Human Service Professional Values Essay

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.

"A value determines what a person thinks he ought to do, which may or may not be the same as he wants to do, or what is in his interest to, or what in fact he actually does. Values in this sense give rise to general standards and ideal by which we judge our own and others conduct; they also give rise to specific obligations” (CCETSW,

179: 14 cited in “what are values) Values are not just what you think it is also how you act and behave towards others. When I think of my personal values I think of respect for one’s self and others. I do this by showing understanding and acceptance, being non-judgmental, empathetic, patient, tolerant, compassionate and forgiving towards others. I seek happiness, pleasure, love, relationships, harmony, and the pursuit of knowledge, and open-mindedness are important to me. I also seek the recognition of others, especially in my work.
My values correlate with Kant and deontological ethics in that, I agree that you should do unto others as you would have them do to you and treat everyone with the same respect and dignity (O’Connor et al., 2003 and McAuffiffe, 2014, p.40). Conversely, I also agree with utilitarian ethics in that the ends do not justify the means and ethic care theory in that we should act for the greater good of all humanity and to do no harm (O’Connor et al., 2003 and McAuffiffe, 2014, p.41). On the other hand, my philosophical position depends on the situation, because I do not think that one philosophical view, set of values, or moral stance, can override another in every situation and take a liberal ethical pluralist approach (Migdale, 2015).
I agree with Hugman (2008, cited in McAuffiffe, 2014 p.43) in that “there are multiple perspectives on an issue, each of which contains part of the truth but none of which contains the whole truth.” I have to hear all sides of an argument before I can form an opinion and believe I have the right to change my mind, when I am presented with evidence based on logic that contradicts what I previously thought to be correct. Conversely, I am prepared to sacrifice my own values to accommodate the values of others and will back down in an argument to maintain harmony. I regular hear myself quote, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference” (Shapiro, 2008).
I agree with Rogers (1979) in that people usually have good intentions and want to be a good person. I have found that you can never know everything there is to know about another person and the impact their life experiences have had on them. No one can understand all of the mitigating circumstances that have led to someone making the choices they have made in their life, so no one should be judgmental. Every life experience a person has (and the genes you inherit from your parents) makes them into the person they are and shape their personal values, our personal values impact on the choices we make and the actions we take, which impact on the life experiences we have, and so the cycle repeats (Migdale, 2015).
My personal values originated from my parents, life experiences and education. My parents valued education, independence and success in life, in regard to career, financial stability and social status. My father was a teacher from a working class background and with a strong commitment to community service. In contrast, my mother was a business women from a wealthy background, that believed she could do anything she wanted and, if told she couldn’t, would do it just to prove that she could. (Migdale, 2015)
Education and financial stability are important to me however, life has since taught me that success is a relative concept, which I have redefined to simply being the pursuit of happiness and self-actualisation. My partner for 30 years has strong socialist convictions which have instilled in me a deep desire for fairness and equity and to question everything, especially authority. These influences have led me to support the disadvantaged and vulnerable people in society and advocate for equality and fairness, not just professionally, but in my personal life as well (Migdale, 2015).
My ideal vision for the world is for everyone to learn to be more respectful and tolerance as well as a more equitable distribution of resources (Migdale, 2015). I do not advocate for blind acceptance of others but think that there are common human rights and values that all humans share (McAuffiffe, 2014)that should be upheld, as endorsed by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 2015). I agree with McAuliffe (2014, p.53) in that “advocacy is about empowerment and is often a process that can guide us to challenge and negotiate inequitable power arrangements” but, not at any cost. Causing harm to others is not justified in any circumstance, particularly violence, even as a last resort when all the legal options have been exhausted. As Ife (1995, cited in Mendes, 2002, p.162) explained, before breaking the law there must be a strong moral justification and personal and public consequences must be considered.
Throughout my career I have found myself in positions where I assist people from diverse backgrounds, to achieve their potential in a variety of situations. This has shown me how resilient people can be, given me the self-gratification I need and had an enormous impact on the way my values and confidence have evolved (Migdale, 2015). I was a Student Advocate at James Cook University Student Association (JCUSA) for three years and worked for JCUSA for six years and I currently work as a Student Support Officer for JCU Student Equity and Wellbeing I see students when they are highly emotional and vulnerable and know how important it is that I comply to the JCU Code of Conduct and government legislation, particularly privacy and confidentiality. I also have to be mindful that I work with a Student Wellbeing Officer who is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers and Psychologists who is a member of the Australian Psychological Society so need to comply with their related codes of conduct and an AccessAbility Support Adviser, who must comply with disability policy and legislation.
I have adopted the Rogerian person-centred approach by trying to be “congruent, empathetic, warm and sensitive with good rapport, non-judgemental with unconditional positive regard for clients, attentive, understanding and supportive, collaborative while showing respect for the client’s competence and proficient in using counselling skills purposefully” (Geldard & Geldard, 2009, p.13.). I have found this approach compliments my values, complies with the codes of conduct I work within and gets the best results, but it is an evolving process and I am always learning, particularly from my clients (Migdale, 2015).
My personal values are also compatible with the core values of social work and human services, particularly in reference to the three core values defined by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Code of Ethics, 3.1 Respect for persons; 3.2 Social justice; and 3.3 Professional integrity (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2010, p.12-13).

