The New Social Worker Vol. 19, No. 3, Summer 2012

people from all cultures relate (see Standard 1.05). Standard 3.08 tells more about continuing education requirements, which at times address these issues. Standard 4.01 tells us more about competence. 9. What if my religious or other basic values conflict with the Code of Ethics in a particular instance? Religion, politics, tradition, socialization, and other bases of our value system may have prohibitions or directions that are opposed to our interpretation of the Code. Our Code provides the written professional standards of conduct for social workers. Whereas we may choose to act on other beliefs as being more important than the Code (see Standard 1.06), we must understand clearly that once we act outside of the Code, we no longer are acting as social workers, but in another role. The client and agency should be made aware of such decisions. It may be important to note that people frequently use their value systems to support their prejudices and dislikes, instead of using them to relate better with others and provide themselves more life satisfaction. Be aware of this before assuming that your values are the basis of your decision to act outside of the Code. Standard 4.08 more strictly narrows the boundaries between professional acts and extraprofessional values. 10. I live and work in an area where I see my clients frequently at social settings, such as restaurants, church, while shopping, and so forth. Sometimes we serve on voluntary committees together. Am I in a dual relationship? Not necessarily, but Standard 1.06 indicates you are close to being in one and, therefore, should be cautious. A dual relationship is one in which there is a conflict of interest. Seeing people in church, for example, need not be a conflict of interest if we go about our business there without undue interaction with the client. If there is a clear line, it is when a conflict of interest develops and social workers are in a position to take undue advantage of it. couples, and family therapy may break confidentiality. Will I be at fault for this? 11. When do I know if I am violating a client’s privacy when asking about things related to his or her treatment? 14. Am I required to allow a client to see his or her file? Standard 1.07a implies that client/ therapist interaction should be strictly related to the issues of treatment. During engagement and at other times, we may vary slightly to relate to the client better, but our goal is to help clients help themselves in treatment. As in any relationship, we will discover things about our clients that are interesting to us, but not necessarily related to treatment, and we should avoid exploring those issues. This is important when talking about any issue, no matter how mundane (such as mutual interest in gardening), but it has caused great damage in important areas. Sexual assault victims have been asked to describe the assault in detail, evidently only to fulfill the voyeuristic needs of some therapists, for example. 12. What if I am called to court to testify for a client. Should I release all information? An attorney affiliated with your agency can give specific information on what you should release. As a general rule, you should release everything legally requested and no more. Standard 1.07c indicates that we should reveal only what is necessary in these circumstances. 13. I am concerned that my members in my group therapy sessions, Standard 1.07f states that in such cases, we must be careful to protect confidentiality by obtaining agreement among members to do so. We will be better protected to do so in writing. We also should inform clients that we cannot guarantee that others will conform to confidentiality agreements. Yes, unless you, as the social worker, can demonstrate that access to the file will cause harm. That is difficult to do. We can avoid much of the awkwardness in such situations by taking precautions not to state unnecessary negative information about the client and by sharing our concerns with him or her in therapy. This avoids surprises when the client asks to see the records. We also must take care that all records are accurate and take special precautions to assure that records are kept safe from being seen by others (Standards 1.08, 3.04). 15. What should I do if a client appears to want more intimate contact with me? Whereas touching within culturally appropriate boundaries is allowed (e.g., handshakes), we are to limit it to those boundaries. Sexual contact, harassment, and derogatory language are prohibited during treatment and afterwards. The code writers understood that under some circumstances, a social worker might happen to become involved (sometimes sexually) with an ex-client, and they made it the social worker’s responsibility to show that the sexual relationship is not exploitive, which is near impossible. An example of this may be that sometimes attorneys or entire agencies hire social workers for particular tasks related to their clientele, or we are involved in community work. Since we are hired to do social work, they are our clients, but no therapeutic relationship existed, and romance may occur years later and be permissible. The best practice is to leave any sexual or similar intimacy out of your work, whether past or present. (See Standards 1.09, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12.) The New Social Worker Summer 2012 5

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