As human service professionals we have to understand that we will have clients from different cultures, socioeconomic classes, and ages. We have to be able to assist all of them without any bias or without pushing our beliefs onto them. Having an understanding that ethical perspectives are subjective, varying across cultures, socioeconomic classes and generations is important in the human service profession so that we are able to provide our clients with the best resources possible for their needs. Ethics may be defined in many different ways, but have to remember that most of the definitions indicate that ethics is a set of guiding principles or moral values (Martin, 2014). We live our lives everyday by a set of ethical values and principles …show more content…
To understand empathy a person has to know the difference between empathy and sympathy. To be an effective practitioner in the human service profession we cannot limit our emotional responses to sympathy alone, we have to be able to also feel what our client it feeling and empathize with them (Martin, 2014). As a human service professional we have to make sure we are setting boundaries with our clients and that we understand the difference between their issues and our own to be effective at assisting our clients (Martin, 2014). The best way for a human service professional to increase their capacity to empathize with clients is education about the different cultures, genders, ages, and groups in the community so that they are aware of what is truly happening and the best steps to take to be able to provide the proper resources. As a human service professions cultural competency is important and there is training for that which allows the professional to learn not only about different cultures, but also income levels, religions, physical and mental capacities, genders, and sexual orientations (Martin, 2014). The human service field like many other professional fields has their own set of ethical standards that are to be followed on a professional level, but we also have to make sure that our own and our clients ethical standards are being
Human Service professionals are responsible for many tasks over a course of one’s position as a professional. One part of what is required of a Human Service worker would be the understanding of the individual, family and community that they are serving, respecting the diversity that would be amount us, and being able to make professional judgments whenever one is needed to.
The NASW code of ethics serves as a guideline for social workers and its student for decision making in regards to any ethical situation and a violation of such will then be proceeding into a peer review. The Declaration of Human Rights illustrates that all human beings are to be treated with fairness and justice in order to end oppression and discrimination. Many countries throughout the world use the document in conjunction to others as a reference of basic human
It shows that professional values and personal morals do not always have to clash. These values can be used concurrently to provide better services to clients as a social worker. A lot of these professional values practitioners follow are extracted from morally and ethically accepted practices which means they go hand in hand with many personal standards which are also mainly tailored in accordance to moral and ethical beliefs and practices. They all focus on treating every individual equally and fairly and putting the client’s interests first just as the ethical standards
All of the choices we make are influenced by our socialisation which helped shape our values and beliefs. In order to work effectively with clients, it is important for workers in the human services industry to have a firm grasp of who they are, what their values and beliefs are, a vision of their ideal future, the values of their profession, and what to do in the event of a value clash. This aids in providing clients with a service that is free of prejudice and helps workers practice ethical decision making. This essay aims to explore my personal values, beliefs and visions, before examining how my values align with core social work values, and finally looking at managing value clashes.
Ethical Issues in Social Work I will provide practical help for new social workers to help them understand and deal with ethical issues and dilemmas which they will face. There are many ethical issues which are important to social work, but I feel that these are all covered by the care value base. The care value base Was devised by the care sector consortium in 1992, this was so that the workers in health and social care had a common set of values and principles which they would all adhere to. It is important because for the first time the social care sector had a clear set of guidelines from which ethical judgements could be made. The care value base is divided into 5 elements - The care value base covers - Equality and Diversity - Rights and responsibilities - Confidentiality - Promoting anti Discrimination - Effective communication Equality and Diversity Carers must value diversity themselves before they can effectively care for the different races, religions and differently abled people they will come across in their caring profession.
The National Association of Social Work's Code of Ethics is not only something that is crucial to someone in the field of Social Work but can also be applied to everyday life. These values in which the Code of Ethics mandates professionals to use are very important in knowing how to help clients in bettering their lives, and in help society as a whole become a better place. Service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence are all the core values of Ethics and should be learned and practiced by all, not only Social Workers (NASW, 2008).
In the National Association for Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, there are many standards a social worker should uphold in order to promote a healthy and helpful relationship with the client. One such aptitude is Cultural Competence and Social Diversity, which is in section 1.05 of the NASW code of ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). There are three sections associated with this competency “Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths of all cultures”. It is assumed that “social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients”. As a final point “Social workers should obtain education” in order to understand cultural diversity and oppression in people (NASW, 2008, p. 9).
