Values and Ethics

Values and Ethics are vital in Social Work practice and something that you not only complete modules about when studying but they also run through your practice every day.

I know that there are a lot of situations where people's personal lives change dramatically through completing their Social Work degree and a lot of this comes down to values. The easiest way I can describe what completing your Social Work degree does is breaks you down and then builds you up piece by piece. It brings your values to the forefront of your mind and you reflect A LOT on how this looks to you. It also impacts your relationships because you find yourself noticing where your values do not line up. You find yourself speaking up more and people who know you best don't necessarily know how to take it.

You would presume that the majority of people who come into Social Work hold similar beliefs on the major issues. Which on the whole in my experience they do, however there are so many other situations that people have different perspectives on. I had a lot of discussions in lectures and have had a few with colleagues more recently about how your life experiences impact how you view a particular situation but also whether there would be particular people or situations we would avoid.

For me personally I know that I would struggle to work with someone who had caused harm intentionally, especially to a child. This is something I have always known I would struggle with but becoming a parent has cemented this even further. This is one of the main reasons I do not want to work in Child Protection because although the child is at the centre there are others around them that you may work with that have done something like this.

I had a discussion the other day with people from a different cultural background to me about why someone was not the one looking after their family member instead of them living in a care home. This was an interesting discussion regarding the different experiences that people have but also an opportunity to educate on the cultural differences that were happening and how that question could potentially cause issues if asked to the person on a visit. I was able to explain that the person was not physically able but also emotionally this is potentially the hardest decision they have ever had to make and asking something like that could make them feel that they have made a mistake or that they should be doing more when that is not necessarily an option.

A lot of the time before a decision regarding a care home is made the family have spent a lot of time trying to support the family member to stay at home and can just no longer do it for one reason or another. This can be due to physical abilities but also due to the strain that being a carer can put on someone. This is more prevalent when it is a romantic relationship in my experience because when people get married they make vows to be there for another and a lot of the time if one of the people in the couple get a dementia diagnosis or something similar they may have been married for decades. They feel that caring for that person is their job but it gets to a stage where they cannot manage anymore and they feel a huge amount of guilt.

This shows the potential power imbalance that can happen when we are in visits with people and how what we say can have a real impact either for the positive or negative. This question if asked in a visit could show a lack of empathy in what the family may be experiencing as the hardest thing they have ever had to do. We need to be the person that is making them feel like although they have not made an easy choice that they have made the best one for their family member in that situation and support them with whatever else is required. It is not up to us to judge or make them feel negative or hurt.

In my practice the one thing that comes back regularly when I receive positive feedback is that I am always focus on Human Rights and keep it at the centre of my practice. This is one of the values that I feel is most important to me because it is something that people can forget about a bit when they are instead focusing on someone's safety. When it is a family member I can see why safety is a big concern. When I attend a visit I am on the outside looking in and I am looking at it with a clearer frame of mind because it is not blurred by the love I feel for the person.

One conversation I have quite often with colleagues and sometimes families is whether the current concern would be the same if the person was younger. For example someone who likes to go out and have a drink. Family are concerned because they go out a few nights a week, maybe have had a couple of falls because of alcohol consumption. This has only become a concern in the last few years but it is something the person has always done so what changed? Sometimes the only thing that has changed is age but the person can make the decision to go out and do that. We don't necessarily agree with everything someone does but that does not mean we should stop them.

People seem to think that if they hold Power of Attorney that means that the person's wishes are just forgotten or put to one side. This is not the case, we always keep the person as involved as possible in the process and respect their wishes whenever possible. We look into making their home safer for them in needed so that they can stay there as long as possible before looking into any others. We also make families aware of the options that are available because contrary to popular belief home and a care home are not the only options. Not everyone is at a stage where they need a care home even when they are not managing at home. This is where we come in as the person who can provide the information but most importantly advocate for the person wherever possible.