Imagine that a client enters an agency for help applying for SNAP benefits due to a recent layoff. The client communicates shame at having to seek assistance. It just so happens that earlier in their life, the social worker also received food stamps. Should the social worker share their story to promote empathy and assure the client?
You may encounter debate within the profession of social work as to whether self-disclosure is acceptable. Since many social workers enter the profession because they are inspired by a personal experience, they may tend to relate to a clients situation. This connection to the clients situation can prompt the sharing of personal information as a way to reciprocate. However, social workers are careful not to cross boundaries. Problems of inappropriate self-disclosure include shifting focus from the client, opening oneself up to vulnerability, and contributing to a casual instead of a formal, professional relationship.
In this Discussion, you investigate the question of self-disclosure more closely by analyzing a social worker-client conversation.
To prepare:
Review the Learning Resources on self-disclosure and ethics.
Watch the Southside Community Services video listed in this weeks Learning Resources.
Submit a 2- to 3-page paper in which you:
Identify and describe the moment the social worker self-disclosed to the client.
Explain how the self-disclosure affected the interview process.
Did it create a tense environment or one of comfortableness?
Describe the positive and negative aspects of the self-disclosure with this client.
Would you have self-disclosed with this client? Why, or why not? Refer to the ethical standard that supports or restricts this disclosure.