Ethics in Social Work

In psychology and social work, dual relationships and clinical boundaries are often common. They are often unclear and most times the professional has a difficult time noticing them developing. Ethical dilemmas are found in all professions, but are often different in type and solutions. They are hard to identify and even harder to make a clear decision. Dual relationships and clinical boundaries are one of the biggest ethical dilemmas social workers face because of the difficulties of finding the line between the professional role and the empathetic role a social worker plays.
Social work is a profession that helps to solve complex human problems and create a more just and caring society. One of the foundations of social work is the focus on the strengths, as opposed to the shortcomings, of individuals, families and communities so that creative solutions for complex social problems can be found. The profession is characterized by a steadfast commitment to social justice in the service of empowering individuals, families and communities to meet their needs. Few professions offer many different types of employment opportunities. Social workers serve as counselors, in adoption, domestic violence, rehabilitation, hospice, mental health, youth, community development workers, public policy analysts, global rights workers; and in juvenile and adult justice systems, just to name a few. However, the main job of a social worker, however, is to help the client to reach a more stable environment, but to go about it a specific way dependent on the job the social worker held. Each job might come with different ethical problems, but social workers have to follow a strict code of ethics that have guidelines to help them make the correct decisions. The NASW, National Association of Social Work, is the largest group of professional social workers. It is the group that wrote the NASW code of ethics, which are followed by all social workers across the United States (NASW, 2008).