Social work and human services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Social work and human services - Essay Example I have learnt that reflection can be used as a way to correct any misconceptions, distorted beliefs or even the assumptions previously formed that lack verification of knowledge (Mendes, 2003). It is the interpretations made by the reader during the reflection process that leads to transformations. I learnt that reflection is different from critical reflection not so much in intensity but in magnitude. Critical reflection does the exact things reflection does but instead of focusing on only one area, it spreads to cover the whole self. It therefore covers the beliefs, the feelings, the thoughts and even the action. Critical reflection looks at the whole picture when it comes to analysing anything that is complex and is therefore preferred in cases where the social worker wants to change the practice or the human services that have been previously used (Lyons, 2001). Ethics are meant to establish good or bad. What I had not learnt but did so in this course is about the existence of ethical challenges which affect the social worker while carrying out their duties of social relationship and social functioning. These ethical challenges affect the relationships, the boundaries that need to be established when carrying out the practice, the confidentiality and privacy of some issues about the clients as well as truthfulness. When the social workers are carrying out their work, they need to ensure that they apply the code of ethics of privacy, integrity, accuracy and not doing any harm to the clients as explained by (Garton, 1994). Learning about the codes and applying them protects the social workers from malpractice suits, being termed as incompetent by the clients, protecting their professionalism and professional identity as well as ensuring that they have self-regulating measures when working. The Australian code of ethics further insists on avoidance of conflict of interest and