As a student new to social work, The Code of Ethics written by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is in the forefront of my mind whenever practicing my freshly learned skills. According to the Code, these rules were written as the “values, principles, and standards to guide social workers’ conduct” (Code of Ethics - NASW, n.d.). Within my most-recent session, certain aspects of this code were relevant, including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, a commitment to the client, the dignity and worth of a person, the importance of human relationships, integrity and competency of the worker, and social diversity.
O’Conner pinpointed ( as cited in Chenoweth& McAuliffe, p. 78) that the code of ethics is clearly linked to the process of professionalization which establishes guideline for professional behavior, assist in establishing a professional identity, provide self-regulation measures, protect clients from incompetent practitioners and protect worker from malpractice lawsuits. The primary responsibility of worker is to promote the well-being of clients. As a disability worker, Code of ethics is intended to assist all workers collectively and individually to act in ethically accountable ways. It helps to identify the ideals and purpose of the social work profession. In instances when clients are not receiving services, the worker should provide information about nature and extent of services.. In the same way, in the field of disability, the code of ethics is the core document which informs and guides the ethical practice of disability worker (AAAW, 2010). The human services professional protects the integrity, safety, and security of clients records, and the professional should be aware that
As a human service professional my own philosophy of life, your personal values, and your vision for the future of the world, and your values in relationships will inevitably impact on the decisions I make, and how I will react when they are questioned by clients, other professionals or conflict with the policies, procedures and laws I will work under. The important role ethics holds in providing a guideline for best practice and ethical decision making, in protecting both the counsellor and the client, and providing professional legitimacy (O’Connor, Wilson, and Setterlund, 2003, p.224). I will explore my personal values, and how congruent they are with the core values of social work and human services. By doing this regularly as a human services professional, I am better equipped at dealing with clashes between my values and the values of clients, other professionals and agencies, and managing the challenge of not imposing my personal values on others and when advocating for social justice.
In the Human Service professional we are bound by a code of ethics, we have a duty to our clients to help them during a crisis. When faced with dilemma’s we can use this code to help in decisions, to distinguish right or wrong, and set a standard on how we should conduct ourselves. It is standard to ensure people that are in a venerable state are treated with dignity, and respect. In this Human Service field we have three Associations that have a code of ethics in place to help us in our profession. Because of the ever changing times and happenings the code of ethics will probably be revised and improved to ensure the welfare and safety of people.
Ethics consists of factors such as culture, religion, and these continuously affect a person’s beliefs and ethics. As individuals continue to develop and adapt to different values and ethics. This is through past experiences and the expectations as our life pattern changes. Core values in social work practice are the code of ethics, informing our understanding of the difference and diversity. The social work profession is evaluated by a whole set of guidelines, measures put in place by regulatory bodies, allowing the movement to put in place new governmental laws and guides within this field.
Empathy is the ‘capacity’ to share and understand another person’s ‘state of mind’ or their emotion. It is an experience of the outlook on emotions of another person being within themselves (Ioannides & Konstantikaki, 2008). There are two different types of empathy: affective empathy and cognitive empathy. Affective empathy is the capacity in which a person can respond to another person’s emotional state using the right type of emotion. On the other hand, cognitive empathy is a person’s capacity to understand what someone else is feeling. (Rogers, Dziobek, Hassenstab, Wolf & Convit, 2006). This essay will look at explaining how biology and individual differences help us to understand empathy as a complex, multi-dimensional trait.
Sympathy; what dangerous feeling to us Social Workers, yet it comes naturally without any warning and we have to make sure we convert it to empathy before its too late. We have to make sure we do not only agree with some aspects of the clients feelings, beliefs, etc. that he/she believe in which translates into sympathy, but above all we should involve experience, understand and tune into her/his entire inner world to represent empathy. If we Social service workers use empathy, we will respond more expandable to the client.
There are certain ethics that social workers must follow and is a guidance for professional standard of work. However sometimes people are not aware of their own values, though the more fully conscious someone is about their values, the more people are able to ensure that their actions are consistent with the values. As a social worker it is vital to know the dangers of not taking account of values and the ethical dimension of practice. A social worker should see their client for who they are and not just another object that is unclear by their own emotions hence why self-awareness is a key to