Beyond the Code of Ethics, Part I: Complexities of Ethical Decision Making in Social Work Practice

Abstract

The authors have acquired experience in, and opinions on, ethical decision making while serving on a (U.S.) National Association of Social Workers (NASW) peer consultation ethics call line. The authors agree with scholars who view all human perceptions and activities as shaped by values, with the concurrent need to become more self-conscious about the ethical dimension of our daily life and professional practice. It is argued that our social work code of ethics is a necessary but insufficient tool for ethical decision making. The Code of Ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 1996) is frequently used as a risk management tool, offering guidelines for practice which may or may not be compatible with the goals of social justice for which social work ideally stands. Additionally, the unique and unexpected ways ethical issues emerge in clinical practice work against attempts to apply the Code as a rule book. Distinctions between ethical, legal, and clinical issues are difficult, given that the two latter domains have inevitable ethical implications. The authors urge readers to supplement a model of purely rational, ethical decision making with their emotions and intuition as shaped by our culture and our profession. Ethical judgments are best made in small groups where members bring different perspectives and intuitions to the process while agreeing on basic humanistic values.

Islam in the 21st century: Can the Islamic belief system and the ethics of social work be reconciled?

“…Although the police were investigating the incident as a hate crime, Haque clearly expressed that he was "afraid," did not "want no hate," and wished that a lot of the negative acts on himself and his Islamic community would "go away." Since the Code of Ethics of the NASW (NASW, 2016) necessitate that social workers have a high regard for service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence (Brill, 2001;DiFranks, 2008;Freud & Krug, 2002;Netting et al, 2016;Reamer, 1998), these professionals must recognize that they share many of the same core values as Muslims, although they are expressed in different ways. So, instead of focusing on the pain that has been inflicted by a few Muslims, social workers should work to promote the idea that the majority of Muslims do not agree with the beliefs and actions of radical Islamists, or have not themselves been negatively affected, whether individually or collectively, by the actions of radical Islamists.…”

“…Specifically, "values have been defined as beliefs, while ethical practice has been viewed as the application of these beliefs" (Congress & McAuliffe, 2006, p. 153 (Brill, 2001;DiFranks, 2008;Freud & Krug, 2002;Netting, Kettner, McMurty, & Thomas, 2016;Reamer, 1998;Rhodes, 1986).…”

Using Friendship to Build Professional Family Work Relationships where Child Neglect is an Issue: Worker Perceptions

“…More recently authors from these perspectives have conceptualised ways of negotiating professional relationships using metaphors such as "a stretchy piece of elastic" (Green, et al, 2006, p. 450), and a neutral "territory" (Austin, et al, 2006). These authors, and others, challenge the discourse of professionalism that values managerialist ideas of practice, and tries to limit organisational and worker risk by reducing opportunities for professional discretion (Cooper, 2010;Doel, 2010;Freud & Krug, 2002;Green, et al, 2006;Maidment, 2006). They argue that workers in such environments feel compelled to relate to clients in more rigid and distant, and less warm and personalised, ways, or else be disciplined by colleagues, managers, and the wider profession (Cooper, 2010;Doel, 2010;Freud & Krug, 2002;Maidment, 2006).…”

“…These authors, and others, challenge the discourse of professionalism that values managerialist ideas of practice, and tries to limit organisational and worker risk by reducing opportunities for professional discretion (Cooper, 2010;Doel, 2010;Freud & Krug, 2002;Green, et al, 2006;Maidment, 2006). They argue that workers in such environments feel compelled to relate to clients in more rigid and distant, and less warm and personalised, ways, or else be disciplined by colleagues, managers, and the wider profession (Cooper, 2010;Doel, 2010;Freud & Krug, 2002;Maidment, 2006). Furthermore, specific to work with families where child neglect is an issue, some have noted that effective interventions involve a nurturing-type approach 5 (Gaudin, 1993;DePanfilis, 1999).…”

“…While softening of notions of the need for rigid relationship boundaries has occurred in some professional codes of ethics (Austin, et al, 2006), other codes and policies for practice have not decoupled these ideas (Doel, 2010;Freud & Krug, 2002;Maidment, 2006).…”