Respect for confidentiality doesn’t stop with clients—it applies to our colleagues, too. When you're preparing for the ASWB exam, it’s important to remember that ethical standards extend to professional communications with other social workers and service providers. Section 2.02 of the NASW Code of Ethics addresses how we handle sensitive information shared in the course of teamwork, consultation, or collaborative care.

Here’s the short, full standard:

2.02 Confidentiality
Social workers should respect confidential information shared by colleagues in the course of their professional relationships and transactions. Social workers should ensure that such colleagues understand social workers’ obligation to respect confidentiality and any exceptions related to it.

What It Means in Practice

This section is about mutual trust in professional collaboration. Social workers often share sensitive information with one another during:

  • Team meetings

  • Case consultations

  • Supervision

  • Interagency collaboration

When a colleague shares something in confidence—whether about a client, a case, or their own experience—it must be handled with care.

Key Guidelines

  • Keep colleague communications private

    • Don’t repeat or disclose what a colleague shared in confidence unless ethically or legally required

    • Be especially mindful in group emails, shared notes, and team chats

  • Clarify your own confidentiality obligations

    • When consulting with colleagues, make sure they understand your responsibility to uphold confidentiality

    • If you must disclose something (e.g., risk to a client), do so respectfully and lawfully

  • Model discretion

    • Gossip, complaints, or “venting” that involves sensitive information from coworkers is not just unprofessional—it may be unethical

Practice Question

You might encounter a licensing exam question framed like this:

A social worker consults with a colleague about a challenging case. Later, the colleague shares details from that consultation during a group lunch with other staff. The client is not named, but the social worker feels the situation was shared inappropriately. What is the most ethical concern in this scenario?

A. Sharing client-free scenarios is generally acceptable in informal settings

B. The social worker should not have sought consultation on a difficult case

C. The colleague should have gotten client consent before consulting

D. The colleague may have violated professional confidentiality with peers

Have your answer?

How to narrow it down: A minimizes ethical responsibility; B discourages ethical, appropriate collaboration; C confuses peer consultation with client disclosures. The correct answer is D. Even when client names are not used, consultation details can be sensitive. Confidentiality extends to what colleagues share privately in the course of their professional role.

Want to make sure you’re ready for these type of questions? SWTP’s full-length ASWB practice exams are designed to help you sharpen your judgment and pass with confidence.

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June 4, 2025
Categories :
  ethics  
  practice  
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