“Your crisis is our crisis; we take those on!” Exploring the profound role of spiritual diversity in social work

Abstract

ABSTRACT Spiritual Diversity (SD) is transformative when integrated into the epistemic context and practice. SD’s transformative potential can significantly enhance clients’ quality of life when harnessed. The profound lived experiences of social workers must be unearthed to embrace spiritual diversity as a holistic resource fully. Therefore, this study aimed to delve into the lived experiences of social workers, explore the profound role of spiritual diversity, and uncover diverse perspectives in different social work contexts. Seven in-depth, semi-structured Zoom interviews with spiritually informed social workers were conducted. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the exploratory comments and observations of the participants were drawn. The study generated 122 codes from the data and developed fourteen emergent themes. These themes were then clustered into four major themes: 1. Spiritual turn among social workers, 2. Spirituality as a strength-based mechanism, 3. Creating access to spiritual resources, and 4. Increased vitality in the healing process. Demonstrating the seamless integration of the spiritual diversity approach and critical discourse on social work practices, this study adds to the growing body of research that underscores the benefits of a spiritual diversity approach in social work settings.