Eye on Ethics: Saying 'I'm Sorry': Social Workers' Error Management
Document Type
Article
Department (Manual Entry)
School of Social Work
Abstract
One sad reality of social work practice is that practitioners sometimes encounter crises when they err and when clients and former clients accuse them of wrongdoing. Too often I’ve consulted on litigation and licensing board cases where unhappy clients and former clients claim, for example, that social workers violated boundaries, mismanaged confidential information, improperly terminated services, provided poor service, or engaged in a conflict of interest. The good news is that it’s relatively rare for social workers to be named in formal complaints. The bad news is that this happens too often.
Citation
Reamer, Frederic G., "Eye on Ethics: Saying ‘I’m Sorry’: Social Workers’ Error Management," Social Work Today, January, 2014, available at http://www.socialworktoday.com/news/eoe_012714.shtml