My Personal Values Of Justice

Ethical theories are however debatable and usually mean different things to different people. It is therefore essential for social workers not to base their decisions solely on these theories, but make use of Codes of practice when faced with ethical dilemmas. Codes of practise are there so service users and carers are informed and know what to expect from social workers and hence there will always be trust between service user and client. According to Banks, values are regarded as those beliefs people regard as worthy or valuable (Banks, 2012).Some values are personal, yet some are culturally/ societally shared. Our personal values form during personal and social development; also past and present experiences influence them. Ethics is that which society considers as right, yet values are

The first value in the Code of Ethics is service. Personally, I believe this is one of the values that basically sums up social work. As a social worker, this value describes how one must help their client. By helping their client, they address obstacles that their client may be facing and help the client find the best available resources to assist them. Second, social justice is the next value described in the Code. This value describes what topics social workers focus on and work with. These can be topics regarding inequality, individuals living below the poverty line, health care, gender inequality and education. Social Workers strive to aid these issues and help clients who are facing these issues.

The National Association of Social Work (NASW) has identified a set of values that all social workers must consider during the course of their work (NASW, 2008). Social work values are broadly covered when you define social work as being a profession of aiding those in need and addressing oppression. Helping those in need directly relates to the value of supporting the needs of others. The definition also addresses the importance of bringing awareness to oppression. This relates to the values of addressing injustice, individuality and promoting harmony. On a broader perspective, all social workers are encouraged to continually pursue knowledge in their area and maintain ethical practices. Values have the purpose of ensuring that helpers always strive for what is best for the client. Manning (1997) points out that “the power to intervene in people’s lives carries

– My personal values will have to be respecting others, education, and helping and caring for others. The person(s) who I feel influenced me the most in forming my values is my parents and my grandmother. They influenced me because growing up they always preach about treating others with respect even if I feel like they don’t deserved it. They also made sure that education was a priority and not an option. For as helping and caring for others I always saw them helping when they didn’t necessary didn’t have too and not one complain or threw it in the person face. The value that lead me into social work is helping and caring for others wanting to see them do better and make better decision in life.

Looking at the values listed in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2008) and the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW, 2010) code of ethics, I can see that the values held by the profession are also values I regard highly, such as respect for persons, social justice, professional integrity, service, importance of human relationships, and competence.

A career in Social Work requires conviction to personal values that reflect and uphold the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. Professional ethics are the foundation of social work, as the trade has an innate obligation to endorse ethical principles and basic values to advocate for the wellness of others. The core values adopted by all social workers, as distinguished by NASW, are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. As a Clinical Social Worker, I will honor the NASW Code of Ethics in addition to my personal values of respect, self determination, responsibility, motivation, and wisdom. My personal values complement the NASW Code of Ethics and will resonate in my work as a social worker.

My personal values are very similar to the NASW Code of Ethics’ values. Some of the main values of the NASW Code of Ethics are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These values are all important to me, as I always strive to be thoughtful of others’ feelings and opinions, work hard, and understand what is going on around me. To me, a very important part of the NASW Code of Ethics is Privacy and Confidentiality. As someone who has had a social worker, and has had multiple therapists and psychiatrists, confidentiality was very essential to me as a client. If not for confidentiality, I would not have been able to fully express how I was feeling. Another value that I believe to be critical is respect. Respect is one of my three main values for many reasons, especially when thinking about social work. My goal, as a friend and future social worker, is to

Personal values and professional values run parallel in the social work field. Recognizing and managing your personal values while working with clients is an important task. Concentrating on your professional values is required for a social worker to assist her client to the best of her ability. During my internship there have been a number of cases that I have had to practice managing my personal values.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has written a code of ethics that serves many purposes. The main purpose is to identify the core ethics and values that provide the foundation for the profession. It details six basic principles for social workers to follow: service, social justice, dignity and worth, human relationships, integrity, and competence (National Association of Social Workers, 1999). The code acts as an ethical guide for students, and those professionals just

The commitment to act ethically is an essential aspect of social work due to the effect it can have on the quality of the service offered to those who engage with us. Through group discussions in our foundations of social work practice I have become extremely ethically aware and now will always seek to ascertain and respect, as far as possible, each individual’s preferences, wishes and involvement in decision making. From discussions with my fellow classmates I have learnt to strive to respect and uphold the values and principles of the profession by making sure I promote and work towards the code of ethics wherever possible. This in turn enables me act in a reliable, honest and trustworthy manner having worked closely with service users in a professional setting and learned of their good and bad experiences with practitioners through the service user experience we undertook in class. I believe I am now in a good position to apply the social work ethical principles to my professional practice, in a way that seeks to empower my service users and enable me to emulate the best practice. In addition from reading social work journals and staying on top of news regarding the profession more generally I am knowledgeable about the value base of social work as a profession .

Values which social workers are assumed to have are; unspoken understanding that social work can at times be pro bono, meaning no compensation for services provided, social workers must possess a knowledge of understanding regarding social injustice, they must be respectful when assisting individuals and be able to plan any type of intervention around beliefs and values the individual holds, whenever possible and social workers need to

The values set by their profession bind social workers by guiding their actions and decision-making in a professional setting. They are to respect the dignity and worth of persons, to strive for social justice, to offer humanity service, and to show integrity, confidentiality, and competence in their professional practice (CASW, 2005, p. 4).

After I graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara I was unsure what my next step would be. Of course I was anxious since I did not have experience working nor did I excel in my undergrad studies however, I knew I needed to use my newly earned degree in a positive way. Fast forward, after working for two years, I have gained the skills, knowledge and values from my work experiences that have confirmed my desire to advance my education in the social work field. I currently have my own case load of clients as a case manager at a level 12 group home but it’s time to take the next step forward. I want to ultimately advance social justice and provide services to assist individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.

Since the profession was recognized many concerns arose regarding the values and ethics of social workers. The key points of the NASW Code of Ethics, the CSWE Educational Policy and Standards, and HIPAA will be summarized. Some of the most challenging ethical issues facing social workers and the social work profession today, have been explored. The core values of the

• encourage you to develop self awareness of your own personal values through critical reflection.