ASWB Study Guide

Professional Ethics and Values (18%)

1. ETHICAL ISSUES
The principles and processes informed consent
Principle – confidentiality and privacy; the social worker should respect the
privacy of clients and hold in confidence all information obtained in the course
of professional services.

Consent is a process that includes the systematic disclosure of information to a

client over time, along with an opportunity to discuss with the client the
forthcoming treatment and service. Be sensitive to clients’ cultural and ethnic
differences related to the meaning of such concepts of self-determination,
autonomy, and consent.

Valid consent requires

1)coercion and undue influence must not have played a role in the client’s
decision
2)clients must be capable of signing consent
3)clients must consent to specific procedures or actions
4)the forms of consent must be valid
5)clients must have the right to refuse or withdraw consent
6)clients’ decisions must be based on adequate information

The three components of informed consent

1) knowledge – all information
2)voluntariness – consent is meaningful only when it is given freely.
3)competency – presupposes that the person who gives consent is competent
to do so.
different kinds of consents ; direct or tacit –client’s verbal response; tacit
means that the client remained silent; oral or written; past/present – does
current dissent invalidate all past consents?; forced consent – is to frame
options in way that the client will “consent”, no matter what the response.

Exceptions to informed consent

1)emergencies
2)client waiver
3)therapeutic priviledge

Professional boundary - maintain clear boundaries in their relationships with

clients. It’s to understand the nature and purpose of their relationship with
each other. Dual and multiple relationship that must be avoided are those in
which clients are likely to be harmed or exploited. Manage the relationships
with former clients; always a client mentality;
Reasons for Boundaries/dual relationships
1) client not counseling a friend due to not being objective enough
2)how information is received and viewed
3)helps to regulate the roles and rules that are part of the therapeutic
interaction
4)exploitation of clients
5)erosion in the social worker’s capacity to carry out his or her professional
responsibilities because of the conflict created by the other relationship.
Dual relationships – NASW code of ethics states should not engage in it. Dual
or multiple relationships occur when social workers relate to clients in more
than one relationship, whether professional, social or business. It can occur
simultaneously or consecutively. If they can’t be avoided, they must be
managed in such a way that the other relationships don’t present conflicts of
interest for carrying out the professional relationship. This involves careful
evaluation of the options and appropriate boundary setting by the worker.
Identification and resolution of ethical dilemmas – exist in all the helping
professions and human services.
Identification of ethical dilemma – To identify the one that will bring the least
harm is the objective:
ETHICAL ASPECTS OF DECISION MAKING
1. What are the ethical issues involved in this step? What principles, rights and
obligations have an impact on these ethical issues?
2. What additional information is needed to properly identify the ethical
implications?
3.What are the relevant ethical rules and principles that can be applied? Which
ethical criteria are relevant in this situation?
4.If there is a conflict of interests, who should be the principal beneficiary?
5.How would you rank order the ethical issues, rules, and principles that you
have identified?
6.What are the possible consequences that result from utilizing different
ethical rules and principles?
7.Who should make the ethical decision? When is it justified to shift ethical
decision making to another person (not the social worker)? To whom should it
be shifted?

The ability to make ethical decisions having sensitivity to others are gained
through personal experience and by learning from wise and more experienced
colleagues. The intellectual virtues refer to understanding, the knowledge of
various methods of treatment, and to professional reasoning that can be used
in the search for the solution of an ethical dilemma. The moral virtues are
connected to the reliability and validity of the decision and to its effect and
benefit as characteristics of the social worker. The ethical principles and norms
of behavior need to be analyzed separately in each case. The uniqueness of
each case represents a unique and different situation that is composed of
many factors that need to be taken into consideration in ethical making.
Beginning
1) ethical theory on which the social worker relies, continues with the
principles, rules, and norms, and ends with reaching a decision and the action
that follows from it.
2)Principles of social work – the decisive principle is autonomy; This principle
refers to the client. The principle of beneficence is central for the social
worker, and the principle of justice should guide society.
The principles are frequently at conflict with one another, but all three should
be taken into consideration in each concrete case analysis.

6 step process
1) giving a brief description of the facts pertaining to the dilemma at hand
2) values and principles of the involved parties, the client, professional, and
the client’s family
3) Clarifying the conflict between the values and determining the order of
priorities indecision making
4) assessing the moral principles and deciding which action will provide the
best result
5)decision reached by the analysis – counsel with colleagues and with experts
6)calls for the justification of the action taken MOST IMPORTANT!!

Family’s role in the process

1) collective decision - for the benefit of the client
2)common good for the family
3)who in the family will make the decisions and which overlapping interests
will be satisfied.

