Ethical Encounters in Social Work Practice

This book is a narrative-based ethics text designed to help students and practitioners engage deeply with the complex ethical dilemmas encountered across contemporary social work settings. It presents fully developed short stories-organized around themes of child welfare, mental health practice, substance use treatment, school social work, and supervision of new practitioners-that place readers inside ethically ambiguous situations shaped by poverty, trauma, systemic inequities, organizational pressures, and relational dynamics. Each narrative is followed by guided discussion questions to support reflective dialogue, ethical reasoning, and application of professional values in classroom, supervision, and field education contexts. The book responds to a growing need in social work education to move beyond rule-based ethics instruction toward applied, reflective learning. While professional codes and decision-making models remain essential, practitioners often encounter dilemmas that unfold under time pressure, emotional stress, and institutional constraints. Ethical challenges today are further shaped by evolving practice realities, including digital communication boundaries, harm reduction approaches, gender identity considerations in schools, practitioner burnout, and organizational accountability. By presenting ethics through lived experience rather than abstract scenarios, the book aligns with current pedagogical trends emphasizing experiential learning, cultural humility, and structural awareness. Ethical Encounters in Social Work Practice is intended primarily for BSW and MSW students and instructors in ethics, practice, and field seminar courses, though it also serves as a valuable resource for supervisors and early-career practitioners. Instructors will find the narrative format highly effective for stimulating discussion and connecting theory to practice, while students benefit from engaging, realistic scenarios that reflect situations they encounter in field placements. By fostering ethical reflection, professional self-awareness, and critical thinking, this book will prepare emerging social workers to navigate the uncertainty and responsibility inherent in professional practice. Inhaltsverzeichnis Chapter 1: Ethics in Motion From Code to Practice.- Part I : Addressing Ethical Encounters in Social Work Practice Through Storytelling: Chapter 2: Child Welfare: Ethical Challenges at the Edge of Protection.- Chapter 3: Working With Clients Experiencing Mental Illness .- Chapter 4: Ethical Encounters and Clients with Substance Abuse Disorders.- Chapter 5: School Social Work: Protection, Privacy, and Advocacy.- Chapter 6: Supervising New Practitioners: Power, Responsibility, and Ethical Development.- Part II : Ethical Supervision.- Chapter 7: Ethical Supervision as the Foundation of Professional Integrity .- Chapter 8: Living the Code.- Chapter 9: The Ethical Heart of Social Work Practice. Autorenportrait Thomas Chalmers McLaughlin, PhD, MSW, is a faculty member in the Barbara Solomon School of Social Work at Walden University in Minnesota, USA, where he teaches and mentors PhD and DSW social work students. Dr. McLaughlin is the recipient of two Fulbright grants to work with colleagues in the Czech Republic and Finland. He lives in Maine (USA).