Acceptance is important for social workers to build a meaningful and solid relationship with clients in direct practice. In this reflection paper, I would like to explore three components embedded in the concept of acceptance.
The first component is to acknowledge that clients are entitled basic human rights. As stated in social work Code of Ethics, social worker’s primary mission is to “enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people.” The premise underlying this statement is that all persons are equally entitled to basic human needs and rights. However, in reality, we are living in a world where power, privileges, discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice exist and put some people in inferior or disadvantaged situations. So acceptance in direct practice means, in the first place, to recognize and accept clients as members of all people who need and deserve the
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This connection and relation motivate us to offer empathy and compassion. We try as much as we could to relate our feelings and emotions to clients, understand their sufferings and vulnerabilities by putting ourselves in their shoes, empathize their distress, and ultimately take actions to help and work with them.
The third component of acceptance is to respect clients. This concept of respect lies not only in the way and manner that we receive and treat clients, but also in our way of thinking that we accept clients as who they are. We listen attentively to clients telling us their life stories and experiences, appreciate their human qualities and characteristics without personal judgement, and acknowledge their dignity and humanity. Moreover, we enhance and promote their self-determination, which means clients have their own power, autonomy, and capacity to change and to address their own problems and