Skip to content

Mindfulness and Social Work

Steven F Hick

June 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9781933478609.001.0001 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper
Topics Meditation
Key points Argues that mindfulness is relevant to social work in ways distinct from other helping professions because social workers practice at individual, community, and policy levels. Proposes that mindfulness can support social workers in three areas: the professional self, client interventions (micro-practice), and community work (micro- and mezzo-practice).

Abstract

Abstract: There is widespread and growing interest in mindfulness within the social work profession. All helping professions, including psychology and medicine, are using mindfulness, but in many ways social work has engaged with it in unique ways. There are a range of books that detail mindfulness-based interventions, and one (Hick & Bien, 2008) that examines mindfulness and the therapeutic relationship. This is the first book on the topic of mindfulness with a specific social work focus. As we know, social work is much more than a profession doing individual and group therapy. Social workers, unlike other helping professions, practice at the community and policy levels as well. A generalist or structural practitioner might endeavor to practice at all three levels. This book therefore aims to explore how mindfulness might prove useful for social workers in relation to professional self (the inner dimension), client interventions (micro-practice), and community work (micro- and mezzo-practice).

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. 2004 Theoretical or philosophical paper
Mechanisms of mindfulness 2005 Theoretical or philosophical paper
How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective 2011 Theoretical or philosophical paper
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression 2006 Theoretical or philosophical paper
Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness 2012 Theoretical or philosophical paper

Citations in the library

Cited by 5

Related reading

Explore topics

Meditation