturally relevant services to older American Indians., (© The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Human trafficking is a pressing social justice concern. Social work is uniquely situated to address this problem. However, despite the profession's commitment to social justice, the scholarship to equip social workers to address this issue has been largely absent from professional discourse. To address this gap, this article helps social work practitioners to assist victims of human trafficking. After orienting readers to the scope and process of human trafficking, the topics of victim identification, exit from trafficking, and the restoration of psychological wellness are discussed. By equipping themselves in these three areas, practitioners can advance social justice on behalf of some of the most exploited people in the world.

To provide optimal services, a spiritual assessment is often administered to understand the intersection between clients' spirituality and service provision. Traditional assessment approaches, however, may be ineffective with clients who are uncomfortable with spiritual language or who are otherwise hesitant to discuss spirituality overtly. This article orients readers to an implicit spiritual assessment, an alternative approach that may be more valid with such clients. The process of administering an implicit assessment is discussed, sample questions are provided to help operationalize this approach, and suggestions are offered to integrate an implicit assessment with more traditional assessment approaches. By using terminology that is implicitly spiritual in nature, an implicit assessment enables practitioners to identify and operationalize dimensions of clients' experience that may be critical to effective service provision but would otherwise be overlooked.

Spiritual needs often emerge in the context of receiving health or behavioral health services. Yet, despite the prevalence and salience of spiritual needs in service provision, clients often report their spiritual needs are inadequately addressed. In light of research suggesting that most social workers have received minimal training in identifying spiritual needs, this study uses a qualitative meta-synthesis (N=11 studies) to identify and describe clients'perceptions of their spiritual needs in health care settings. The results revealed six interrelated themes: (1) meaning, purpose, and hope; (2) relationship with God; (3) spiritual practices; (4) religious obligations; (5) interpersonal connection; and (6) professional staff interactions. The implications of the findings are discussed as they intersect social work practice and education.

Despite elevated levels of substance use among many Latino youths, there has been little research on protective factors against such use. In keeping with federal commitments to address health disparities, this prospective study examined the protective influence of religion on substance use among a school-based sample (N = 804) of youths of Mexican heritage in the American Southwest. Drawing from the social capital literature, the authors posited that both integration into religious networks and trust in religious values at time 1 (Tl) would predict less likelihood of using substances at time 2 (T2) but that exposure to religious norms at Tl would not predict subsequent substance use at T2. The hypotheses regarding religious networks and religious norms were largely confirmed, whereas little support emerged for the hypothesis regarding religious values. The results are discussed in light of the various pathways through which religion may exhibit a protective influence.

Although social work practitioners are increasingly likely to administer spiritual assessments with Native American clients, few qualitative assessment instruments have been validated with this population. This mixed-method study validates a complementary set of spiritual assessment instruments. Drawing on the social validity literature, a sample of experts in Native culture (N = 50) evaluated the instruments' cultural consistency, strengths, limitations, and areas needing improvement. Regarding the degree of congruence with Native American culture, verbally based spiritual histories ranked highest and diagrammatically oriented spiritual genograms ranked lowest, although all instruments demonstrated at least moderate levels of consistency with Native culture.The results also suggest that practitioners' level of spiritual competence plays a crucial role in ensuring the instruments are operationalized in a culturally appropriate manner.

Research indicates that many social work practitioners are interested in using spiritual interventions in clinical settings. Unfortunately, studies also indicate that practitioners have frequently received minimal training on the topic during their graduate education. Drawing from the evidence-based practice movement, this article develops some guidelines to assist practitioners in using spiritual interventions in an ethical, professional manner that fosters client well-being. These guidelines can be summarized under the following four rubrics: (1) client preference, (2) evaluation of relevant research, (3) clinical expertise, and (4) cultural competency. The article concludes by emphasizing that these overlapping guidelines should be considered concurrently, in a manner that privileges clients' needs and desires in the decision-making process.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective modality for the treatment of alcoholism. Given widespread interest in incorporating spirituality into professional treatment, this article orients practitioners to spiritually modified CBT, an approach that may enhance outcomes with some spiritually motivated clients. More specifically, by integrating clients' spiritual beliefs and practices into treatment, this modality may speed recovery, enhance treatment compliance, prevent relapse, and reduce treatment disparities by providing more culturally congruent services. The process of constructing spiritually modified CBT self-statements is described and illustrated, and suggestions are provided for working with client spirituality in an ethical manner. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of this approach in light of the growing spiritual diversity that characterizes contemporary society.

