Effects of Trauma

Part A

SECTION 1: READ & REVIEW

The Council on Social Work (CSWE) and the NASW Code of Ethics encourages social workers to apply ethical principles to their professional practice. You will read and review both.

The Council on Social Work (CSWE) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics are similar in their goals for the social work profession. The CSWE focuses on the competencies a social worker must possess to perform their duties ethically and professionally. At the same time, the NASW Code of Ethics pushes for ethical principles in the performance of social work. They both encourage social workers to use ethical principles and have similar codes and competencies. The goal is to guide the social worker in professional conduct so they can satisfactorily attend to their clients. In the performance of their duties, social workers need guidance to ensure they make decisions and appropriately conduct themselves. Ethics is vital in the social work profession because it guides social workers on how to conduct themselves and handle various clients. The CSWE and the NASW mandate social workers to remain ethical in their client interactions by providing guidelines that should always be observed (National Association of Social Workers, 1996). The NASW offers a set of standards that should guide social workers in their practice. The focus of the CSWE and NASW is to inform the social worker on what is required of them and how they can perform their duties without discrimination, favoritism, or mistreatment of clients. As indicated in the NASW Code of Ethics, a social worker should only offer services they have competency on. Competency is the main focus of the CSWE, where social workers are required to have specific competencies before they can be accredited to offer services to clients.

SECTION 2: RESPONSE QUESTIONS TO COMPLETE

QUESTION 1: NASW Code of Ethics

In 7 sentences describe your current level of familiarity with the NASW Code of Ethics.

The NASW Code of Ethics applies to all social workers and social work students (NASW Code of Ethics, 2017). Their professional functions, work settings, or the populations they serve do not matter, and social workers must always ensure they perform their work following ethical guidelines. The Code of ethics might look stringent, but it is meant to guide the social worker to ensure they attend to their client appropriately. The Code is divided into six primary ethical standards focused on social workers moral responsibility to clients, colleagues, in practice settings, as professionals, the social work profession, and the broader society (NASW Code of Ethics, 2017). Social workers can use the Code to guide their decision-making when dealing with diverse clients. Social workers can refer to the NASW Code of Ethics whenever an ethical issue arises to determine how they can handle it or conduct themselves. However, the Code does not offer a set of rules that inform how social workers should act in all situations. Therefore, social workers must rely on logic and apply the Code based on the considered context.

QUESTION 2: Rests Model and Ethical Decision-Making Process

a. Reflection on Rests Model Component 1: Moral Sensitivity

Moral sensitivity is demonstrated when the author notes that to infer that her impairment would interfere with her work as a professional social worker could be seen as prejudiced toward persons with a mental illness. The statement demonstrates moral sensitivity in that the author considers the other person and their needs and rights, not just his need to seem right (Garrigan et al., 2018). The author did not have any right to disclose Marys mental illness because they did not have information on her progress in dealing with her illness. Sensitivity is demonstrated when the author indicates they cannot claim that her impairment would interfere with her professional work because they do not have all the information regarding the case. Marys need to work as a professional social worker is considered by understanding that her illness cannot interfere with her work performance.

b. Reflection on Rests Model Component 2: Moral Judgment

Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained during professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. The general expectation that social workers will keep the information confidential does not apply when disclosure is necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client or other identifiable person. Disclosing the information about Mary would be breaking the privacy and confidentiality code since there was no imminent harm to any client (Zook, 2001). There was no way to argue that there was severe, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client because the author did not have much information regarding Marys illness. The encounter with Mary was brief and involved only admitting her to a mental health facility. Also, she was voluntarily admitted to the facility, demonstrating her willingness to deal with her mental illness.

c. Reflection on Rests Model Component 3: Moral Motivation

The Code is not a clear set of rules. Rather, it gives guidance to social workers. While it is instructive, the Code does not specify what course of action is best in all instances. (Zook, 2001) In the situation with Mary, there is no clear course of action offered by the NASW Code of Ethics, making it tricky to determine what is right in such a scenario. However, the author notes that it is best to use professional judgement to make an ethical decision in such cases. The ethical intention was to determine the best course of action by analyzing the different codes that can apply to the case. Demonstrating how they fit together and how they conflict with each other demonstrates the difficulty of the situation. Understanding Marys situation and knowing she was working towards her mental health illness was an essential guide in determining the best action.

d.: Reflection on Rests Model Component 4: Moral Character

There seemed to be no ideal course of action in this situation. I did not know how to predict what would happen if I talked with Mary. It is onceivable that I would have a colleague who was less than happy with my reminding her of her illness. Confidential information would be divulged if I did intervene by reporting to persons responsible for hiring. I could be identified as practicing discrimination toward persons with a mental illness. If I did not intervene, and she was hired, harm could come to clients. Here the author shows the various actions they could take and the consequences of the actions. When making an ethical decision, consideration should be given to the different actions that can be taken and their impact. However, when making an ethical decision, we should be prepared to face the consequences and challenges of the decisions. Therefore, the author should pick what feels right and offer justification for their decision. Social workers should ensure the safety of their clients, and the best action would be to intervene, ensuring that Mary offers a response to the hiring team on her mental illness and steps taken to manage the illness. Accommodations can be made to help her cope with her illness as she performs her work.

