Feb 1, 2019 07:13 PM
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pseudos...cial-work/
INTRO: A recent article in the Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work documents over 400 websites of social workers, most engaged in some form of mental health counseling, using questionable practices, from “Access Consciousness” to “Zero Balancing Practitioner.” Given the pervasiveness of pseudoscience in healthcare, discussed countless times here on Science-Based Medicine, this should surprise no one. After all, if the venerable Cleveland Clinic can offer reiki, functional medicine, and Chinese herbs to its patients without sanction, what’s to keep Licensed Clinical Social Workers from practicing Angelic Channeling, Plant Spirit Medicine, and Theta Healing?
This survey of websites does not purport to be systematic or to estimate the prevalence of these practices among social workers. Nor do the authors mean to indict the entire profession, recognizing “that there are social workers who conduct critically important work every day.” (On a personal note, my daughter, a social worker, is one of these: She works with foster families in a job that is both extremely stressful and incredibly rewarding.) Rather, the authors, two academics from New York University and The City University of New York, simply wanted to see what was out there. They conducted Google searches using search strings consisting of “LSCW” [Licensed Clinical Social Worker] and similar professional designations (e.g., “MSW” for the Masters of Social Work degree) and terms like “healing” or “angels.” They use their findings as a springboard to ask their profession whether social workers should be engaged in these practices and, if the answer is “no,” then “what will you do about it?”, questions they raise but do not answer. (We’ll return to these questions in a moment.)
So, what did they find? Unfortunately, a whole lot of utter nonsense. Space does not permit me to catalogue each practice, only a few highlights. (The article is online and provides links to all of the websites if you want more examples. Because of this, I am eschewing links to each and every website mentioned in the post, thereby avoiding turning practically the whole post blue.)
Some social workers practice the sort of pedestrian pseudoscience we’re all familiar with here at SBM: reiki, reflexology, acupressure, Bach flower remedies, aromatherapy, healing touch, and acudetox. Other social workers are into angels....
MORE: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pseudos...cial-work/
INTRO: A recent article in the Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work documents over 400 websites of social workers, most engaged in some form of mental health counseling, using questionable practices, from “Access Consciousness” to “Zero Balancing Practitioner.” Given the pervasiveness of pseudoscience in healthcare, discussed countless times here on Science-Based Medicine, this should surprise no one. After all, if the venerable Cleveland Clinic can offer reiki, functional medicine, and Chinese herbs to its patients without sanction, what’s to keep Licensed Clinical Social Workers from practicing Angelic Channeling, Plant Spirit Medicine, and Theta Healing?
This survey of websites does not purport to be systematic or to estimate the prevalence of these practices among social workers. Nor do the authors mean to indict the entire profession, recognizing “that there are social workers who conduct critically important work every day.” (On a personal note, my daughter, a social worker, is one of these: She works with foster families in a job that is both extremely stressful and incredibly rewarding.) Rather, the authors, two academics from New York University and The City University of New York, simply wanted to see what was out there. They conducted Google searches using search strings consisting of “LSCW” [Licensed Clinical Social Worker] and similar professional designations (e.g., “MSW” for the Masters of Social Work degree) and terms like “healing” or “angels.” They use their findings as a springboard to ask their profession whether social workers should be engaged in these practices and, if the answer is “no,” then “what will you do about it?”, questions they raise but do not answer. (We’ll return to these questions in a moment.)
So, what did they find? Unfortunately, a whole lot of utter nonsense. Space does not permit me to catalogue each practice, only a few highlights. (The article is online and provides links to all of the websites if you want more examples. Because of this, I am eschewing links to each and every website mentioned in the post, thereby avoiding turning practically the whole post blue.)
Some social workers practice the sort of pedestrian pseudoscience we’re all familiar with here at SBM: reiki, reflexology, acupressure, Bach flower remedies, aromatherapy, healing touch, and acudetox. Other social workers are into angels....
MORE: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pseudos...cial-work/