Incorporating Embodied Empowerment Skills in Social Work Practice

In “Empowerment, Social Justice, and Feminist Self-Defense: The Benefits of Incorporating Embodied Empowerment Skills in Social Work Practice,” empowerment self-defense instructors Amy Jones, Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center, and Katy Mattingly, University of Michigan, encourage social workers to explore empowerment self-defense (ESD) and consider adding it to the other interventions they already use. They make the case that ESD is an effective intervention to prevent violence, increase self-efficacy and confidence, and reduce depression , anxiety, and traumatic stress symptoms.

Jones, Amy L.E. and Katy Mattingly. 2016. Empowerment, Social Justice, and Feminist Self-Defense: The Benefits of Incorporating Embodied Empowerment Skills in Social Work Practice,” Journal of Women and Social Work: 1-9.