Dual Relationships In Social Work

Ethical dilemmas may arise during the course of a human service professional’s time with the client. The difficulty in finding a resolution to an ethical dilemma depends on the human service professional’s ethical practice and personal belief system. I believe that I would have little difficulty avoiding a dual relationship. My personal belief system tells me that a dual relationship creates a conflict of interest between the human service professional and the client. It leaves the door open for exploitation between both parties. It is a very fine line to walk when trying to gain the trust of the client. However, the main objective is to respect the integrity of the client and avoid any activities that could open the door to an intimate relationship that is unprofessional. I had an experience where the client’s sister was interested in me and wanted to know me in a way that was unprofessional. Ethically, I knew it was wrong and because of my personal belief I chose not to entertain her. Then, I notified my supervisor. An ethical dilemma that would be difficult for me to handle would be when a spouse shares information in confidentiality during marriage counseling, but does not want the other spouse to know. If I am counseling a husband and wife,

Trust is an essential factor in the helping process. Without it, clients will not feel free to share their most intimate thoughts and feelings. They will not be completely honest or forthcoming in conversations which will hinder the professional’s ability to truly help the client. For this reason, the promise of confidentiality becomes critical to the process. It is the “secret keeping duty” all helping professionals have an ethical obligation to observe (Younggren & Harris, p.589). It protects the client’s right to privacy and fosters an atmosphere in which one feels safe, facilitating trust and allowing one to feel comfortable enough to share their inner most feelings and thoughts. Most helping professionals agree that

With working relationships you have clear boundaries and policies and procedures in place that you must follow. You must follow the code of conduct. You are involved with the certain people for a reason and you cannot choose these relationships.

In the relationship between counsellor and client the need for confidentiality is vital as it is not only the bases that the relationship is built on and it is a legal obligation.

It is essential that everyone’s focus is on providing the best care and support to individuals, for example:

Social workers’ commitment to social justice means they want everyone to have a fair and equal opportunity to an assessment. In line with fairness, social workers should tell carers about their right to refuse an assessment as their permission, and not the person receiving care, is needed before the carer’s assessment can commence. In addition, social workers, bound by legislation regarding confidentiality and information sharing, must reserve the carer’s right to privacy whilst uphold their right to a fair hearing. This is achieved by only disclosing carer’s personal details to 3rd parties with consent, unless a safeguarding concern arises.

In the mental health field, dual relationships can often be damaging to both the client and the therapist. There are several situations where dual relationships, whether considered ethical or not, affect the course of treatment for the client, and the personal lives of therapists. Although some forms of dual or multiple relationships are unavoidable, engaging in a personal relationship between patient and client always involves the possibility of skewing therapeutic results. Dual relationships are defined as having relations with the client outside of therapy, and in most cases it is considered to be unethical. There are four main types of dual relationships including professional, social, business, and sexual. A professional dual

When social workers provide counseling services to families, couples, or groups, social workers should seek agreement among the parties involved concerning each individual’s right to confidentiality and obligation to preserve the confidentiality of information shared by others.

There are many tools in place to help professionals and clients associate with the field of social work to ensure ethical practices and a basic set of values and legal boundaries to protect the professionals in the field as well as the community they serve. Three such tools are NASW Code of Ethics, the CSWE Educational Policy and Standards, and HIPAA. These organizations and laws are set into place to protect the and support both the social worker and the vulnerable populations social workers serve, one such population being minors who are in the precarious situation of being unable to consent for themselves, having parents who often are incapable of making decisions on their behalf and susceptible to dual relationships with their social

The overall aim of this piece of work, is to describe and evaluate attachment theory and its value, it can have in the social work profession .One way I will do this is by finding a socially accepted definition of attachment theory and the academic 's who have defined the process and its effect within social work. Firstly we need to know what exactly what attachment theory actually is. I belief this can be described as being a set of theories derived from academic 's who feel attachment has a psychological normality for searching an individuals closeness to another person in there life, and there effect to promote security when that person is with them and the anxiety when they have gone. There are many theorist 's in the field of attachment and it is my intention to focus on three such Theorist’s, John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth to whom both have worked closely in this area and are recognised in some forums and being the “guru 's in the field of attachment, and David Howe, Professor of Social Work at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. Having a knowledge base of these theories as a social worker will enable and empower us when making decisions and the way in which we present ourselves,” Looking at both sides of the coin” and when and when not to intervene when assessing the need of the child and adult.

The social work profession’s Standards of Practice outlines the boundaries in the relationship between social workers and their clients and sets a mandate of their responsibilities as a social worker (Alberta College of Social Workers, 2013, p. 30). In the Code of Ethics, boundaries are also set at a high standard as we must draw metaphysical lines between personal roles or interests and professional (Canadian Association of Social Workers, 2005, p. 7) to prevent forming a dual relationship with clients. Another boundary is to halt the possibility of the social worker from using the time they have to help themselves rather than helping their clients (CASW, 2005, p. 6). In addition to these boundaries, it is crucial for social workers to not share too much of their personal life with clients by placing mental boundaries of how much they feel they can share of their personal life with their clients.

Working in the helping profession I will come across situations where I need to make a decision on whether to breach confidentiality in order to protect my client or others or “simply” practise within the framework of social equity and justice.

By withholding information from the client in respecting the wishes of Michael’s family by keeping the truth from the patient was posed by his family members. As a social worker, the primary mission is to “enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with attention to the needs and empowerment of individuals who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (Code of Ethics of the National Association of

My vision of the social work field is being able to help people in need and being the person that people can look back on and remember as a huge help in time of need. I think my core values and beliefs will help me be an effective social worker and help me succeed in this field. It is in my belief that a person should never be knocked down when they are going through hardships, and rather empowering them. I also believe that not everyone could be a social worker because it takes a certain kind of empathetic and self-aware person. I truly believe that my upbringing has humbled me to understand and not be judgmental of people’s issues since I’ve seen a lot in my short twenty-one years.

On the first page of Keith-Lucas’s, So You Want to be a Social Worker he makes note of how Christianity and social work share a lot of the same values, because of this the practice of social work can be viewed as a form of ministry. For example, most social workers, no matter their religion believe that all people have worth, and see a great importance in the showing of understanding and kindness towards them. Through my studies in APS 101, at Redeemer University College, I have learned that social work was brought up by the Church; I never knew of this relationship. This new knowledge makes me eager to learn more about the field, and the ways in which I can use it to serve not only my neighbors, but God himself, through its missionary characteristics.