I agree that “every human being has a unique and inherent equal worth and that each person has a right to wellbeing, self-fulfilment and self-determination, consistent with the rights and culture of others and a sustainable environment” (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2010,

p.12).
The AASW code also states that “social justice is a core obligation which societies should be called upon to uphold. Societies should strive to afford protection and provide maximum benefit for all their members” (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2010, p.13). Although, my pursuit of harmony can conflict with my need for social justice, I cannot sit by and let injustice and unfairness prevail in an inequitable power relationship. Bailey (2008, p.224) stated that real social workers are agitators and must advocate for social justice and human rights. Professionally, I have always tried to demonstrate “honesty, transparency, reliability, empathy, reflective self-awareness, discernment, competence and commitment” (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2010, p.13) in everything I do and say but I am only human. Beckett and Mannard (2005) agree that it is impossible to not let personal values influence professional decision-making but through regularly reviewing values under review, avoiding prejudice views, being open to other opinions.

In the past, I have found it challenging to not impose my personal values when working with clients with strong religious beliefs, especially when they are doing themselves or others harm. I am an atheist that puts their faith in scientific inquiry and evidence based logic, not a higher being, but I can still accept that religion has a purpose in some people’s lives (Migdale, 2015). I rely on my own code of ethics as a moral guide however, it would be unethical to impose this on a client and deny the strength spirituality can provide when people need it most. I am aware that “impressing moral judgement can do harm” (McAuliffe, 2014, p.143) and this applies to non-believers as well as believers.
On the other hand, Magelssen (2012, cited in McAuffiffe, 2014, p.142) states that, “serious violation of a deeply held moral conviction [and] a plausible moral or religious rationale can be acceptable criteria for conscientious objection to medical treatment”. I find it difficult to reconcile this with the Hippocratic Oath, which proclaims "to abstain from doing harm" (Howard , 2004) which must include the harm caused by not providing treatment. Conscientious objection for religious reasons that does cause harm, conflicts with my values. I have had to manage this by being honest and congruent with my clients and by telling them that I respect their beliefs and the strength it gives them. . I would not be able to neglect the client’s need to explore religious issues so I would have to let my client know that I did not have religious beliefs and give them the opportunity to see another counsellor who holds the same values and refer them to their spiritual advisor (Migdale, 2015).
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The AASW Code of Ethics section 5.1.1 Respect for human dignity and worth, states that social workers have the right to “redirect or refuse service on justifiable grounds, provided clients are redirected to appropriate support” (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2010, p.16) but also that “[s]ocial workers will respect others ‘beliefs, religious or spiritual world views, values, culture, goals, needs and desires, as well as kinship and communal bonds, within a framework of social justice and human rights.” (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2010, p. 17). I would not refuse to see a client on the grounds that our values are not aligned, unless continuing the counselling relationship was doing harm to either the client or myself, or the client was not comfortable with my stance on religion and wanted to change counsellors (Migdale, 2015).
Working as a counsellor or advocate in social work and human services can be confronting because your morals, values and virtues are being continuously questioned and inevitably influence the decisions you make. By being aware of their values, human services professionals are more likely to be aware of when their values are having a detrimental impact on their professional decision-making. As an atheist, my judgement is not clouded by religious morals, I can accept most philosophical and moral stances and adapt to most situations, but I cannot tolerate discrimination, unfairness, inequity and causing harm to others. Even though these values are compatible with social work I still have to continually re-evaluate my values as they evolve, and be aware that they may not be right for everyone in every situation.