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Social Work vocabulary · Ethics and Confidentiality

Self-determination

Meaning in social work, with examples

/ˌself dɪˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃn/nounCommon term

In social work, self-determination means: A person's right to make their own choices and decisions about their life, even when others might disagree with them.

In Turkish: kendi kararını verme hakkı, kendi geleceğini belirleme hakkı, özerklik

How it is used

A classic social work value. It is limited when a person lacks capacity for a decision or when their choice would seriously harm others. In politics the same word refers to a people's right to choose its own government, so context matters.

Example sentences

  1. We respected his self-determination, even though we were worried about the decision.

  2. Client self-determination has to be balanced against the duty to protect.

Common collocations

  • client self-determination
  • right to self-determination
  • respect self-determination
  • promote self-determination
  • informed consentPermission given by a person who understands what they are agreeing to, including the purpose, risks, alternatives and their right to say no.
  • mental capacityA person's ability to understand, remember and weigh up information about a particular decision and to communicate their choice.
  • empowermentThe process of helping people gain more control over their own lives, decisions and resources, and the confidence to act for themselves.
  • duty of careThe legal and ethical responsibility to act in a way that keeps people in your care safe and does not cause them avoidable harm.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Ethics and Confidentiality

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