In this article, we address some of the ways that ethical issues have been confronted and avoided in the social work profession and argue that a social constructionist perspective allows for the generation of principles for a practice that foregrounds critical thinking and a value-based ethical stance. We outline these principles and consider them in relation to the special issues that arise in practice with lesbians and gay men.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbramsonM. (1990). Keeping secrets, social workers and AIDS. Social Work, 35, 169–173.
2.
AllenJ. A. (1993). The constructivist paradigm: Values and ethics. In LairdJ. (Ed.), Revisioning social work education: A constructionist approach (pp. 31–54). NewYork: The Haworth Press.
3.
AllportG. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice.Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
4.
AndersonH., & AndersonH. (1992). The client is the expert: A not-knowing approach to therapy. In McNameeS., & GergenK. J. (Eds.), Therapy as social construction (pp. 25–39). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
5.
BerkmanC. S., & ZinbergG. (1997). Homophobia and heterosexism in social workers. Social Work, 42, 319–333.
6.
BokS. (1982). Secrets: On the ethics of concealment and revelation.New York: Pantheon Books.
7.
BullC. (1995, May 20). Losing the war: The courts disregard evidence in denying lesbian mother custody of her son. The Advocate, 33.
8.
CecchinG. (1987). Hypothesizing, circularity, and neutrality revisited: An invitation to curiosity. Family Process, 26, 405–413.
9.
Council on Social Work Education. (1997). Revisions to evaluative standards, effective July 1, 1998. Approved by the Board of Directors, June20, 1997. Alexandria, VA: Author.
10.
Custody and visitation. (1997, Winter). The LAMBDA Update, 14(1), 15.
11.
DycheL., & ZayasL. (1995). The value of curiosity and naivete for the cross cultural therapist. Family Process, 34, 389–400.
12.
DillonC. (in press). A relational perspective on mutuality and boundaries in clinical practice with lesbians. In LairdJ. (Ed.), Lesbians and lesbian families: Multiple reflections on theory and practice.New York: Columbia University Press.
13.
DunlopD. W. (1996, March 6). Fearing a toehold for gay marriages, conservatives rush to bar the door. New York Times, 13.
14.
FoucaultM. (1980). Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings.New York: Pantheon Books.
15.
GergenK. J. (1991). The saturated self.New York: Basic Books.
16.
GreenhouseL. (1996, May 21). Gay rights can't be banned, high court rules. New York Times, A1, A20.
17.
FreedmanJ., & CombsG. (1996). Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities.New York: Norton.
18.
GabrielM. A., & MonacoG. W. (1995). Revisiting the question of self disclosure: The lesbian therapist's dilemma. In GlassgoldJ. M., & IasenzaS. (Eds.), Lesbians and psychoanalysis (pp. 161–172). New York: Free Press.
19.
HartmanA. (in press). The long road to equality: Lesbians and social policy. In LairdJ. (Ed.), Lesbians and lesbian families: Multiple reflections on theory and practice.New York: Columbia University Press.
20.
Hare-MustinR. (1987). The problem of gender in family therapy theory. Family Process, 26, 15–33.
21.
HerekG. M., & GluntE. K. (1993). Interpersonal contact and heterosexuals' attitudes toward gay men: Results from a national survey. Journal of Sex Research, 30, 239–244.
22.
KaplanM. S., Krell-LongL. (1993). AIDS, health policy and ethics. Affilia, 8, 157–170.
23.
KeeneyB. (1985). Aesthetics of change.New York: Guilford Press.
24.
LairdJ. (1993). Lesbian and gay families. In WalshF. (Ed.), Normal family processes, Second edition (pp. 282–328). New York: Guilford Press.
25.
LairdJ. (1995). Family-centered practice in the postmodern era. Families in Society, 76, 150–162.
26.
LairdJ. (1996). Family-centered practice with lesbian and gay families. Families in Society, 77, 559–572.
27.
LairdJ. (in press). Theorizing culture: Narrative ideas and practice principles. In McGoldrickM. (Ed.), Revisioning family therapy: Multicultural systems theory and practice.New York: Guilford Press.
28.
LanceL. M. (1987). The effects of interaction with gay persons on attitudes toward homosexuality. Human Relations, 40, 329–336.
29.
LukesC. A., & LandH. (1990). Biculturality and homosexuality. Social Work, 35, 155–161.
30.
MarksP. (1994, April 17). Shared lives won't accept eternity apart. New York Times, A14.
31.
National Association of Social Workers. (1996). Code of ethics.Washington, DC: Author.
32.
PetersonK. J. (1996). Health care for lesbians and gay men: Confronting homophobia and heterosexism.New York: Haworth Press.
33.
ReamerF. G. (1993). AIDS and social work: The ethics and civil liberties agenda. Social Work, 38, 412–419.
34.
ReamerF. G. (1994). Social work values and ethics. In ReamerF. G. (Ed.), The foundations of social work knowledge.New York: Columbia University Press.
35.
RyderR. G. (1993). Ethics in marital and family treatment. Family Relations, 42, 115–123.
36.
SaleebeyD. (1996). The strengths perspective in social work practice: Extensions and cautions. Social Work, 41, 296–305.
37.
ShapiroV. (1995). Subjugated knowledge and the working alliance: The narratives of Russian Jewish immigrants. In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice, 1, 9–22.
38.
SiegelS., & WalkerG. (1996). Connections: Conversations between a gay therapist and a straight therapist. In LairdJ., & GreenR-J. (Eds.), Lesbians and gays in couples and families: A handbook for therapists (pp. 28–68). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
39.
SiporinM. (1983). Morality and immorality in working with clients. Social Thought, 9, 10–28.
40.
StaceyJ. (1996). In the name of the family.Boston: Beacon Press.
41.
WeingartenK. (1995). Radical listening: Challenging cultural beliefs about mothers. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 7, 7–26.
42.
WhiteM. (1992). Deconstruction and therapy. In EpstonD., & WhiteM., Experience, contradiction, narrative and imagination: Selected papers of David Epston and Michael White, 1989–1991 (pp. 109–151). Adelaide, South Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications.
43.
WhiteM. (1994, February 28). The politics of therapy: Putting to rest the illusion of neutrality. (Mimeographed). Adelaide, South Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications.
44.
WhiteM., & EpstonD. (1990). Narrative means to therapeutic ends.New York: W. W. Norton.
45.
WisniewskiJ. J., & ToomeyB. G. (1987). Are social workers homophobic?Social Work, 32, 454–455.
46.
ZycheL., & ZayasL. H. (1995). The value of curiosity and naivete for the crosscultural psychotherapist. Family Process, 34, 389–399.
