Social workers in multi-cultural societies: Using a phenomenological lens to develop an integrative approach

Multi-culturalism is a common reality, and is expected to become even more significant in the future. One of its challenges is the need for professionals, especially social workers, to accommodate their practice to clients of various cultures. Their role demands cultural sensitivity, acceptance, a non-judgmental containing attitude and professional skills. This article will show how phenomenology can shed new light on the concept of cultural sensitivity and its implications on future interventions. We demonstrate this approach by looking at social workers’ various encounters with social problems in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. Several phenomenological categories will be discussed: The life-world; intentionality; the self with others; language; stock of knowledge at hand. Through the phenomenological lens, we will expose the inherent duality in the work of social workers in a multi-cultural society: awareness to cultural codes and professional ethics.