While there is growing interest in incorporating clients’ spiritual beliefs
and values into social work practice, several studies have shown that social workers
lack the necessary training to address spiritual issues in a culturally competent
manner. This paper addresses this need by providing an annotated spirituality
training course for use in various settings. Topics or domains covered in the curriculum include
ethics and values, research and theory on spirituality, the nation’s spiritual
demographics, the cultures of major spiritual traditions, value conflicts, spiritual
interventions, assessment approaches, and the rights of spiritual believers. A
number of potential assignments are offered,which are designed to promote practitioner
self-awareness, respect for spiritual diversity, and an enhanced ability to
assess and operationalize spiritual strengths to ameliorate problems in practice settings.