QUESTION 3: Your Refection on the Scenario

Part 1: Issues

What are the facts?

The author briefly interacted with a client when they worked at Adult Hospital. During the interaction, they admitted Mary, a social worker with an MSW, who had voluntarily brought herself to the facility. Mary had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, undifferentiated type, and had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. A couple of years later, the author was now working at Children Agency, and Mary came for a job interview. The author was not responsible for making employment decisions.

Is there a legal issue?

There is no legal issue in the case because Mary was never referred to the Adult Hospital by a police officer. When Mary was admitted to the facility, it was a voluntary admission with no court documents. Also, Mary has not committed any crime by applying for a job she is qualified to perform. There would only be a legal issue if Mary had committed a crime or broken any law. Being treated for a mental health illness is not breaking the law.

What is the specific law?

Mary did not commit any crime or break the law. The issue presented in the case is a moral issue on the authors part (Zook, 2001). The information the author has regarding Mary was confidential. The author had briefly attended to Mary a couple of years back, and they met her again when she was being interviewed for a position in the same place the author worked. Applying for a job after being diagnosed or treated for a...

…proper analysis of the facts and available options, there should be no reason for worry. After reading the article and discovering there was no misrepresentation, one gets elated knowing they did something right. Others could use the same information to increase their awareness of ethical decision-making.

Part 9: Additional Comments

Any additional comments?

Being placed in an ethical situation allows one to recall their teachings and use that to determine the best course of action. With practice, we learn and understand that not all scenarios will present clear right or wrong options. In such cases, most people would take the wait-and-see approach, which could be catastrophic to the social work profession because when harm occurs or is discovered, numerous people might be harmed. Therefore, we should be prepared to make tough choices and stay committed to them. Not all aspects of the decision will be pleasant.

Part B

Family Genogram

Developing the genogram forced me to reflect upon the impact family has on an individual, even in cases where there is little interaction between family members. The experience of domestic violence my cousin faced made me a better father because it pushed me to become a better husband and parent to my children. Having seen how devastating domestic violence can be on a child, I would not wish it upon my children. Therefore, I resolved to always work out issues with my wife in an amicable manner without violence or shouting. There were overwhelming feelings that came about when creating the genogram. Recalling all the family members and placing them in the genogram aroused emotions that could not be explained. There were fond memories of times spent together and sad memories of how my uncle had become. Memories of the interventions done to assist him and how he falls off the wagon.

In my professional career, having seen the impact domestic violence has had on my cousin, I have advocated for better parenting and eliminating domestic violence. Working with abused children is my way of helping those I can since I never managed to assist my cousin. Experiencing and seeing the impact it can have on a child allows me to connect with abused children and understand their need for safety, even when they do not wish to speak.

Part C

What strategies can you come up with to eliminate oppressive structural barriers to ensure that social goods, rights, and responsibilities are distributed equitably to advance the well-being of clients?

One of the strategies would be to educate communities on their rights and privileges to ensure they understand how they should be treated when seeking services from various organizations. Most oppressed communities are unaware of the rights and services they should receive from their local leaders (Marchand et al., 2019). Education will increse their knowledge of rights, responsibilities, and social goods, preparing them to make demands. When they receive an adequate education, they can advocate for improved services, reducing the oppressive structural barriers. The other strategy would be to advocate for eliminating structural barriers to colleagues and other social workers, pushing them to be better educated in cultural awareness. Cultural awareness ensures communities will receive the same level of services, and there will be no discrimination.

To eliminate oppressive structural barriers, there should be better laws and policies implemented in all government and private institutions. Individuals should be culturally trained, so they understand how to handle various individuals regardless of their cultural background. The impact of discrimination can be publicized to increase knowledge of the effects of oppression. Policies can be implemented that enforce funding distribution based on needs and not collection from taxes. In low-income areas, there should be more funding to ensure adequate funding and support for individuals. Oppression will continue if there is no equitable distribution of resources.

Engage in practice-informed research to better understand where oppression occurs and how it occurs (Marchand et al., 2019). Data is critical if we are to eliminate oppressive barriers. We cannot develop strategies to eliminate the obstacles without understanding how oppression occurs and where it occurs. Social workers can use the data from research to share with respective organizations demonstrating the need for improvement and areas that need improvement. Policy improvement can only occur when there is evidence to support the change. Social workers can use research evidence to inform leaders on the impact of oppression in their communities and provide…