Learning Products

Throughout the social work education journey, there have been many opportunities to reflect on what practice would look like through the intersection of class and the Canadian Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics (2005).  When reflecting on the key values of the profession, I consider the following learning products as evidence of my best work in upholding the core values of social work:

Value 1: Respect for the Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons – Integrative Case Analysis Pt. 1; Integrative Case Analysis Pt. 2; Integrative Case Analysis Pt. 3

This assignment was a 3-part collaborative project done with Jordan Curliss and Scott Mastel.  As outlined by the CASW (2005), this value highlights the worth and dignity of all individuals.  One of the key considerations of this value is that coercion only exists when laws can override the client’s wishes.  In these circumstances, the use of coercion is at a minimum.  Respect for diversity emerges from autonomy.  Upholding autonomy is viewed as a just cause, as long as there is an absence of violating the rights of others.  In these instances, the social worker upholds the right of society to put limitations in place to protect others from harm.  Another special consideration under this value is the social worker’s responsibility to determine if a child can consent, and explain to the parent(s)/guardian(s) the considerations that arise in the working relationship.

In this integrative case analysis, our group created a family with complex needs that put many social work values to the forefront.  In particular,  were the complexities that emerged around substance use, parenting, and culture.  Since the legalization of cannabinoids has taken place, there has been an emerging shift in culture that is arguably in conflict with the literature on holistic wellbeing from a biopsychosocial perspective.

In this instance, the parents, both experiencing different stages of change and functional impacts from substance use, highlighted the dilemmas of respecting the individual’s autonomy when children are involved.  The strengths of the family system, along with areas where there were strained relations arose were explored.  This provided opportunities to use family systems theory and explore Bowenian concepts in the family genogram.  The assignment highlighted the relevance of both the strengths perspective and family systems theory in a family assessment.

Considering relevant legislation surrounding child welfare, the rights of others (the children) were also explored, along with a child’s ability to consent to services.  Thus, the implications of and the importance of social policies that guide practitioners on the legal definitions of harm regarding substance use were important learning that transfers over to direct practice.  It also brought to the forefront autonomy of individuals and respect for the client’s decision to make choices based on voluntary, informed consent, while being in a position where the social worker carries out decision-making around duty to report. This fits within the ethical principles by understanding when society has the right to impose limitations on self-determination to protect the individual or others from self-harm, and being cautious about the conditions that give justification to impose those limitations on self-determination.

It was our position that the knowledge we had gathered on the family did not meet the requirements listed in the legislation under the duty to report.  Thus, we worked with the goals that emerged within the family that would help enrich the functioning of the family system.  Doing so allowed us to uphold the principle of enabling clients to make choices that were voluntary while maintaining consent for services.

 

Value 2: The Pursuit of Social Justice –  Keeping the Dream Alive

One of the most influential social movements that geared me towards social work and its value of social justice was the civil rights movement.  This paper helped outline for me the significance of grassroots organizing, along with the significance of solidarity when multiple organizations seek to challenge social injustice.  The March on Washington did have a centralized base for its satellite groups throughout the nation, alliances with other spiritual groups, trade unions, and communities with similar goals allowed for momentum to build in a decentralized way. Part of the significance of the learnings from this paper is how a systems theory mindset can be applied, and bring together individual groups that on their own would not have much power.

As part of the movement for the March on Washington, organizers specifically set up funding to allow for impoverished community members across the country to partake in the movement.  This underscored moving beyond a meeting of basic needs of the individuals and moved towards a heavier focus of social inclusion through social action.  Creating accessibility for individuals to become empowered by creating circumstances in which the individuals themselves can participate in social action undermines the structural barriers imposed on the underserved, which can be viewed as a direct challenge to the reinforcement of privilege through socio-economic benefits of the privileged. While the events after the March on Washington, primarily the assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy emerged as an opposition to those seeking to provide social justice, the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were concrete gains that can be drawn from the principles of Satyagraha in the face of violence that influenced the protest and movement overall. This is a movement that also signifies the importance of cultivating allyship amongst various groups who share similar goals. Furthermore, working with empathy for those suffering from injustices can be a powerful asset in the planning of social justice activities.

 

Value 3: Service to Humanity – Groups Inquiry: Working with Shame and Guilt

The CASW (2005) discusses service to humanity within the context of social justice, putting the client over personal goals or advantage while contributing to their community through the disciplined and responsible use of their authority. This is placed along with the backdrop of client autonomy in the development of individual goals and just society. This is all carried out while the social worker uses their knowledge and skills to facilitate fair resolutions to conflict and assisting those affected. The above paper was an exploration of vicarious shame and guilt, and navigating between shame and guilt to foster an environment where reparations can take place. Awareness of vicarious emotions, especially within a group setting, provides the social worker with insights on how group dynamics can be positively or negatively impacted and shape interventions.  Of particular relevance is the self-affirmation theory’s role in challenging defence mechanisms.  This fits well with a strengths-perspective, while not discounting the significance of potential contributions to social injustice.

The key learning from this paper, when considering the needs of clients and promotion of social justice is centred around working through collective guilt/shame to promote an environment where the individual(s) of an in-group becomes open to reparations to the out-group. Part of the responsible use of power that emerged from this paper was gearing individuals of the in-group to adopt an intersectional mindset and explore the oppression they have experienced. The layering of in-group and out-group experiences, combined with an approach of developing inner and outer empathy, allows the client to enhance or establish perspective-taking skills.  These skills can form a basis for goals that consider social justice while reducing the shame barrier that keeps oppression in place.

