Social Worker and Their Code of Ethics Essay

Ethical dilemmas happen frequently in the social work and how one handles them could be the difference on how a clinician keeps their license or not. The problem is there is no way to prepare a person from knowing what situations will arise. Scenarios arise all the time and new ways to handle them is constantly changing. The ethical dilemma can happen anywhere and at any time with anyone, it could be a client, co-worker, and even supervisors. No social worker is safe from them. One however can practice with scenarios and be aware of personal biases. A social worker needs to evaluate each dilemma with the different frameworks and principals to determine which one applies best, anticipate what possible outcomes could happen, and what interventions a social worker would implement.

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

There are many ways in which social workers can avoid ethical dilemmas. In regards to the Jones case I will explain five ethical dilemmas. I will explain what 3 core values could have benefitted the Jones family and I will give three strategies I will use to practice ethical behavior in my field of social work in the future.

Ms. Ward refused to service a client while enrolled in a practicum and referred him on the basis that his intake information disclosed that he wished to speak about a homosexual relationship. Ms. Ward then attempted to refer him to another counselor because she had conflicting religious views. Ms. Ward was then notified that referring a client because of their sexual preference was against the code of ethics and was offered remediation training to better help those who differ from her personal beliefs. Ms. Ward refused the training, explaining that she would not put her religion second to her profession.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), psychologists provide services with populations and in areas only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation study, or professional experience, together with safeguarding my understanding of factors associated with age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. (APA, 2017, 2.01a, 2.01b). Along the same lines, psychologists do not engage in unfair discrimination or harassment based on age, gender, gender identify, sexual orientation, etc. (APA, 2017, 3.01, 3.03). Thus, although in this case I would be treating Matthew’s parents or family, they were deeply affected by the outcome of a gruesome anti-gay hate crime, therefore I would need to ensure that I would not be inclined to discriminate in any way. Furthermore, even though at the time of Matthew’s assault there was not any legislation regarding hate crimes that referred to anti-gay acts and same-sex marriage was not yet legalized, as an ethical psychologist it is important to remain cognizant that regardless of any conflicts between ethics and the law or regulations, under no circumstances should psychologists use said law or regulations to justify or defend the

There is a great necessity for the code of ethics in social welfare. The first code of ethics was “adopted in 1960” and was a single page (NASW,1998, para. 8). The last major adoption was in 1996, which was similar to what we see today, in the 2008 edition. In this changing profession it is absolutely necessary for a social worker to have something to reference to when there is an ethical dilemma, because they will transpire from time to time (NASW, 1998).

To begin with, the client whose name is Mr. Sam Pilsudski has an obstructed airway secondary to cancer of the larynx. He is a 67-year-old widower, and a father of one son and two daughters, who is unconscious and terminally ill, if not for a much-needed operation to remove both his cancer and larynx to save his life. However, one of Mr. Pilsudski’s daughters has adamantly refused to consent to the surgical procedure despite the physician explaining that although the operation would unfortunately render his patient disabled without a voice consequentially, but ultimately surviving the procedure to live and recover. Moreover, the physician attempted with rational and clear communication to express the gravity of the rather poor prognosis of his illness to his daughter that in the event of foregoing the surgery, his patient would surely die (Ralph Dolgoff, Donna Harrington, and Frank M. Loewenberg (2012), Ethical Decisions for Social Work Practice. 9th Ed; p. 279).

Throughout my 13-year career in the Human Services field, spending the majority of that time working with adolescent girls in residential treatment facilities, I am very much aware of the risks that exist with regard to sexual relationships between professionals and clients. In that time, it came to my attention that at least three employees at programs where I was employed had sexual relationships with clients. In addition to the ethical issues that arose from these situations, all of the clients were under 18 years of age so the actions of these employees had legal ramifications. Many of our clients had been victims of sexual abuse prior to admission into our program. I always viewed our programs as safe places where clients would be treated with respect and could develop strong therapeutic relationships with both their counselors and program staff members. Unfortunately, the actions of a few had a detrimental effect on our programs and also the lives of our clients. Having dealt with these issues and focusing on ethical decision-making throughout my education and professional career, the ethical dilemma of

Social workers might be faced with ethical dilemmas simply because often times cultural practices conflict with human rights. Social workers might find themselves having to decide between what is best for their clients, what the clients want, and what is humanly right. Or, respecting their client’s cultural practices and up holding their beliefs of human rights. Such situations might allow oppression to happen. How? Rejecting a person from practicing their rituals regardless of the actions can be looked at as a form oppression. In the human rights document, article 27 allows for everyone to freely practice their cultural beliefs. On the other hand, allow them to practice their rituals, especially if it harms an individual is also a form of

My professional and personal values remained congruent with the social justice and social advocacy mission values of CICI, and afforded me the chance to see the ethics of my mental health counseling program in action. Accordingly, my values stand as self-determination to encourage social justice and social change on behalf of my clients. It behooves me to highlight how meaningful this value subsists for me since this was one of the central purposes that inspired me to pursue a career in mental health counseling. As a gay man, I realized that the LGBTQ community needs many advocates for their rights and for society’s acceptance, especially for the LGBTQ youth of today. Therefore, I recognized that counseling was

If the counselor has any biases or prejudices against anything in Jenny's case, it is going to be obvious for the client. It would have a negative reaction with with the client. If it is because she is transgender and may not "pass" or because she is Native American or because of the unprotected sex, it would be obvious that the counselor has a problem with it and that could make the situation very uncomfortable for Jenny and make her less likely to open up about her situation or have her come back at all. As a counselor or should not have any biases or prejudices, especially when it comes to these situations. Situations like this and with this certain problems are becoming more common and should not be met with any

Ethical is defined by doing or knowing right from wrong which relates to moral principles, most of us when we think about ethical standards we think about “doing the right thing even when no one else is looking”. As a social worker practitioner you are label as a professional who should always carry an ethical attitude. In the situation with Alfonso and his new client, he should consider the fact that he could have a personal relationship with the teenager that he is unaware of, like the simple fact that he lives near the clients, his children attends the same school as the client, furthermore both teenagers play on the same Boy Scout team, if Alfonso son and the teenage boys shall become close friends and Alfonso allows the teenagers to

The Number 18 on the self-assessment got my attention. This information professionally made me aware of what some may concern me of having a shortcoming. I am concern about counseling lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clients if it has anything to do with their relationships. If the counseling is about other issues, I am fine. In that I consider same-sex relationships to be a sin, I don’t believe I would be the best counselor for them. I am thinking more about the client than myself. I believe it would be unethical for me to counsel them. I would not impose my belief on them, but I would have a hard time being authentic. I would refer them to another counselor. I would tell them I would like to refer you to someone who specializes

I enjoyed reading your break down of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers ethical vales.

Secondly, authors/practitioners have provided frameworks to help clarify conflicting values and ethical dilemmas. For example: Mattison (2000, p.206) offers a framework to analyse ethical dilemmas such as: