Responding to Covid-19: New Trends in Social Workers Use of Information and Communication Technology (1 credit hour)

Program Summary:  This course explores the impact of ICT use on clinical practice during the Covid-19 pandemic and its affect on social work core values, including client well-being, confidentiality, privacy, boundaries, and advocacy.  The ICT expansion importantly allowed social workers to continue their therapeutic relationships with clients when it would not have been possible otherwise.  Many clients responded well to the increased flexibility and creativity offered by ICT.  Other clients experienced critical barriers, such as lack of internet access and poor internet literacy.  Ethical dilemmas were experienced and examples are given.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.

The NASW Code of Ethics offers six ethical standards that include social workers’ ethical responsibility to clients (well-being, privacy, confidentiality) and to the broader society (advocacy).  1. Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities to Clients 1.01 Commitment to Clients Social workers’ primary responsibility is to promote the well-being of clients.  1.07 Privacy and Confidentiality (m) Social workers should use applicable safeguards (such as encryption, firewalls, and passwords) when using electronic communications such as e-mail, online posts, online chat sessions, mobile communication, and text messages. 1.17 Termination of Services (b) Social workers should take reasonable steps to avoid abandoning clients who are still in need of services. 6.04 Social and Political Action (a) Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. (NASW Code of Ethics, 2017)

Book  Open the Course Reading Here.

Course Reading:  Responding to COVID-19: New Trends in Social Workers’ Use of Information and Communication Technology

Authors:  Faye Mishna, Elizabeth Milne, Marion Bogo, and Luana Pereira

Publisher:  Clinical Social Work Journal- open access

Course Objectives:  To enhance professional practice, values, skills and knowledge by exploring the impact of ICT use on clinical practice during the Covid-19 pandemic and its affect on social work core values.

Learning Objectives:  Describe the impact of ICT use on clinical practice during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Identify how the expansion of ICT affected core social work values. Give an example of an ethical dilemma experienced with the use of ICT during Covid-19.

Review our pre-reading study guide.

Course Available Until: November 30, 2025.

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1: Social service providers have demonstrated a great deal of creativity in their use of technology during Covid-19 to provide
 
 
 
 
2: The social workers reported that their agencies' responses to Covid-19 involved a substantial ____________ of ICT options which social workers could use with clients.
 
 
3: The majority of social work participants described choosing ICTs based on ___________ preference.
 
 
 
4: Which of the following is an example of how social workers used creative strategies to remotely maintain their therapeutic relationships with clients?
 
 
 
 
5: Several participants mentioned that clients who experienced anxiety were ___________ able to access services during Covid-19.
 
 
6: Participants noted ____________ access for clients in remote locations, as well as for clients who experience transportation barriers.
 
 
7: Participants described the ways in which the transition to online services ________ access for clients, particularly youth, who rely on others, such as their parents or guardians, to attend treatment.
 
 
8: Which of the following was a barrier for connecting with clients through ICT?
 
 
 
 
9: Lack of private space in the home setting raises potential concerns about
 
 
 
 
10: Providing cellphone numbers to clients raises potential concerns about
 
 
 
 
11: Practitioners showed impressive commitment to core social work values by
 
 
 
 
12: The research findings ______________ concerns that digital counseling options could dilute the meaning of the therapeutic relationship and alliance.
 
 
13: As the pandemic has sharpened the digital divide and exposed existing inequities, there is a greater need for _________.
 
 
 
 
14: Which of the following is an example of an ethical dilemma during Covid-19?
 
 
 
 

In order to purchase or take this course, you will need to log in. If you do not have an account, you will need to register for a free account.

After you log in, a link will appear here that will allow you to purchase this course.

Responding to Covid 19: New Trends in Social Workers Use of Information and Communication Technology, Course #4589, is approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program to be offered by Free State Social Work, LLC as an individual course. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE course approval period: 12/08/2022 - 12/08/2024. Social workers completing this course receive 1 Ethics continuing education credit.

G.M. Rydberg-Cox, MSW, LSCSW is the Continuing Education Director at Free State Social Work and responsible for the development of this course.  She received her Masters of Social Work in 1996 from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois-Chicago and she has over 20 years of experience.  She has lived and worked as a social worker in Chicago, Boston, and Kansas City. She has practiced for many years in the area of hospital/medical social work.  The reading materials for this course were developed by another organization.

Course Available Until: November 30, 2025.
Filed under: Covid-19, Ethics, Technology