Examining social work values and my personal values and development:
0/11/04
EXAMINING SOCIAL WORK VALUES AND MY PERSONAL VALUES AND DEVELOPMENT:
In my essay I will be looking at what social work and values are. Due to the essay 1500 words constraint I look at the arguments for and against 1 of (Biestek 1961) 7 traditional values and then look at 1 of the new values before looking at a radical social work value. Secondly, I will re-evaluate my personal values and experiences to see how they relate to past and current social work values. Thirdly, I will identify the origin and development of my personal values, and look at the main influences and contributing factors. I will then look at the key areas of my personal values and attitudes that need further development as I progress and acquire new skills and knowledge in my course. I will conclude by highlighting and stressing the importance of values and self-awareness in working towards 'knowing and owning my fears, aspirations and values' (Antony, 1996).
Social work is a human profession that promotes social changes, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work (BASW 2001) and values in social work are the principles, beliefs, missions or philosophies of an individual, society or an institution that have been elaborated to guide personal or professional behaviour (IFSW 2001) i.e. Traditional values: individualisation, purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement, acceptance, non-judgemental attitude, client self-determination and confidentiality (Biestek 1961). Confidentiality is described by chambers dictionary as indication of privacy or secrecy of matters or information. It enables client to feel comfortable enough to discuss sensitive or personal matters (Neil, 2000. p. 40). It is also important to emphasis that confidentiality is to the agency rather than to the individual worker (Neil, 2000. p.60). However confidentiality is not absolute. At times, invoking confidentiality can be dangerous in instances where a social worker asks a client or colleagues to keep quiet if they come to work late as its between them, there could also be ethical dilemmas in a situation where a social worker does not declare conflicts of interests and gives confidentiality as the reason. Overall confidentiality is necessary as a basis for social work interventions based on Trust and respect for equality.
Equality is described by chambers 21st century dictionary as having the same status; having or entitled to the same rights. Practising equality treats and shows respect for all persons; individual beliefs, values, culture, goals, needs, relationships and affiliations (BASW, 1987). Promoting equality also increases access to services for individuals who have been oppressed against. On the other hand as Neil (2000) states; treating everybody problems and experiences the same simply has the effect of reinforcing existing inequalities. This shows that it is important for one to be aware of anti-discriminatory practices and personal prejudices and realise that roots ...
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Equality is described by chambers 21st century dictionary as having the same status; having or entitled to the same rights. Practising equality treats and shows respect for all persons; individual beliefs, values, culture, goals, needs, relationships and affiliations (BASW, 1987). Promoting equality also increases access to services for individuals who have been oppressed against. On the other hand as Neil (2000) states; treating everybody problems and experiences the same simply has the effect of reinforcing existing inequalities. This shows that it is important for one to be aware of anti-discriminatory practices and personal prejudices and realise that roots of inequality run far deeper. Equality if practised helps in empowering individuals.
Empowerment has varying definitions and usages and it is widely agreed that it should focus on individuals who have been discriminated or oppressed against. Empowerment is enabling individuals, groups/communities taking control of their circumstances and achieving their own goals, thereby being able to work towards maximising the quality of their lives. (Robert-Lena-Malcolm, 2002; cited in Braye and Preston-shoot, 1995, p.48) this involves enabling individual to take control of their lives in order to meet their needs. It involves psychological, social and political (Robert-Lena-Malcolm 2002) support of individuals taking into account their experiences of inequalities and social disadvantages. Due to the complexity and varying definition of empowerment I would argue that it is important to put emphasis on the meaning and application of empowerment to avoid confusion with other radical social work values like partnership and user involvement. With the ongoing debate on values I would argue that radical values are important part of social work that need to be used in a broader socio-political context in enabling or facilitating individuals to take control over their lives.
Some of my personal values in life have been non-judgemental attitude and equal access for individuals to services. I always aim to treat people equally in respect of their ability and not disabilities. At my place of work I initiated and set up a person centred planning for a service user who was agoraphobic and presented challenging behaviours if prompted to access community activities. I did this because I felt he would acquire new skills and develop self-confidence if he accessed the community. After a long trial he accepted to access community services twice a week. However this was sometimes hindered by the service user unwillingness to co-operate, lack of resources and conflict of users needs with those of the organisation, Conflict of my values with social work values of individual rights and choices. In hindsight I should have involved the multi-disciplinary team of social workers and advocacy in planning and evaluating the risks and cost and support needed. This would have prevented a conflict of my values with social work value of partnership. I did learn and acknowledge that each individual is different and 'the value of non-judgementality is more problematic than its terminology suggests' (Lena 2004) so it's good to start "where the client is at". (Antony, 1996; 43).
