Understanding Boundaries In Social Work

The primary mission of the social work profession is to “enhance human well­being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (NASW, 2008, p.1). This profession is committed to the pursuit of social justice to enhance the quality of life, and the development of individuals, groups, families, and communities to its full potential.
A social worker is trained and qualified to assess people and their environments that they are influenced by. Social workers work to enhance the overall well- being of the individual to create positive opportunities for the future. Social workers use a large network of resources to link the
To stay focused on his/her responsibility to the client he/she is helping, and to help provide the client with what appropriate services or resources are available that will be beneficial to the client.
There can be several instances where a social worker may be very empathetic with their client. The social worker cannot become personally involved outside of the work environment. By becoming too personally involved with one or more clients the social worker may suffer from “compassion fatigue” (burn out). Moreover, the social worker must maintain good physical and emotional health as to avoid over stepping his/her boundaries while helping the client and have an effective outcome. “Human service professionals consider these standards in ethical and professional decision making. Conflicts may exist between this code and laws, workplace policies, cultural practices, credentialing boards, and personal beliefs. Ethical-decision making processes should be employed to assure careful choices. Although ethical codes are not legal documents, they may be used to address issues related to the behavior of human service professionals”. (Blevins,
Kitchener (1984) has identified five moral principles that are viewed as the cornerstone of our ethical guidelines. Ethical guidelines cannot address all situations that a counselor is forced to confront. Reviewing these ethical principles which are at the foundation of the guidelines often helps to clarify the issues involved in a given situation.
The five principles, autonomy, the independence within oneself acting independently and thinking for yourself rather than thinking for others. Social justice is the main priority in the social work field. Social Workers often work directly with clients who are facing issues in relation to social injustice and/or gross inequalities. Some of these issues may include, a long term goal to empower their clients, legal principles and organizational structure to protect their client who are often powerless. Social worker must be aware of organizational ethics so that the client’s personal information is held in strict