Abstract
Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit Social Work provides a comprehensive practice framework that integrates body, mind, and spirit by combining Eastern philosophies with Western therapeutic techniques. One unique Eastern perspective that is at the core of the integrative body–mind–spirit (I-BMS) framework is the view of life’s problems as something to be embraced rather than eliminated. Another Eastern viewpoint is that it is self-destructive to sustain an excessive attachment to material goods, people, and problems of the present as the source of suffering in a world where everything is impermanent. Thus, well-being is achieved by striking a balance between the negative and the positive, not by eliminating the negative. From this perspective, problems that cause pain and suffering become an opportunity, a spiritual event, that deepens life’s meaning and purpose. Grounded in Eastern philosophical insights, the I-BMS framework shows that body, mind, and spirit are not discrete spheres but are interconnected and integral to individual and collective well-being. Placing body and spirit on a par with mind as the intermingled loci of social work practice is groundbreaking in Western social work practice, and it also has significant feminist implications when considering that body and spirit were historically seen in the West as women’s domains, thus treated as inferior and often beside the point.
The book is comprised of four parts. Part I gives an overview of philosophical foundation of I-BMW social work. Part II provides step-by-step guidance to using the I-BMW framework in social work practice. It also includes detailed descriptions of assessment and intervention techniques that encompass body, mind, and spirit. Thorough and detailed guidance in the first two parts makes it easy for social work clinicians and other helping professionals without any prior knowledge of the integrative therapeutic approach to grasp the principles of I-BMW model and to apply them in their practice. Part III provides detailed examples of application of the model to diverse client populations and health and mental health conditions. The examples of illustrated applications include a wide array of physical and mental illnesses including chronic skin disease, infertility, depression, and schizophrenia. Furthermore, Part III includes empirical research findings to support the claim that I-BMS is not just a new practice model based on Eastern philosophical principles, but its intervention techniques are evidence-based. While the empirical research on I-BMS’s effectiveness among non-Asian client populations unfamiliar with Eastern philosophical insights and values is currently in the early stages, more robust findings of its effectiveness among diverse populations will help to make it a viable alternative practice model in the United States as well as other Western countries.
From a feminist standpoint, there may be some disagreements with the conceptualization of the problem as well as the intervention techniques applied in several cases that are related to the oppressive conditions of women’s lives. For example, in assessing a client suffering from depression due to her husband’s infidelity, the I-BMS approach attributes the source of the pain and suffering to the client’s ignorance of, and inability to accept, the impermanence of marriage. Such assessment and conceptualization of a problem may be read as holding the client responsible for her justifiable reaction to infidelity rather than the husband for his behavior. In the infertility case example, it may raise some doubt as to whether spiritual intervention alone can help the client to break away from the strong influence of cultural ideology that grounds woman’s identity in motherhood, so that she can find alternative sources of meaning and purpose in life. In other words, this practice model may be more effective in these cases by incorporating feminist discourses on marriage and motherhood.
Lastly, in Part IV, the book thoroughly addresses possible and anticipated ethical issues and dilemmas that may emerge in the application of I-BMS and how to deal with them. It also provides a detailed guideline for social workers who wish to apply the approach in their practice. In particular, it gives a precise action plan for using body process techniques as well as handling the topic of spirituality with clients. Overall, the book provides a valuable and pragmatic practice framework for Western social work practitioners as well as other helping professionals who are looking for an alternative holistic practice model to improve clients’ health and well-being.