Running head: VALUES PAPER 1

Values Paper
SW 3010
April 7, 2013
004332105












VALUES PAPER 2

Everyone has a set of different customs which guide their lives from the family and
environment that they originate from. These different values and ethical standards become a set
of rules in a persons life and aid to many different decisions and ways of thinking that they
have. There are six core values as indicated by the NASW Code of Ethics. These values include
service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, importance of human relationships,
integrity and competence. Each of these values is crucial to enhancing a persons well-being and
helping to meet their needs and empower them with any assistance they may need. Growing up
in an American Catholic family, many different principles and values were held important in my
family and helped to guide me as I grew as an individual. While some of these are harmonious
with the NASW Code of Ethics, there are a couple which are not exactly compatible. However,
because of the different life situations and experiences that I have gone through in my lifetime,
some of my views on different important values in the NASW Code of Ethics and my family
naturally became altered, slightly. This could lead to conflict when assisting a population in my
future career, but with the help and held responsibility that I will share with the NASW Code of
Ethics, I am confident that I will be able to put aside judgment and assist anyone by a positive
and ethical standard.
Growing up in a large religious family, I was always reminded of the importance of the
relationships that I shared with my family members and others around me. Respect for everyone
was crucial and highly implemented in my family and to this day, I carry that same value in my
own family. I was always taught that nobody is better than the next person, regardless of their
position in life, and that the most valuable thing you can possess in life is respect and the
relationships with those around you. Having this ideology instilled in me from a young age is
VALUES PAPER 3

extremely helpful and parallel with the Code of Ethics core value of importance of human
relationships.
Another core value that is identical to the way I was raised is integrity, or the
trustworthiness and sound adherence to moral ideas (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2009, p. 373). I
believe that integrity builds off of the importance of human relationships. If you hold the
relationships in your life with high regard, you will naturally have acquired respect and
trustworthiness that have assisted to building that strong and honorable relationship. In my
opinion, integrity is somewhat of a rule and value that helps designate guidelines of how to act
and present oneself. For example, when I was younger and attending school, it was expected that
I be aware of each rule and expectation in my classes. I was then expected to follow and adhere
to each of these rules and expectations in the upmost honest way in order to have the most
positive and effective experience possible. In social work, the integrity you present to your
clients, coworkers, and anyone else who you are affiliated with, is crucial and a fundamental
building block of the honest and helpful relationships that you will form.
Although many values that are codified by the NASW were also held with an extreme
importance in my family, there was one that is conflicting, in part, with my religion and the way
that I was raised. Social justice is the idea that in a perfect world all citizens would have the
same basic rights, protection, opportunities, obligations, and social benefits (Kirst-Ashman &
Hull, 2009, p. 373). This would include the idea of homosexuals receiving equal marriage rights.
Just as the Code of Ethics conflicts with my background on this topic, so do my personal
thoughts. I do believe in equality for everyone, but coming from a conservative Catholic family,
it is hard to voice that opinion around many of my elder family members and it often puts me in
an uncomfortable position. Aside from equality in gay rights, my family can also be a little
VALUES PAPER 4

judgmental of some other oppressed groups. Again, although I was raised this way and around
these thoughts, I have formed my own beliefs throughout my journey in life but because of other
values and respectful boundaries that are in place within my family, it becomes a struggle to be
in the middle.
Although my family and the way that I was raised has been the primary influence in
shaping my values and belief system, many different life situations have also helped to curb my
ideas and beliefs about things. As I previously mentioned, social justice isnt truly followed by
my family. However, because of the many different people that Ive met, and the different
struggles that Ive seen people faced with, I full heartedly believe in social justice for all. Aside
from that, I also have a fascination with law and politics. The simple idea that America is
supposed to be responsible for separating church and state is another prime factor in my stance
on many issues.
Another huge life situation which has shifted the ideology that my family unconsciously
tried to drill into me is my current relationship. For the past four years, I have been dating
someone who was born and raised in India for the first nineteen years of his life. Not only does
my family make many wrongful assumptions about foreigners who migrate here, but they are
also very closed-minded to the idea of interracial relationships. I was raised to believe a lot of
these false interpretations, but after I grew up a little, I realized the vast difference from reality. If
I would have been asked while attending school as a teenager, I would have never thought for a
second that I may end up in an interracial relationship; simply because of how I was brought up.
However, I can truly say that because of the direction life carried me, I am the happiest Ive ever
been being in one and the beliefs that I was once taught, I now see as a completely unfair and
unjust representation.
VALUES PAPER 5

