Curiosity
I prioritize discovering the right question(s) over the right answer(s).

Courage
For me, courage means to act while facing fear and anxiety.

Compassion
While empathy requires a certain level of understanding – and tricks us into believing full understanding is possible – compassion can be given and felt without stipulation or requirement. I offer it without qualification.

Work Slow (To Go Fast)
Change – deep, lasting, change – takes time. Moving with intention leads to more effective transformation—which ultimately saves time!

Follow Tension
Tension over what is “unspoken” or “unspeakable” can hamstring a groups ability to achieve their goals. Exploring tension can lead to powerful insights about a group’s process and dynamics, which in turn, help a group make more informed decisions about how it wants to function. (Works when applied to individuals, too!)

Test Ignorance
Asking clarifying questions to understand the meaning behind the actions of an individual or group helps limit clumsy interventions based on errors in perception.

Service
I elevate service to others above self-interest.

Dignity and Worth of the Person
I treat each person, group, and organization in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. I promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination and seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs.

Importance of Human Relationships
I understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. I engage people as partners in the helping process and seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities.

Integrity
I conduct a personal and professional life that embodies and reflects the values and ethics I describe here; what’s more, I encourage ethical practices when working with individuals, groups, and communities.

Competence
I continually strive to increase my professional knowledge and skills and to apply them in practice.

Adapted from the NASW Code of Ethics.