Personal Narrative: My Ethic Dilemmas

Ethic dilemmas I faced was enabling Alan to be more involved in having some say in the services he receives, as I would have wanted Alan’s to be more actively involved as equal partners in co-producing and voicing his opinions rather than his family (Parker, 2014), this was a challenge for me while working with Alan. This user-led model of social work (Beckett, Maynard, 2013) argues that in order for this to happen, service users’ demands for autonomy, participation and inclusion must be met, enabling independence rather than maintaining dependency, by focusing on abilities rather than incapacities, and supporting their independence. This is the groundwork of a social worker but I faced challenges as to what is best for Alan, as he had become
My concern was I was not sure if the family were aware of my lack of communication with them in the early stages of intervention, as I tended to engage with Alan and not acknowledge them when they were answering questions directed at Alan. I did feel general discomfort in the room and felt embarrassment for the nephew and I felt he was patronising his uncle, I was not sure if this was his normal behaviour or was taking his role as informal carer very earnestly and I did not have the full picture of the situation. I reflected my anxieties with my practice educator who thought I was over analysing the situation and that the nephew was taking his role very seriously maybe to give him a sense of responsibility and importance.
Being self-aware and conscious of my impact on others is a necessary element of reflective practice and is crucial to building relationships. Qualities such as ‘integrity, genuineness and self-awareness’ are central to developing empathy and an understanding of social work values. Although self-awareness is required it is also a necessary aspect of taking a professional responsibility for my own learning and