It is understandable that a social worker might be inclined to take sides with a family member or subsystem when members are in conflict. How can the social worker minimize this possibility?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Working with families can generate strong emotional reactions in a social worker. People tend to evaluate family processes from the perspective of their own backgrounds. What a social worker sees in clients may remind her of issues within her own families, and this can make her sensitive to client family processes in positive or negative ways. One’s natural tendency may be to either re-create a family system he or she is familiar with, or one that is consistent with an ideal. To prepare for family work it is useful for the social worker to reflect on the following questions:

• What was (or is) my family like? What values and behaviors are (were) emphasized? What positive and negative feelings do I have about the members of my family?
• How does my idea of an ideal family compare to this family?
• What are the values of the family I am working with? How comfortable am I with these?
• What does this family want for itself? Can I support their goals?
• Ongoing self-awareness, facilitated by peer and supervisory consultation, will help the social worker to maintain appropriate emotional boundaries with the members of a client family.