Reflecting on the learning experience:
Social workers often say that self determination is a cornerstone of the profession. The first standard in the NASW Code of Ethics (2008) states that our primary obligation is to our client and that we should honour a client right to self-determination. Self-determination is built on the values of autonomy and respect for the dignity and worth of all people (Barsky, A, 2022). Self determination refers to the right of a client to make their own decisions and choices. In the end it is not the social workers responsibility, however the social worker would help the client make an unformed decision regarding their own life and help them understand the impact of that decision. The social worker always wants to ensure that they empower the client to make the decision based on what is best for them (Pellegrino, E, 2019).In the intervention report, the student had to conduct and interview and go through things and decisions had to e made, but the decision was not based on her choice but on the clients and what the client wanted and how he saw himself becoming a better person. In the BSW standards it states that the social worker should respect the rights to self determination with due consideration to potential structural constraints, and the social worker should respect the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings and their decisions.
Supporting evidence:
In this section evidence is shown on the intervention report phase two, throughout the whole of phase two where the client had to decide on what he wants and what would best improve himself, highlighted in blue.
CONSULTED REFERENCES
Barsky, A, 2022. Do Involuntary Clients Have a Right to Self-Determination?
BSW standard 2. Application of core values and principles of social work.
NASW Code of Ethics, 2008.
Pellegrino, E, 2019, Why is Self-Determination Important for Clients?