Social Work Practice with Religious Families

Abstract

In social workers’ provision of services to families, the impact of religion is often overlooked. The authors describe a model that allows the family counselor with the consent of the family to utilize a religious consultant in the therapeutic process. The model draws upon the rich network of emotional and tangible resources typically possessed by religious communities and avoids the inefficient and potentially destructive isolation of religious families from their belief system. Although the model is designed for utilization with families who are closely connected to a religious community, its network approach can also be useful with some secular, urbanized families.