SSW312 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Therapeutic Relationship, Heredity, Institute For Operations Research And The Management Sciences
09/22/2020
7 Principles of Practice
• Confidentiality
o The client’s right to privacy
o Ethical obligation of the worker
o Necessary for effective helping
o Assures that private affairs do not become public
o Not absolute
o Worker clearly informs client about what information can and cannot be kept
confidential
o Confidentiality in action: worker does not talk about client in casual or social
situations
• Individualization
o The principle that every client is a unique human being (with unique qualities,
needs, heredity, environment, intellectual and emotional abilities, etc.) and
needs to be treated as such
o Tailoring the helping process to meet the particular needs of each unique client
o Differentiating the manner of helping based on clients’ own abilities and
resources
o Not treating the client as a number, case, category, file or label
o Based on human right to be treated not just as a human being but as this human
being with these personal differences
o Individualization in action: start where the client’s at, go at the client’s pace,
remember what they say, be flexible, adapt SSW style, be creative
• Acceptance
o Accepting client as they REALLY are:
▪ Client strengths
▪ Client challenges
▪ Client congeniality or lack thereof
▪ Positive or negative feelings
▪ Constructive or destructive behaviours
▪ Does NOT mean approving or condoning behaviour, but accepting
feelings underlying behaviour
o Acceptance in action: willingness to listen, being patient, curiosity, not being
critical or disapproving (verbally or nonverbally)
• Nonjudgemental Attitude
o Clients come to agencies fearful of being judged
o Fear of being judged leads to:
▪ Hiding aspects of oneself
▪ Higher defenses
▪ Challenged therapeutic alliance
▪ Hinders self-discovery and movement
o Not judging on the basis of personal standards or opinions; refraining from
holding an opinion
