Ethical Issues in the Use of Prayer in Social Work: Implications for Professional Practice and Education

One of the most controversial issues related to the use of spiritually-based social work interventions is the use of prayer by practitioners. The current study explores prayer-related activities and related decision making among a random sample of 204 licensed clinical social workers in a mid-Atlantic state in the United States. A substantial percentage of practitioners report praying for (55%) or praying/meditating with their clients (33%). Furthermore, practitioner responses to four clinical vignettes, reflecting Canda's (1990) suggested ethical guidelines for practitioner behavior, reveal that the majority do not adhere to such guidelines-either in terms of personal comfort with the use of prayer or views about its ethical use. Implications for practitioners, administrators, and educators are presented.