Conscious spiritual theory: a spiritual alternative to critical social work practice

ABSTRACT Critical practice is often used to create space for the inclusion of knowledge and practice that has been marginalized. In this piece, it is argued that while critical practice can create the space for spiritual knowledge and practice, there may be a spiritual alternative to general critical social work practice. This paper presents Conscious Spiritual Theory/Practice as an alternative practice approach to Critical Theory/Practice for social workers keen to work with human rights and social justice issues from a spiritual perspective. To do this, Conscious Spiritual Theory is explored within an existing critical framework for practice.