Social Work Values and Ethics - by Frederic G Reamer

About the Book

For decades, teachers and practitioners have turned to Frederic G. Reamer's Social Work Values and Ethics as the leading introduction to ethical decision making, dilemmas, and professional conduct in practice. This sixth edition incorporates significant updates to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics.

Book Synopsis

For decades, teachers and practitioners have turned to Frederic G. Reamer's Social Work Values and Ethics as the leading introduction to ethical decision making, dilemmas, and professional conduct in practice. A case-driven, concise, and comprehensive textbook for undergraduate and graduate social work programs, this book surveys the most critical issues for social work practitioners.

This sixth edition incorporates significant updates to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and discussion of challenging issues related to cultural competency, antiracism, moral injury, human rights, environmental justice, ethical humility, non-Western perspectives on ethics, and practitioner self-care. Reamer also focuses on how social workers should navigate the digital world through discussion of the ethical issues that arise from practitioner use of online services and social networking sites to deliver services, communicate with clients, and provide information to the public, and he examines the standards that protect confidential information transmitted electronically. He highlights potential conflicts between professional ethics and legal guidelines and expands discussions of informed consent, confidentiality and privileged communication, boundaries and dual relationships, documentation, conflicts of interest, and risk management. Conceptually rich and attuned to the complexities of ethical decision making, Social Work Values and Ethics is unique in striking the right balance among history, theory, and practical application.

Review Quotes

As an attorney and social worker who defends and advises social work professionals, I am grateful for the theoretically deep yet profoundly practical guidance offered by the sixth edition of Reamer's Social Work Values and Ethics. It deserves a prominent place on every social worker's bookshelf.--David Barry, Esq.

Frederic G. Reamer's accessible approach to social work values and ethics is informed by decades of extensive scholarship and addresses important contemporary issues. He offers a powerful resource for social workers to expand critical thinking, strengthen practice, and improve effectiveness in navigating complex ethical dilemmas.--Malitta Engstrom, University of Pennsylvania

The strength of Reamer's approach is bringing values, ethics, practical decision making, and risk management into conversation with a wide variety of case studies and dilemmas occurring directly in everyday social work practice. Practitioners and educators will especially profit from Reamer's updated chapter on professional misconduct, entanglements in which social workers might easily find themselves, and how to prevent such situations from occurring in the first place.--Daniel Liechty, Illinois State University

Clear. Comprehensive. Current. In this edition, Reamer builds on the sound foundation of this time-honored text with cases and questions that reflect changes in the Code and the contemporary complexities of social work practice.--Kim Strom-Gottfried, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

About the Author

Frederic G. Reamer is professor emeritus at the School of Social Work, Rhode Island College. His Columbia University Press books include Risk Management in the Behavioral Health Professions: A Practical Guide to Preventing Malpractice and Licensing-Board Complaints (2023); The Philosophical Foundations of Social Work (second edition, 2022); Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships in the Human Services (third edition, 2021); Risk Management in Social Work (2015); and On the Parole Board: Reflections on Crime, Punishment, Redemption, and Justice (2016), among others.