This presentation will focus on ethical challenges specific to social work practice in large governmental or nongovernmental organizations. Ethical conflicts and challenges endemic to macro level practice will be our focus, and participants will have a chance to rethink how to engage in ethical practice when our clients number in the thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions; how to resolve common conflicts in principles and duties arising through work in large organizations; and how to navigate bureaucratic and political systems while preserving social work ethics and values.

As professionals in the social work and allied fields we are taught to compartmentalize our lives from our work but sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what to share and how to share with clients, we are human beings after all. Managing our own disclosure to clients can be challenging especially when aspects of ourselves are similar to those of our clients. Sometimes it can be helpful, sometimes it can be extremely harmful. In this workshop we will explore self-disclosure dos and don’ts, gray areas, and what to do when you feel pulled to share with your clients.

Well-intentioned help misses the mark when it assumes that a person can receive it and act upon it in a certain way. That's why epidemiologist Linda K. Riddell created Gettin' By, an accredited continuing education training for teachers, doctors, case managers, and other professionals to work more effectively with students, patients and clients who are experiencing poverty. Many poverty simulation trainings focus on the hassle of coping with poverty and they generally overlook how poverty affects thinking and decision-making. Gettin’ By uses real-world scenarios and brain science to simulate how poverty changes a person's ability to process information and make logical decisions, impairing certain functions while enhancing others.