Social Worker Case Study

82&84

1.) If I was the social worker in case 3.3, it would be difficult with me to confront the husband about the information that I heard. Of course, I would want the husband to be honest to me about his extramarital affair, however, I do not want to force him to admitting to such an action. The man might be receiving the help that he needs without me knowing about his extramarital affair. On the other hand, being he is seeing me for counseling regarding his marital concerns, becoming aware of this third party is likely to be beneficial. I would not want to directly tell him that I discovered some things about him, because this will cause a lot of issues that I am not technically a part of. For example, conflict between him and his wife might arise for a variety of reasons. The man might not have known that his wife was also seeking services and once

In case 3.4, there is a potential for a conflict of interest. The social worker was working with a young boy who needed to see a developmental pediatrician, but the only one in their rural community was the social worker’s wife. If I were the social worker in this case I would have an open discussion with the family regarding the referral. I would directly say that I can refer the boy to the developmental pediatrician, but she is of close relation. I would also tell them that they are more than welcome to go somewhere else to receive services, but the nearest location is 90 miles away. Depending on where I am working and who the available resources are, I would see if there were other people who could take care of referring for the young boy. If I were to create a policy regarding referrals, I would include making sure that the social worker is referring with integrity and competency, and not just referring for the simple pleasure of easiness. Similarly, this would have an influence on my faith because as a Christian I want to act with integrity and competency, even in regards to who I am referring individuals