At the turn of the century, the Joint Commission--the nation's largest health care accrediting organization--began requiring spiritual assessments in hospitals and many other mental health settings frequented by Native Americans. Despite high levels of service use, culturally unique forms of spirituality, and a history of oppression in mainstream settings, no research has explored how to best implement this new requirement with Native Americans. Accordingly, this mixed-method study asked recognized experts in Native American culture (N = 50) to identify the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the new assessment framework and a culturally valid question protocol to operationalize the requirements. The results indicate that the framework is moderately consistent with Native American culture, and a number of practice-oriented suggestions and tools are offered to implement the requirements in a culturally valid manner.

Mental health practitioners are increasingly called on to administer spiritual assessments with Native American clients, in spite of limited training on the topic. To help practitioners better understand the strengths and limitations of various assessment instruments from a Native perspective, this study used a sample of recognized experts in Native American culture (N = 50) to evaluate a complementary set of spiritual assessment instruments or tools. Specifically, each instrument's degree of consistency with Native culture was evaluated along with its strengths and limitations for use with Native clients. A brief overview of each instrument is provided, along with the results, to familiarize readers with a repertoire of spiritual assessment tools so that the most culturally appropriate method can be selected in a given clinical context.

From a global perspective, the typical person living with HIV/AIDS is likely a sub-Saharan African woman. Yet despite calls from NASW to adopt a global outlook on the HIV/AIDS crisis, little research has examined how such women cope. In this study, the authors used a mixed-methods approach to explore how one sample of sub-Saharan African women (N = 162) attending an AIDS clinic in Entebbe, Uganda, cope with their circumstances. The results reveal the importance of indigenous service providers, spirituality, and, to a lesser extent, social support. Approximately 85 percent of the women reported that spirituality played some role in their ability to cope. Among these, 43 percent indicated that spirituality was the most important factor that kept them going. The most widely used spiritual coping strategies consisted of support from other believers, prayer, and trusting in God.

At best, mainstream mental health services are often ineffective with Native American clients, and, at worst, they are a vehicle for Western colonization. As such, the authors explore the notion of abandoning the Western therapeutic project and rebuilding the helping process on the basis of indigenous knowledge foundations. To this end, they discuss a Native perspective on wellness that emphasizes balance among the interconnected areas of spirit, body, mind, and context or environment. From this perspective, mental health is a product of balance and harmony among these four areas. The authors conclude with a discussion of the practice implications of this relationally based perspective in which practitioners target interventions toward improving balance and harmony.

The trafficking of young women and children for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation is one of the most significant human rights abuses in contemporary society. In keeping with the social work profession's commitment to social justice, this article examines the issue of sexual trafficking in the United States. The transnational scope of the problem is discussed along with the means that traffickers use to recruit, transport, and initiate victims from around the world into the sex industry in the United States. Some legislative responses to the problem are discussed, and a number of suggestions are offered to help social workers advocate on behalf of some of the most vulnerable and oppressed people in the global community.

Relatively little information exists on the provision of culturally competent services to Muslims, in spite of the growing presence of this population in the United States. Consequently, the authors discuss a number of therapeutic approaches in light of their level of congruence with common Islamic values. Psychodynamic approaches, for example, may not be as congruent as cognitive approaches. Although cognitive therapy may be relatively consistent with Islamic values, the self-statements that are central to this modality are often packaged in secular terminology that is inconsistent with Islamic norms. To provide culturally relevant services, practitioners must unwrap the secular terminology used to express the underlying therapeutic precepts and then repackage the precepts in terminology that reflects Islamic teaching. The authors conclude by offering a number of examples to illustrate the construction of statements that reflect Islamic values.

