Human Services Profession

Human Services Profession

Part 1

Most Commonly Held Values of Human Services

            Human services workers hold a meaningful contribution to society, like bettering the lives of people. Regardless of the setting that one selects to work in, they are expected to adhere to the core values of Human Services. The first value of human services is acceptance. Acceptance helps the worker uphold goodwill and avoid judging those they serve, which makes it easy for the clients to communicate what they feel and be comfortable in instances where they should be disturbed (Baldwin, 2016). The second value is tolerance, where the worker is expected to be fair and patient instead of judging the one that serves and punishing them for the events of the past.

The other value is respect for the individuals, where the professionals of human services avoid stereotypes to respect the differences. Respecting the clients shows them that they are themselves self and individuality is respected. The other value is self-determination, whereby the worker assists the clients in the making while letting the clients select the decisions that they prefer best with the workers’ guidance (Baldwin, 2016). Doing so shows the clients that the worker is just there to help and that they are the ones who are responsible for their lives. Lastly, confidentiality is the other value of human services where the worker is not expected to disclose information pertaining to the client, which makes them feel free to talk about any matter with complete disclosure.

A Written Statement of My Philosophy of Helping

My philosophy on helping is that “All human beings are equal and they deserve equal treatment and equal opportunities which are offered with dignity and respect.”

When one looks into society today, individuals require aid in the world that is filled with discrimination, poverty, material status, and gender problems. Helping other people is about developing a manner of assisting them better themselves to make it possible to modify their behavior and situation. Social justice is a crucial value in offering equal treatment to people. Social justice means that a human service professional has the desire and the passion to better the lives of individuals who are unable to advocate for themselves and those who are less fortunate. Social justice is vital since many works of human services are focused on poverty, discrimination, and unemployment, together with other types of social injustices.

The other value to guide in social work is integrity. Integrity involves acting responsibly, ethically, and honest at all times. Not only is it important to have integrity when working with the clients, but it is also vital to promote integrity with the other professionals and colleagues (Dobel, 2016). The different essential values in service are respect and dignity. A human services worker is expected to use words and languages that form a space for respect and dignity since all the people have an inherent right of being treated with dignity and to be accorded respect as a whole person.

One Value that is Important and How the Value determines Professional Behavior

Service to Humanity is a core value in human service. Social work professionals admit that serving other people is more critical compared to their self-interests since they are expected to put the needs of their clients before theirs. Even though service to humanity is hard at times, and therefore this is where the supervisors come in to assist the workers in dealing with the issues that they are encountering. According to Baldwin (2016), the service value also means that one will be encouraged to sacrifice their time according to the Human Service Code of Ethics.

References

Baldwin, M. (2016). Social work, critical reflection, and the learning organization. Routledge.

Dobel, J. P. (2016). Integrity in the public service. Dobel, JP (1990). Integrity in the Public Service. Public Administration Review, 50(3), 354-66.

Part 2

Competency and Responsibility and why they are Ethical Problems

Responsibility is an ethical concern that denotes the issue that groups and individuals hold duties and obligations that are based on an obligation to other individuals and more magnificent moral and ethical traditions, standards, and codes. An individual who is responsible may be perceived as one whose work entails prearranged series of obligations that should be met for their tasks to be complete (Bowles et al. 2018). Moral or ethical responsibility is viewed to have first originated with the moral aspect as the decision-maker where one is aware of their actions, the implications of the actions, and they have the will to feel free from external compulsion.

On the other hand, competence refers to the act on upholding a sufficient level of skills and knowledge and applying the expertise in providing insight to the clients. Competence is an ethical issue as it entails the wisdom of acknowledging the limitations carried with the knowledge, and when consultation with others is essential (Bowman et al. 2016). Competence helps members to make a constant commitment to professional and learning improvement.

Responsibility and Competence in Human Services

Human service workers have an obligation to the clients and their social work. Responsibility helps the workers know that they have the responsibility of promoting general welfare for the clients where they navigate through different circumstances to be aware of the standards and the principles that they are expected to uphold. Competence in human services ensures that workers avoid misinterpreting the skills that they have and experiences with their clients (Bowman et al. 2016). Human service workers are expected to keep up with expanding their knowledge to generate a meaningful contribution to their profession. Competence is also crucial in the relationship with the clients who need to be helped as they are most vulnerable.

Informed Consent and how it is related to Confidentiality

Informed consent refers to a voluntary agreement reached upon by a capable client regarding information that entails foreseeable benefits and risks that are linked with a particular agreement. Social workers have a legal and ethical responsibility of seeking informed consent from their clients before they offer their services or during the period of the relationship that both parties may have (Bowles et al. 2018). Informed consent is imperative to the therapeutic existence of the social worker and the client as it keeps up with the rights of the client to dignity, respect, privacy, autonomy, and self-determination.

An example of how informed consent is linked to confidentiality is that social workers should get the informed consent of the client before they make a video or audio recordings of them. The employee should seek the informed consent of the individual whom they serve before they allow observation of the recording and service delivery by a third party. In this case, human services professionals should enable the clients to ask questions that are important in upholding confidentiality and protecting their private information.

What is Difficult about Confidentiality and why it is Important

Confidentiality is sometimes difficult since clients who do not trust the service professional fails to give information that is important to the services that they are being offered, with fear of letting someone in on their privacy (Noroozi et al. 2018). Confidentiality is vital as it helps in the creation of trust between the worker and the client. Also, confidentiality allows for the free exchange of information between the client and their service worker.

References

Bowles, W., Boetto, H., Jones, P., & McKinnon, J. (2018). Is social work really greening? Exploring the place of sustainability and environment in social work codes of ethics. International Social Work, 61(4), 503-517.

Bowman, J. S., West, J. P., Berman, M., & Van Wart, M. (2016). The Professional Edge: Competencies in Public Service: Competencies in Public Service. Routledge.

Noroozi, M., Zahedi, L., Bathaei, F. S., & Salari, P. (2018). Challenges of confidentiality in clinical settings: compilation of an ethical guideline. Iranian journal of public health, 47(6), 875.