Spirituality, Science and Healing: Empowering Discoveries for Social Workers
Instructor: Carolyn Cressy Wells, Ph.D., LCSW
Fee: $92 includes course materials, refreshments, and a certificate for 4.5 continuing education hours (CEHs)/.4 continuing education units (CEUs)
Program Description
Many social workers today are interested in healing, and so are influenced by ideas from medicine, a profession shaped by science in modern times. According to Dr. Larry Dossey, a physician of internal medicine who has written extensively, modern medicine exhibits three basic paradigms. The dominant paradigm is “mechanical medicine,” where the body is viewed as a machine unaffected by the mind. The second is “mind-body” medicine, where one’s mind may affect one’s own body. This paradigm has achieved scientific support in recent years. The third paradigm, however, remains a scientific heresy: it suggests that one’s mind can affect someone else’s body. Labeled “nonlocal” or “Era III medicine” by Dr. Dossey, the model is troublesome because nothing in western science suggests such a possibility. Yet a little known body of research lends support, and seems to suggest the existence of something Dr. Dossey calls “nonlocal mind.”
This workshop will explore evidence for “nonlocal” healing in medicine (and by extension, social work). It will examine the importance of spirituality in this endeavor, the relationship between spirituality and religion, and how both can be engaged in “Era III” healing. It will examine potential relationships among brain, mind, and spirit, and discuss how mind and spirit can enhance healing. Other evidence for “nonlocal mind” (in addition to nonlocal healing) such as precognition, premonition and spontaneous experience of another’s pain will also be discussed.
The workshop will examine scientific research regarding Era III modes of healing with 1) cells, 2) plants, 3) animals, and 4) humans. It will discuss both positive and negative evidence. It will explore how Era III healing may work, including qualities of resonance, characteristics of the hologram, findings from quantum physics, and research on the “Zero-Point Field.”
If healing intention (and/or prayer) can affect organisms beyond the body of the person directing such intention (and much evidence suggests that it can) what does this mean for social workers? Can social workers better serve their clients if they have a deeper understanding of spirituality and how it may relate to the “nonlocal paradigm” emerging in medicine? Can social workers more effectively help their vulnerable clients to heal, both physically and emotionally, if aware of the possible existence of “nonlocal mind?” Can Era III discoveries in research help social workers understand why the compassionate, nonjudgmental relationship is so crucial in professional practice?
Learning Objectives
- Identify three eras of medicine (Era I, Mechanical Medicine; Era II, Mind-Body Medicine; & Era III, Nonlocal Medicine), and their defining characteristics.
- Gain knowledge about “Era III” approaches to healing that involve spirituality (prayer and conscious intention).
- Examine potential relationships among brain, mind and spirit, and learn how mind and spirit can enhance healing.
- Learn about modern scientific research regarding Era III modes of healing with 1) cells, 2) plants, 3) animals, and 4) humans.
- Explore deeper meanings of spirituality, the relationship between spirituality and religion, and how both can be engaged in “nonlocal” approaches to healing.
- Identify how Era III healing may work, including qualities of resonance, characteristics of the hologram, findings from quantum physics, and research on the “Zero-Point Field.”
- Explore empowering implications of Era III discoveries regarding spirituality, science and healing for professional social workers.
Instructor
Carolyn Cressy Wells, PhD, LCSW is a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Prior to UW Oshkosh, she taught social work at Marquette University. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Academy of Certified Social Workers. She has served on a number of accreditation site teams for the Council on Social Work Education. She is the author of three social work texts: Social Work Day to Day: the Experience of Generalist Social Work Practice, now in its 3rd edition; Social Work Ethics Day to Day: Guidelines for Professional Practice; and Stepping to the Dance: the Training of a Family Therapist. She is co-author of a fourth text, The Social Work Experience, an Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare, now in its 5th edition. She maintained a small private practice for many years and currently serves as a hospice volunteer, playing Celtic harp at bedside. She received a BA in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley and an MSSW and PhD in Child Development and Family Relationships from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Target Audience
These workshops are appropriate for social workers, professional counselors, and educators. These workshops meet the Wisconsin Department of Regulations and Licensing Continuing Education Requirements for licensed Social Workers and Professional Counselors.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Northeast Wisconsin Alliance for Social Worker Continuing Education is to provide learning experiences that will meet your social worker continuing education requirements as determined by the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing.
Registration Deadline
Your registration is requested 10 days prior to each program. After the registration deadline, call the Office of Continuing Education and Extension to determine program availability. Enrollment is limited.
Credit
Social Worker and Counseling Practice Continuing Education Hours (CEH):
Social work training programs sponsored by the Northeast Wisconsin Alliance for Social Worker Continuing Education will be accepted by the State of Wisconsin as continuing education hours. Attendance at the workshop will earn 4.5 continuing education hours.
Attendance at the workshop will earn 4.5 Continuing Education Hours (CEHs) / .4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Questions
For more information, contact the Office of Continuing Education and Extension, UW Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, WI 54901-8623 or phone (920) 424-1129 or toll-free (800) 633-1442.
Sponsored by the Northeast Wisconsin Alliance for Social Worker Continuing Education
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