Psychoeducational components, such as discussing the theories of incremental and entity mindsets, are a use of authority in the role of an educator to introduce social science concepts to clients. Still, they leave the clients open to autonomous decision-making within their worldview. By combining intersectionality and vicarious emotion literature with incremental/entity mindsets literature and self-affirmation theory, the practitioner provides an opportunity for individuals to consider moving away from defence mechanisms.  Clients are thus offered tools to examine where they and other individuals fit within society without the self-interest of the practitioner overtaking the process as an agent of control.

 

Value 4: Integrity in Professional Practice – Unhealthy Masculinity in the Family

The value outlines having respect and adherence to the ethical principles of social work (CASW, 2005).  Part of these values includes acting professionally and responsibly, as to not impose our own agenda on clients.  Identifying as an ally of Marxist-feminist principles, working with families with integrity means not pushing my personal values while upholding social work values in the working relationship.

Seeking to not bring the profession into disrepute, this paper looks at applying family systems theory in hypermasculine families, while considering the resource access discrepancies between the sexes throughout history.  Such an approach does not impose beliefs but recognizes practice theories such as intersectionality, critical theory, systems theory, and social learning theory.  The focus is on looking at discourses of power between the genders throughout history.  This provides an opportunity for the worker and client to discuss how values are shaped by social forces, and explore their relevance in the client’s life.  Interventions explored include structural family therapy, narrative therapy, and Bowenian family practice.  The focus of the interventions that look at the goodness of fit within the family system does not require the social worker to take sides – allowing them to be impartial. Additionally, given that these interventions draw on the client collaboratively creating the solution, boundaries can be put in place that removes power from the social worker as the “fixer.”

By removing the power of the social worker as a “fixer,” the values and ethical principles of the profession/agency can be followed while demonstrating honesty when discussing family concerns through the aforementioned practices.  Honesty in exploring family circumstances, histories, and narratives opens the practitioner to be more open and transparent, as they are taking on a more realistic role as a facilitator.

Value 5: Confidentiality in Professional Practice – Ethical Considerations for Schizophrenia Research

Confidentiality in professional practice is outlined by the CASW (2005) as a protection of privacy, and the rights of the client to control if, how, and when information is shared with other parties. The exception to the rule is harm to self or others. Confidentiality can be viewed as a foundational component in the establishment of trust within the client-worker alliance, and provide a basis for inter-professional credibility as a healthcare profession. In research with vulnerable populations, due care to protect the identity of individuals is a manifestation of ethical practice.
In the Ethical Considerations for Schizophrenia Research paper, two key components that arise are consent and confidentiality. Consent, as a component of confidentiality, allows for the collection and transmission of personal information obtained by a client. In the case of working with individuals with a DSM diagnosis, considerations of appropriately acquiring consent need to be presented in a way that allows the client to weigh the pros and cons, while the practitioner also considers the capacity for consent. Furthermore, a continual revisiting of consent, in the context of power-relations and cognition, needs to be carried out.

Alternative delivery options, such as digitally-aided consent agreements, provide opportunities for different neural networks to process and integrate the scope and limits to confidentiality. Alternatively, evidence-based approaches for traditional consent procedures (eg. repetition, client rephrasing the privileges and exceptions or limits to confidentiality) can be used to confirm consent. In the context of research, confidentiality can be enhanced through clear adherence to relevant policies for researchers. Other options, such as experiment design, can promote confidentiality through procedures such as coding participants (to limit access to personally identifiable data), and selecting locations to carry out the research that removes the risk of a confidentiality breach.

Value 6: Competence in Professional Practice – A Mind-Body Exploration of HIV/AIDS & Mental Health

Competence in practice outlines the rights of clients to be offered the highest quality services possible, while social workers continually strive to maintain or increase their knowledge and skills (CASW, 2005). While medicine is not the area of focus for social workers, knowing how health circumstances and environments interact and impact the individual’s health is relevant to their social wellbeing. Mind-body interactions are also relevant in creating or selecting relevant approaches to use with clients. Thus, social workers need to be informed about the struggles populations face when there is adversity. In this paper, I use information from post-secondary classes I have taken in anatomy & physiology and psychology to examine how the immune system and neural networks of individuals with HIV/AIDS are impacted. This paper examines the role mental health can have in the progression of HIV to AIDS, along with the impacts HIV/AIDS has on the brain.  Considering mind-body-environment variables can allow social workers to consider a larger context when deciding on how their roles can aim to promote mental & physical wellbeing with individuals.  Such an approach allows the social worker to work within a biopsychosocial-spiritual perspective.  With the information in mind, social workers can then aim to improve social wellbeing in ways that may also improve the efficacy of treatments offered by other healthcare professionals. This fits within social work practice by seeking to improve the individual’s wellbeing through an application of a biopsychosocial perspective in practice.

Another consideration in this paper is the use of evidence-based literature to inform how social workers can work alongside other health professions. In the case of this paper, I also make mention of the neurotoxins that arise from Highly Active Antiretroviral Prevention regimens, and their capacity to impact the client’s social functioning alongside degeneration of the brain’s dopaminergic pathways. Some of the impacts of conventional treatment may thus impact treatment compliance.  Developing competence in multidisciplinary literature allows practitioners to consider the client’s mental and social wellbeing as having bi-directional influence within the greater context of their overall health.  Such considerations allow us to be better allies of the client and collaboratively work with other health professionals on the client’s goals.

References

Canadian Association of Social Workers. (2005).  Code of ethics.  Retrieved from https://www.casw.acts.ca/sites/default/files/attachements/casw_code_of_ethics_0.pdf