How does one make the right choices when faced with ethical dilemmas? Social service professionals use a unique set of principles to guide their decisions within a broad and complex array of situations. Straight Talk about Professional Ethics, Second Edition provides readers with the guidelines that will help them make decisions in a manner that is clinically and ethically effective. This book explains the seven core concepts that guide ethical practice in the helping professions: self-determination, informed consent, competence, confidentiality and privacy, attention to conflicts of interest, maintenance of professional boundaries, and professionalism and integrity. Developing a commitment to the ethics of a profession and an understanding of how those ethics apply to commonly occurring workplace situations is a major element of professional preparation.

\"Professor Strom-Gottfried is one of the preeminent scholars in ethics for social workers. Her experience and understanding of social work as a multidisciplinary endeavor is remarkable and her crisp prose communicates a personal and professional integrity that is highly welcomed in the field.\" --Anthony A. Bibus III, Augsburg College