Cultural Competence and Self-Disclosure in Social Work

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Cultural competence and self-disclosure are some of the most complicated aspects of social work. This is namely because the former is a rather crucial qualification for employees and the latter involves serious consequences if executed inappropriately. Thus, social workers need to understand how to implement cultural competence and self-disclosure without violating any regulations and the client’s privacy. The following paper will review these two aspects and why they matter.

Main body

Self-disclosure represents a rather gray and complicated area in social work. Clients may sometimes ask personal questions regarding age, family, and other aspects and it is important to approach the matter appropriately. All social workers often inevitably disclose themselves in various ways. For example, by expressing empathy in response to a client talking about their domestic abuse experience, the former makes a self-revealing disclosure (Szczygiel, 2020). However, if they state that they faced it as well, it is a self-involving one. Nonetheless, privacy and setting and maintaining specific boundaries are crucial aspects of practitioner competence (Reamer, 2016; Reamer, 2020). This, in turn, makes self-involving disclosure rather controversial and emphasizes the value of context and how long ago the event took place (Moody et al., 2021). Ethic stress burnout, which is caused by the negotiation of ethical challenges, is yet another problem that might be correlated with the issue (Imboden, 2020). Thus, the aforementioned factors and consequences are why self-disclosure is a gray area.

Cultural competence is yet another valuable qualification for social workers. This is because they should be sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and be motivated to abolish discrimination and oppression (Social Workers, n. d.). For example, a social worker can help their client overcome obstacles, such as limited English capabilities or coming from a cultural background that is completely different from the country they live in currently (VCU, 2019). I had a similar case myself, as I was dealing with a client who was an immigrant and struggled with getting accustomed to their new place of residence. By respecting their struggles and catering my help to their needs, I demonstrated cultural competence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cultural competence and self-disclosure are two rather complicated aspects of social work. The latter is a rather gray area, and although it is common, it should be incorporated depending on the context, especially self-involving disclosure. The former is important because social workers strive for diversity and abolishing discrimination. By respecting cultural differences and struggles, they are being more mindful and respectful towards their client.

References

Imboden, R. (2020). Exploring the relationship between ethics stress and burnout. Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics, 17(1), 14-16. Web.

Moody, K. J., Pomerantz, A. M., Ro, E., & Segrist, D. J. (2021). “Me Too, a long time ago”: Therapist self-disclosure of past or present psychological problems similar to those of the client. Practice Innovations, 6(3), 181-188. Web.

Reamer, F. G. (2016). Tele-social work in a COVID-19 world: An ethics primer. Social Work Today Magazine. Web.

Reamer, F. G. (2020). The complexities of client privacy, confidentiality, and privileged communication. Social Work Today Magazine. Web.

Social Workers. (n.d.). Code of ethics: English. NASW Home. Web.

Szczygiel, P. (2020). In the Field – To self-disclose or not to self-disclose: That question is too simple. SocialWorker.com. Web.

VCU. (2019). Why cultural competence in social work is a vital skill. Online Social Work VCU. Web.

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Cultural Competence and Self-Disclosure in Social Work

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