Date of Award
Spring 4-18-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.70013/u8cfqyz3
Degree Name
D.S.W. Social work
Department
Social Work
First Advisor
Dr. Juliana Svistova
Second Advisor
Dr. Janice Gasker
Third Advisor
Dr. Amy Stein
Abstract
Humans have an innate connection to nature, often referred to as biophilia. Besides providing the basic necessities for life, interacting with nature has been connected to lower rates of depression and hypertension, improved hospital outcomes, reduced stress, better cognition, and many other benefits. Conversely, increased urbanization is being linked to more chronic medical conditions than in the past due to social inequalities, lifestyle factors, and environmental degradation. People of color and lower socioeconomic status are being disconnected from nature through environmental racism that leads to higher exposure to toxins and pollutants, less access to clean drinking water, and lack of safe green spaces. While exposure to nature can seem daunting, research has shown that beneficial interactions with nature can be indoors or even virtual. Studies have also indicated that having these interactions with nature, even passively, promotes stewardship of the natural world. This desire to care for nature can promote environmental justice as one of the social justice priorities of social work. Incorporating nature into social work practice could be a logical extension of ecological systems theory and person-in-environment, which recognize the built and social environments that impact human wellbeing but paradoxically do not include the effects of the natural environment. While most of the research on the benefits of nature has been done in other fields, the researchers often ask who will do this work, and social work is uniquely positioned to incorporate nature into all levels of practice. This qualitative study utilized an online survey to explore how social workers at all levels are currently incorporating nature into their practice, why they started, and how they feel about including the natural environment into ecological systems theory. Grounded theory provided a framework for this study with the goal of creating a model for multilevel social work. Participants (N = 33) shared their personal stories and experiences as well as images from their physical spaces. Findings suggested that social workers who are incorporating nature into their practice are seeking more information and resources, and that they generally do not identify as green and/or ecosocial workers. The outcome was a model for incorporating interactions with nature into multilevel social work practice to promote wellness for people and the planet.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Palmer, Tessa, "A Qualitative Exploration of the Incorporation of Nature into Multilevel Social Work Practice" (2025). Social Work Doctoral Dissertations. 41.
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/socialworkdissertations/41