Resolution of ethical dilemmas

Ethical Rules Screen (ERS)

1. Examine the Code of Ethics to determine if any of the Code rules are
applicable. These rules take precedence over the worker’s personal value
system.
2. If one or more Code rules apply, follow these.
3. If the Code does not address itself to the specific problem, or if several Code
rules provide conflicting guidance, use the Ethical Principles Screen.
The ERS should always be used first. Only when this screen does not provide
any satisfactory guidance should the social worker use the EPS.
Ethical Principles Screen (EPS)
EP 1 Principle of the protection of life
EP 2 Principle of equality and inequality
EP 3 Principle of autonomy and freedom
EP 4 Principle of least harm
EP 5 Principle of quality of life
EP 6 Principle of privacy and confidentiality
EP 7 Principle of truthfulness and full disclosure

1. Rules against basic harms to the necessary preconditions of human action,

such as life itself, health, food, etc. take precedence overrules against harms
such as lying or revealing confidential information or threats to “additive
good” such as recreation, education and wealth.
2. An individual’s right to basic well-being takes precedence over another
individual’s right to self-determination.
3. An individual’s right to self-determination takes precedence over his or her
right to basic well-being.
4.The obligation to obey laws, rules, and regulations to which one has
voluntarily and freely consented ordinarily overrides one’s right to engage
voluntarily and freely in a manner that conflicts with these laws, rules, and
regulations.
5.The obligation to prevent basic harms such as starvation and to promote
public goods such as housing, education, and public assistance overrides the
right to complete control over one’s property.

Ethical issues – sometimes are clear and uncomplicated; hence, ethical

dilemmas in social work include those instances in which practitioners face
conflicting duties or obligations.
Three categories of dilemmas are particularly relevant to social work practice

1. Ethical dilemmas related to intervention with individuals, families, and

groups. Prominent dilemmas in this area concern issues of confidentiality,
client self-determination, paternalism (interference with an individual’s
intentions or mental state in order to protect the individual from him or
herself), and truth telling.

Ethical dilemmas regard to clients’ right to self-determination. Ordinarily,

social workers respect clients’ right to self-determination and help them
pursue goals that are meaningful to them. Instances arise, however, in which
social workers must consider limiting clients’ right to self-determination
because such actions threaten to harm them or third parties.

Those instances in which social workers decide whether to withhold

information from a client because of a belief that the client’s knowledge of
that information will be harmful.

Instances in which social workers decide whether to physically interfere with

clients for their own protection.

Instances in which social workers decide whether to deliberately give clients

inaccurate information, or to lie to clients, in order to protect clients from
harm.

2. Ways in which practitioners design and administer social welfare policies

and programs.

compliance with regulations – for reimbursements, etc.

3. Relationships among professional colleagues – mainly dealing with

incompetent and impaired colleagues.
 Legal issues – Many malpractice and liability risks stem from decisions social
workers make in these circumstances. It requires keen understanding of the
nature of ethical dilemmas and various ways of addressing them. Being able
to demonstrate that familiarity with literature and concepts in ethical decision
making, consultation with experts on the subject, and documenting efforts in
this regard may convince a jury that the social work acted in a manner
consistent with the profession’s standard of care. Moreover, familiarity with
the general subject of professional ethics, ethical dilemmas, and ethical
decision making can, by itself, enhance the likelihood that social workers will
make sound judgments to prevent malpractice and liability claims.

2. CONFIDENTIALITY AND ITS LIMITS

Legal and ethical issues regarding confidentiality, including electronic
information –

Ethical standards for maintaining client privacy include the following:

Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in

the course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons.
Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients during legal
proceedings to the extent permitted by law.
Social workers should inform clients involved in family, couples, marital, or
group counseling of the social workers, employers’ and agency’s policy
concerning the social worker’s disclosure of confidential information among
the parties involved in the counseling.
Social workers should transfer or dispose of clients’ records in a manner that
protects clients’ confidentiality and is consistent with state statutes governing
records and social work licensure.
Social works should take reasonable precautions to protect client
confidentiality in the event of the social worker’s termination of practice,
incapacitation, or death.
Social workers should not disclose identifying information when discussing
clients for teaching or training purposes unless the client has consented to
 disclosure of confidential information.
Social workers should not disclose identifying information when discussing
clients with consultants unless the client has consented to disclosure of
confidential information or there is a compelling need for such disclosure.

Electronic devices can be used to enhance practice but an also jeopardize

confidentiality by making records and other forms of stored information easier
to access and disperse.
Ethical and legal issues regarding mandatory reporting of abuse
3. VALUES ISSUES
The influence of the social worker’s own values and beliefs on the social
worker-client relationship
The effects of culture, race, and ethnicity on values
Professional values and ethics
Client self-determination
Stages of professional development
The influence of the social worker’s own values and beliefs on interdisciplinary
collaboration
Respect for client values and beliefs
4.