My other values are; excellence, education and acquiring new knowledge. As a deputy care manager at my place of work I have put these values into practice during supervisions and appraisals, inductions and team meetings through coaching, mentoring and encouraging members of staff to take personal responsibilities, identify areas of further development, on approaches of working with people with autism and challenging behaviour. I do this because I feel it helps staff in meeting personal goals and objectives making them competent and also able to offer better services to the service users. Using these values have helped me in supporting staff develop confidence in working users with challenging needs and helped in retention of staff. None the less these values have sometimes conflicted with social work values and principles of competence which state 'staff should contribute to promoting culturally appropriate practice and culturally sensitive services' (BASW 1987) as I was not aware of this and its not highlighted in my work place supervision and appraisal documents I might have imposed my values and opinion on member of staff without considering their cultural backgrounds and experiences therefore conflicting my values with social work value of anti-oppressive practices. I belief that by attending training and studying social work I will acquire more knowledge and skills to prevent such a situation reoccurring.
In my line of work as I deal with service users with severe autism and challenging behaviours I have developed values of tolerance and patience to cope with the stress of the job and also be able to understand and support the users. Last year I was involved in an incident where a service user hit a member of public, police were called and I had to make a decision to stop the service user from going into the community for 6 months. Despite knowing that the service user enjoys community access I had to make a decision based on public needs that affected the service user negatively. In this case my values conflicted with social work values of equality and non-judgemental of service user needs.
My values originated from my upbringing by my parents who taught and encouraged me to be fair and hardworking, my parents also shared task equally between myself and 2 sisters and this I learned to respect equality. Having attended boarding schools from a young age this instilled a disciplined attitude in me. I also learnt to excel and be non-judgemental as I studied with disabled and disadvantaged children. I developed a sense of importance in education as my teachers always emphasised that knowledge is power and the key to success.
After completing my high school education I immigrated to United Kingdom at a young age. Having to deal with people from very different backgrounds and experiences different from mine, this had a big effect on me and I as a result I developed non-judgemental values towards others in order to co-exist. I also learnt to be self-reliant.
Having been brought up in a culture where cultural practice and society structures treat disabled and poor people as second or third class citizen, this could have unconsciously affected me. I need to explore myself further and develop in areas of advocacy and empowerment. I also need to develop and acquire new skills in research and use of supervision as a reflection-on-action of my job. I need to learn more on risk assessment and law to enable me 'engage in complex decision-making, often about relative risks, safety, harm and protection' (Robert-Lena-Malcolm 2002) of individual. I also need to learn and develop my knowledge and skills on areas of anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practices.
In conclusion it seems that values are important aspects of social work theory and practice. They are crucial in establishing the ethical basis on which social workers can and do work. Despite their longevity and seeming coherence, values are contentious and, at times, contradictory. They can also conflict with one another to produce ethical dilemmas that require skill, knowledge and sensitivity to address (Dominelli, 2004). I also find that 'self awareness and critical-reflection are necessary' (Robert-Lena-Malcolm 2002) if I am to recognise my impact on others so that my 'responses arise from the client's or user's situation rather than my past or needs' (Robert-Lena-Malcolm 2002). This will make me a better practitioner and enable me to integrate theory and practice. There also seems that values will continue to be re-defined and developed due to the changing socio-political and personal development.
References:
Andrew N. (2003). The good study guide. 2nd ed. Milton Keynes: Open University.
Antony A. Vass (1996) Social work competences, core knowledge, values and skills. London: Sage publication.
BASW (1987). The code of ethics for social work.
Chambers (1999). 21st Century dictionary. Revised edition. Edinburgh: Harrap publishers.
Lena, D (2004). Social work theory and practice for a changing profession. Cambridge: Polity Press
Neil, T (2000). Understanding social work, preparing for practice. London: Macmillan press.
Robert, A. Lena, D. and Malcolm, P. (1998). Social work themes, issues, and critical debates. Hampshire, New York: Palgrave.
Robert, A. Lena, D and Malcolm, P. (2002). Social work themes, issues, critical debates. 2nd ed. Hampshire, New York: Palgrave.