Many life situations have helped to positively shift my values in a more equality-based and
respectful manner, but I also recognize that some of my personal situations may lead me to
having difficulties assisting certain populations. I have always had a great connection and love
for children. All throughout life, I was always babysitting and told that I was going to end up
having ten kids of my own. I currently have one daughter, who I cherish more than life itself, and
because of her and my love for the innocence of every other child, I would find it most difficult
to work with a client who has a history of abusing or mistreating a child or children in any way. I
often feel the need to protect and help any child that needs it in any way and to have to help
someone who once victimized one of these beautiful beings would be an extreme challenge.
Working with someone who is an alcoholic and has an abusive history would also be
trying for me. In my lifespan, Ive seen the difficult struggles and harm that can come from
alcohol. Ive unfortunately had to deal with abuse first-hand from a loved one struggling with
alcoholism. I understand that alcoholism is a disease and extremely hard to control, however, I
would have the hardest time trying to help a parent who neglected or abused their child, because
of the disease, try to get their child back. As a child, I was abused horribly by my alcoholic
mother who was constantly ordered to receive help and who would then consistently relapse. I
fear that helping a parent with these issues would endanger their child again like it did for me.
Luckily, with practice and strict adherence and respect to the NASW Code of Ethics, I
think I will learn to adapt to the skills and necessary guidelines in order to positively serve each
population in the best way that I possibly can. Everyone has their own story, struggles, and goals
and should be treated with dignity and respect, as implied by NASW.
There are several different ethical codes that can help a social worker fulfill their duties
to help each client efficiently. One of the most important ethical codes that I think can help
VALUES PAPER 6

overcome any difficulty that I may be faced with when providing services is a social workers
ethical responsibility to clients. This code involves the way a worker should behave and respect
their clients, regardless of any conflicts of interest. It is a workers responsibility to remain
professional and to also work within their competence level. Although I may not have the best
experience with a personal situation, I still need to hold respect for each individual that I come in
contact with and acknowledge their need for my respect, understanding, and professionalism.
Another ethical code that I think plays a key role in aiding any difficult population that I
may need to assist would be a social workers ethical responsibilities as professionals. This code
involves discrimination and impairment. Since I have the background and negative experiences
that I do with alcoholism, keeping in mind that I should never allow personal problems to
interfere with professional practice or clients best interests is key (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2009,
p. 385). The NASW provides amazing framework to assist any social worker in getting past
personal conflicts and values, but we are all human and sometimes the best situation for the
client is not always you.
If it was possible, and I believed that a client could receive better services from another
worker, I would undoubtedly refer them to someone else. I wouldnt want to ever make a client
feel uncomfortable or vulnerable in a situation where I had an issue servicing them so I would try
my hardest to let them know about the better competence another worker may have and how I
think it would be for the clients best interest and outcome. Stressing the idea that it is in the
clients best interest is the most important part in helping them feel comfortable about the
referral.
As a social worker, its extremely important to be fully aware of all of the diversity you
may come in contact with. Although we all have our own thoughts and values, we have to keep
VALUES PAPER 7

in mind and be competent and diverse of others also. The NASW Code of Ethics provides
excellent framework to remind social workers of their duties and obligations while properly
serving their clients. I was especially happy to learn about impairment, which will help me
separate my personal problems with my profession and to help maintain competence and
awareness. If for some reason, I dont think that I am able to provide the best services to
someone, I will hopefully be able to comfortably and confidently refer them to someone else
with a higher competence than myself.













VALUES PAPER 8

References
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, F. H. (2009). Understanding generalist practice. Belmont, CA:
Brooks/Cole.