Values

Well it is finally happening. I have just finished my Practice Educator training this week.

On day 2 of the training we talked a lot about values and we did an interesting exercise which got you thinking about your own value base but also what you prioritise most. We started with more options then narrowed it down and I found this actually quite difficult to do because although it was just crossing out a choice it made me feel like I was losing a part of myself. Obviously I know that is not what it actually did but that is how it felt to do it. It felt like forgetting or deciding that a value I hold close my heart is not as important as something else.

We got into some very interesting discussions about how what we prioritise value wise changes depending on where we are in our lives and how what we chose now is not what we would have chosen 5 years ago and is probably not what we would choose 5 years plus into the future.

Obviously values are a big part of Social Work as they are in the code of ethics that we follow from BASW (British Association of Social Workers) as well as in the PCF's (Professional Capabilities Framework) that we all have to provide evidence for to complete our Social Work Degree, ASYE (Assisted and Supported Year in Employment) as well as continually throughout our Social Work career to progress to the next level which is something I have recently done so they are at the forefront on my mind anyway regardless of this training.

One of the really interesting parts of the day I found was when we spoke about personal values and where these come from. It is tricky to recognise what values you hold and not just the action that you take but also why you hold those particular values. It opens up quite deep discussions about upbringing, family experiences, life experience, culture, religion, race, gender etc that have all shaped the way we act as people and what we perceive as right and wrong. It gets you thinking about why you act the way you do or what you have seen, experienced or felt that means you chose to reinforce what you view as important. When we did the activity around values I found that my number one value was honesty and I explained I believe that came from my upbringing because my mum hates liars but also I have been on the opposite side of that and it is not a good feeling.

When discussing how sometimes personal and professional values can clash it got people reflecting on situations they've had where this has happened and how they handled it. For the most part I find that my personal values and professionals value do not clash that often but I would imagine there could potentially be situations that I would struggle with. One that was suggested could cause people some difficulty is working with sex offenders and I think that would be something I would struggle with. Prior to my Social Work career I was a nursery nurse and worked in that for 6 years. I am also a mother so I think I would struggle to work with anyone who had ever offended against children but it is important to be able to recognise when a scenario is something that you do not feel comfortable with and if it is at a stage where you need to request not to complete that piece of work or whether it is more of a situation where you need to separate your personal and professional values and get on with it.

It got me reflecting on a discussion we had when I was studying around someone using sex workers, finding them on their laptop, paying via card and the person coming to their house. The person's daughter tried to take the bank card and laptop. I remember someone else flagging up that they would not be helping with that because they do not agree with the use of sex workers. My response to them was that it is not their choice what someone does with their money or what they access on their laptop, in that instance it was also not the daughters choice either. These are the types of situations where I would personally say you have to put your personal values aside and support that person whether you agree with what they are doing or not because as Article 8 of the Human Rights Act shows us people have a right to a private and family life. Nobody would have been interfering in that situation if this person just met someone at the pub for example and took them home so why should it be any different if they are finding that person online which is something a lot of people do using online dating anyway. Money exchanging hands is the choice of the person involved. For the most part most people choose how they spend their money and who they have sex with and nobody would ever say anything about it so why because someone has a disability, care needs or are older is it all of a sudden other people's business.

I think it is important to remember that we are there to support that person in how they want to live their lives and what they choose to do with it. Not decide that we know best and decide for them. From discussions it also links for me into my first Social Work placement which was for a Sexual Health and LGBTQ+ charity. For some people this could have caused a major clash with their personal values for one reason or another whereas I did not have any difficulty with this type of placement and went into it open minded and found that I learnt a lot from it. I was able to build relationships with people, support with a youth group, create a group for women living with or affected by HIV as well as training delivery to different groups such as college students and GP's.

When working with people it is important to support them where they are at now and for what they feel that they need. I may think that one thing should be top priority for that person but that may not always be the case. I need to listen to them and their experiences to establish what they need from me. I started learning those skills in a practitioner context when at that placement but is something I still utilise and is just as important now over 5 years later. I am there to listen, help where I can, signpost and follow their lead. This is relevant for everything I do because we work in a person centred and holistic way but also because I would not want a professional coming into my home and telling me what I needed to do or work on first when what they are talking about may be 5^th on my list.

We also had an interesting discussion around whether we should offer to take our shoes off when visiting someone in their home. It is something that on the whole I do not offer to do and I think some of that comes from being told when I was studying that taking my shoes off meant that I would not be able to leave if there was an issue and has stuck with me. I explained that I have not had any issues regarding this but it was pointed out to me that most people probably wouldn't say anything but very well may complain about it once I have left. Although I generally don't wear shoes inside my house I am not offended if people come in, especially professionals and do not offer to remove them as I see them as coming in their work uniform and the shoes being a part of that whereas in some cultures or households it would be seen as extremely disrespectful. It is something I will take away from the training and very well may start doing in the future. We did discuss if there was any concern that their could be issues or if the home environment you were going into wasn't the best you may well make a choice not to even offer.

I found this whole discussion so interesting and have already spoken to a Social Work colleague about it, interested to see what they do. I think it is important to continue to have open conversations about things that may challenge us and I cannot wait to have these kind of discussions with students I am supporting in the future.