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Trauma-Informed Social Work and Mindfulness
The heart of the social work profession calls for treating clients with respect and not viewing their problems as pathological. Consistent with this value, trauma-informed social work as a model encourages social workers to explore with clients how behaviors and/or problems that surface may be a result of traumatic events (Kawam & Martinez, 2016). It focuses not simply on symptom management but on skill building (Wilson & Nochajski, 2016). This model can be incorporated into both micro, mezzo, and macro work. For example, on an organizational level, trauma-informed care looks to see how the service delivery system can offer an environment that is safe for clients, social workers, and staff.
Based on Buddhist principles, mindfulness interventions focus on helping clients to increase their attunement and acceptance of the self (Cacciatore, Thieleman, Osborn, & Orlowski, 2014). Because social workers often try to help clients reduce distress and increase well-being, mindfulness has found its way into social work. It can also be used for social workers to increase their own well-being as part of their self-care regimen.
This week, you apply two more models: trauma-informed social work and mindfulness.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Apply the trauma-informed and mindfulness principles to social work practice
- Apply existential questions to identify potential opportunities for growth that may surface as a result of working with clients who have experienced trauma
- Evaluate empirical research studies on the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions
- Evaluate the strength and limitations of trauma-informed and mindfulness principles to social work practice
Photo Credit: KatarzynaBialasiewicz / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.
Required Readings
Turner, F. J. (Ed.). (2017). Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches (6th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Chapter 20: Mindfulness and Social Work (pp. 325–337)
Chapter 37: Trauma-Informed Social Work Treatment and Complex Trauma (pp. 553–573)
Garland, E. L. (2013). Mindfulness research in social work: Conceptual and methodological recommendations. Social Work Research, 37(4), 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svt038
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.
Vis, J.-A. & Boynton, H. M. (2008). Spirituality and transcendent meaning making: Possibilities for enhancing posttraumatic growth. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 27(1/2): 69–86. http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/15426430802113814
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.
UCLA Health. (n.d.). Free guided meditations. Retrieved December 8, 2017, from http://marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations
For Discussion 2, listen to a guided meditation by selecting a link on this website.
Required Media
Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2014). Counseling and psychotherapy theories in context and practice [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.psychotherapy.net.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/stream/waldenu/video?vid=277
This week, watch the “Existential Therapy” segment by clicking the applicable link under the “Chapters” tab.
Note: You will access this video from the Walden Library databases.
Optional Resources
Knight, C. (2015). Trauma-informed social work practice: Practice considerations and challenges. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-014-0481-6
Lynn, R., & Mensinga, J. (2015). Social workers’ narratives of integrating mindfulness into practice. Journal of Social Work Practice, 29(3), 255–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2015.1035237
Discussion 1: Existential Questions and Post-Traumatic Growth
Upon hearing the stories of sometimes horrific atrocities clients or client families have experienced, you as a social worker may find yourself confronting existential questions such as Why? For example, Why do horrible events happen to good people? Why do people abuse their children?
Trying to make sense of such trauma is not easy, and you may seek answers to these existential questions your whole life. And yet, there are opportunities for growth despite trauma for both clients and social workers. This is known as post-traumatic growth, where a renewed sense purpose or a more profound outlook on life is the by-product.
In this Discussion, you work to seek meaning from the trauma your clients experience and the subsequent healing you help your clients achieve in your social work practice.
To prepare:
- Read about trauma-informed social work, and read this article listed in the Learning Resources: Vis, J.-A., & Boynton, H. M. (2008). Spirituality and transcendent meaning making: possibilities for enhancing posttraumatic growth. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 27(1/2): 69–86. http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/15426430802113814
By Day 3
Post:
- In 1 sentence, identify an existential question with which you have grappled in relation to a client who has been traumatized.
- Reflect on your fieldwork, or perhaps identify an existential question that might arise in working with the client in the case study you have selected throughout the course.
- In 3 to 4 brief sentences, describe where there is potential for growth for the client as a result of the trauma.
- In 3 to 4 brief sentences, explain where there is potential for growth for you, the social worker, as a result of listening to the client’s stories and bearing witness to their trauma.
- Describe any challenges you may experience between the meaning you hold based on your personal beliefs and working within the client’s potentially different belief framework.
By Day 5
Respond to two colleagues:
- Provide a suggestion for how a social worker could help clients to understand and make meaning of the trauma within the client’s values and belief framework.
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 10 Discussion 1 Rubric
Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 5
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 10 Discussion 1
Discussion 2: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Interventions
According to Garland (2013), there is skepticism about mindfulness as an effective intervention. Often, because of its philosophical roots in Buddhism, practitioners and scholars equate mindfulness with “New Age” beliefs. As a result, some may wonder how effective mindfulness interventions are. Recall from Week 1 that it is important to answer the question about the effectiveness of interventions by using empirical evidence rather than experiences or intuition.
You may not have experienced or practiced mindfulness. After you listen to the recordings found on the website listed in the Learning Resources, reflect on some of the following questions: (1) What did you notice? (2) What were you thinking while you were listening? (3) What were you feeling while you were listening? (4) How was your body reacting while listening? (5) How did you feel after you practiced mindfulness?
In this Discussion, you will experience an example of mindfulness and also determine whether mindfulness has scientific support.
To prepare:
- Listen to a recording from those found at this website listed in the Learning Resources: UCLA Health. (n.d.). Free guided meditations. Retrieved December 8, 2017, from http://marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations
- Read this article listed in the Learning Resources: Garland, E. L. (2013). Mindfulness research in social work: Conceptual and methodological recommendations. Social Work Research, 37(4), 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svt038
- Conduct a library search in the Walden Library for one research study about the effectiveness of mindfulness as an intervention for the client in the case study you have been using. Remember when looking for studies to take into account your client’s age, developmental stage, and presenting problem.
By Day 4
Post:
- In 1 to 2 sentences, respond to one of the four following questions in terms of what you noticed during the mindfulness exercise you completed:
- What were you thinking while you were listening?
- What were you feeling while you were listening?
- How was your body reacting while listening?
- How did you feel after you practiced mindfulness?
- In 2 to 3 sentences, describe your experience practicing this technique and how this experience influences your choice on whether to use it with a client during practice.
- Provide the reference for the study you found, and be sure to use citations in the body of your post using APA guidelines.
- In 1 to 2 sentences, briefly summarize the methodological context (i.e., research method, how data was collected, and the instruments used) of the studies and the findings.
- Evaluate the findings in terms of their validity and applicability for the client
By Day 6
Respond to two colleagues:
- Comparing the studies that you and your colleague identified and the experiences you presented from your mindful practice exercise, evaluate one strength and one limitation of using mindfulness interventions for the client (consider how culturally relevant it is, how aligned it is with social work ethics, etc.).
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Trauma-Informed Social Work and Mindfulness was first posted on July 25, 2019 at 9:39 am.
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