There is a paucity, of literature in social work on the intersection between social justice and religion, even though the profession's code of ethics articulates the need to advocate for social justice and eliminate religious discrimination. Therefore, this article helps equip social workers to challenge social injustice on behalf of people of faith around the world. Toward this end, the author developed a human rights-based social justice ethic based on the United Nations' (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The growing problem of religious persecution is discussed, along with strategies to promote religious freedom. It is suggested that social work has a particular duty to advocate for religious freedom because many of the victims of religious persecution are members of marginalized populations with few advocates on the international stage.

Growing consensus exists regarding the importance of spiritual assessment. For instance, the largest health care accrediting body in the United States, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), now requires the administration of a spiritual assessment. Although most practitioners endorse the concept of spiritual assessment, studies suggest that social workers have received little training in spiritual assessment. To address this gap, the current article reviews the JCAHO requirements for conducting a spiritual assessment and provides practitioners with guidelines for its proper implementation. In addition to helping equip practitioners in JCAHO-accredited settings who may be required to perform such an assessment, the spiritual assessment template profiled in this article may also be of use to practitioners in other settings.

A paucity of research exists on the effectiveness of spiritual interventions, despite their wide use by practitioners and the acknowledged importance of evidence-based practice. To assist practitioners in their selection of spiritual interventions, the author reviewed research on the effectiveness of spiritually modified cognitive therapy. The results indicate that this approach has been used in diverse settings with a variety of faith groups to address a wide array of problems. Only in the area of depression, however, does spiritually modified cognitive therapy generally meet the American Psychiatric Association's criteria as a well-established empirically validated treatment. Implications of the findings for social work practice are discussed.

Increasingly, social workers are being called on to conduct spiritual assessments, yet few assessment methods have appeared in academic literature. This article reviews five complementary assessment approaches that have recently been developed to highlight different facets of clients' spiritual lives. Specifically, one verbal model, spiritual histories, is discussed, along with four diagrammatic approaches: spiritual lifemaps, spiritual genograms, spiritual ecomaps, and spiritual ecograms. An overview of each approach is provided along with a discussion of its relative strengths and limitations. The aim here is to familiarize readers with a repertoire of spiritual assessment tools so that the most appropriate assessment method in a given client-practitioner setting can be selected.

Some gay men, lesbians, and other progressives view orthodox religious believers as perpetrators of oppression. Conversely, many orthodox believers, or as they might self-identity, people of faith, believe that gay men, lesbians, and other progressives wish to marginalize people of faith. Using Hunter's epistemologically based distinction between progressive and orthodox worldviews to understand the differences in perceptions, this article explores how numerous people of faith understand reality as it intersects the issue of homosexuality, both in the wider culture and in social work. The author suggests that to provide effective services to an increasingly diverse society and to remain grounded in the Code of Ethics, social work must work toward a more inclusive profession that accepts both progressives and people of faith.

Despite the media attention focused on the Islamic community after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Muslims remain one of the most misunderstood populations in the United States. Few articles have appeared in the social work literature orienting practitioners to the Islamic community, and much of the mainstream media coverage misrepresents the population. This article reviews the basic beliefs, practices, and values that commonly characterize, or inform, the House of Islam in the United States. The organizations that embody and sustain the Muslim communities that constitute the House of Islam are profiled, and areas of possible value conflicts are examined. The article concludes by offering suggestions for integrating the article's themes into practice settings. Particular attention is given to enhancing cultural competence and to suggestions for spiritual assessment and interventions.

Although some consumers desire to integrate spirituality into the clinical dialogue, few resources have appeared in the literature to help practitioners operationalize spiritual strengths. This article introduces and orients practitioners to a new pictorial instrument-the spiritual lifemap-that can be used for spiritual assessment. The instrument facilitates a smooth transition from assessment to exploring and planning interventions. The author provides a case study and suggestions on how to use the instrument in clinical settings. A number of common spiritual interventions, drawn from a wide variety of theoretical approaches, are highlighted. The author discusses several applications and possible value conflicts that may arise when assessing spirituality.

Essentially nothing is known about the national population of social workers. Accordingly, to enhance our understanding of the individuals who make up the social work profession, this study used nationally representative data to compare the characteristics of graduate- and bachelor's-level workers with those of the general population. Data are provided on present and childhood demographics as well as a number of current perceptions. In terms of perceptions, social workers were more likely to rate their lives as exciting, to live in racially mixed neighborhoods, to be stronger proponents of controversial speech, and to be perceived by survey interviewers as friendlier than the general public. A number of suggestions for further research are provided to flesh out the initial findings presented in this article.

Although social work is witnessing growing interest in spiritual and religious issues, little guidance has appeared in the literature to assist practitioners in addressing the unique spirituality of rapidly increasing non-Western populations. This article discusses the significant cultural/spiritual beliefs, practices, and values of Hindus, the largest Asian religion in the United States. Possible conflicts emanating from the lack of congruence between the values of Hindu consumers, derived from the dharma--the sacred moral order--and the values of social workers, derived from a Western Enlightenment discourse, are highlighted. The author offers practice-oriented suggestions to facilitate cultural sensitivity and to further integrate the spiritual strengths of Hindus into the clinical dialogue.

Although significant differences in values between social workers and clients are widely understood to affect the efficacy of service provision, no studies have sought to examine how the values affirmed by social workers may differ from those held by members of the working and middle classes. Therefore, this study examines the degree of value similarity between social workers and consumers. Based on "new-class" theory, two hypotheses are proposed. First, graduate social workers affirm value positions to the left of working- and middle-class clients. Second, bachelor's-level social workers affirm value positions in between those of graduate workers and clients. Both hypotheses were supported. The implications for the divergence in value frameworks for advocacy, practice, and education are discussed.

This article argues that social work, informed by "new class" ideology, oppresses Evangelical Christians. The article discusses the rise of the "new class," along with its attendant ideology, which sanctions and legitimizes discrimination against Evangelicals and other people of faith. The role of social work, a "new class" profession, in the oppression of Evangelicals is profiled, and its inability to extend tolerance to this population is traced to its "new class" ideology, which inhibits it from functioning in accordance with its professed values and ethics. Consequently, the article suggests that social work is losing touch with numerous ethnic and religious minority groups, and unless the profession deconstructs the ideology that informs it, it will be unable to provide services to or facilitate dialogue among the increasingly diverse populations of North America.

This article explores administrator and staff perceptions of mission-critical agency capacity in a predominantly Hispanic region that has a high degree of acculturation and elevated use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The domains explored are financial resources, proposal development, agency policies, organizational structure, communication, leadership, planning, and networking capabilities. Although significant differences were found among all eight domains, both staff and administrators concurred regarding the two areas of least capacity--financial resources and proposal development--and the two areas of greatest capacity--planning and networking capabilities. The authors suggest that agreement about the ranking of the domains is the most important finding rather than the differences between administrators and staff. A discussion of the practice and educational implications concludes the article.

This article introduces a new qualitative spiritual assessment instrument. It reviews existing qualitative assessment tools and presents a new multidimensional spiritual assessment framework. The instrument consists of two components: a spiritual history in which consumers relate their spiritual life story in a manner analogous to a family history and an interpretive framework to assist practitioners in eliciting and synthesizing the full potentiality of strengths extant in clients' spiritual lives. Common spiritual strengths the framework is designed to evoke are discussed, and a number of interventions based on prevalent spiritual strengths are suggested.