Ethical Challenges We face
Today, I would like to talk about the LOVE(s) tool which helps us to handle our day-to-day ethical challenges and dilemmas we face at work. Let’s be honest with each other. Our mahi is incredibly complex. It’s often not about simple right or wrong. It’s about navigating a tangled fishing net (Claxton & Lucas, 2007). Full of competing needs and hidden snags. They are not mathematical equations. There’s no single, easy answer. I’ve been there many times.
Helping professionals often find they are faced with ethical dilemmas that cannot be resolved within their current frame of thinking and look for help from their supervisors (Hawkins & Shohet, p.133)
You feel stuck, unsure of your next step. This is where supervision becomes essential. It’s our safe space to untangle the net. And to grow our capacity to make thoughtful decisions. As I’ve already mentioned at the beginning, there is a powerful tool that help you to make an ethical decision. This framework that has helped me immensely. It’s called the LOVE(S) Tool (Comte, 2024).
Supervision as an Ethical Arena
Supervision isn’t just for case review. It’s an ethical field, as Henderson (2014) calls it. A ‘moral landscape’ we work in. The supervisor is like an alert gardener. They help us keep an eye on the details. And see how everything connects. This is vital in our intensely managed environments.
“Penny Henderson (2009) uses the metaphor of the ‘alert gardener’ to describe the supervisor’s role—someone who is attentive, noticing what is growing, what is struggling, what needs pruning or feeding, and what might be invasive or harmful.” (Hawkins & Shohet, 2012, p. 139)
Our organisations often focus on risk management. This can clash with our professional values. Our ethical discussions can become very tense. Supervision is where we explore this tension. We can explore the competing needs of stakeholders. We can look at role conflicts. And we can manage difficult boundary situations. It’s the place to move from reacting. To reflecting on our actions.
What Does Ethical Maturity Look Like?
Supervision helps us grow in ethical maturity. It moves us beyond an ‘ethics of duty’. It helps us figure out what is “best,” not just what is required.
Definition of Ethical Maturity (Carroll & Shaw, 2012)
“Having the reflective, rational, emotional and intuitive capacity to decide if actions are right and wrong, or good and better; having the resilience and courage to implement those decisions; being accountable for ethical decisions made (publicly or privately); and being able to learn from and live with the experience.”
Carroll (2014) outlines six components of this maturity.
- First, we need ethical awareness. We need to spot a dilemma when it arises. This means developing ethical sensitivity—an internal radar that alerts us to complexity before it becomes a crisis. Supervision helps us tune this radar through reflection and dialogue.
- Second, we need self-knowledge. To understand our own values and biases. Ethical maturity is not just about knowing the rules, but knowing ourselves. Supervision invites us to explore how our personal history, emotions, and assumptions shape our ethical stance.
- Third, we must have the ability to make choices. Even when they are tough. Supervision provides a safe space to rehearse decision-making, to weigh competing values, and to consider the impact of our choices on others.
- Fourth is the ethical courage to act. To stand by our decision, even under pressure. This includes the ability to resist organisational pressures or cultural norms when they conflict with what we believe is right. Supervision strengthens our resolve by helping us clarify our ethical priorities.
- Fifth, we must be accountable. To our clients, our colleagues, and ourselves. Accountability is relational. It means being transparent, open to feedback, and willing to justify our decisions. Supervision models this by holding us gently but firmly to our responsibilities.
- And finally, we must be able to learn. To reflect on what happened and grow from it. Ethical maturity is never finished. It’s a lifelong process. Supervision helps us stay open to learning, even when we’ve made mistakes. It turns experience into wisdom.
Supervision is the key to building all of this. It is not just a place to solve problems—it is a place to become more ethically aware, emotionally attuned, and professionally grounded. It helps us move from compliance to integrity.
The LOVE Tool: A Framework for Ethical Inquiry
Jeremy Le Comte developed a tool for us. He saw the need for a practical framework. One that could help us not overlook anything. The LOVE Tool is a simple yet powerful acronym. It helps us systematically explore dilemmas.
- L is for Legal requirements: What does the law say? What are our legal obligations regarding confidentiality, privacy, and duty of care? This is our first, non-negotiable step. Legal frameworks are essential, but they vary across contexts. As Beddoe and Davys (2016) note, legal responsibility in supervision differs significantly between countries and organisations. Supervisors must be aware of these nuances.
- O is for Organisational requirements: What are your agency’s policies and procedures? These are often about managing risk. It’s important to understand them, even if we feel they conflict with our values. Organisational codes may prioritise performance and risk management over relational ethics. Supervision helps us navigate these tensions and advocate for ethical integrity within bureaucratic systems.
- V is for Values: This is a crucial one. What are your personal and professional values? What does your worldview tell you? Here in Aotearoa, we often draw on principles like manaakitanga (hospitality and generosity) and aroha (love and compassion). Supervision is a space to reflect on how our values interact with cultural, social, and political contexts. Ethical maturity means recognising that values are not static—they evolve through experience and reflection.
- E is for Ethical codes: What does our professional code of ethics tell us? As Le Comte notes, the code is a necessary first step. But it is not enough on its own. We need to go deeper. Ethical codes offer structure, but supervision encourages us to move beyond rule-following into ethical discernment. As Carroll and Shaw (2013) argue, ethical maturity involves developing a moral compass—not just checking compliance. Refer to ANZASW Code of Ethics
The name “LOVE” is no accident either. It is a reminder. A reminder to be compassionate and supportive. Not to be judgmental. It’s about creating a safe space to learn. Supervision, when grounded in LOVE, becomes a relational practice. It fosters trust, emotional safety, and the courage to face ethical complexity. It reminds us that ethics is not just about decisions—it’s about how we hold each other through them.
Adding ‘S’: Putting the Service User ‘in the Room’
I have a small but essential addition to the tool. It’s the letter ‘S’. The ‘S’ stands for the Service User. We have to bring their voice into the room. Our service user’s voice can often become a blind spot we are unable to see. We need to ask ourselves a vital question.
How will this decision affect them?
We need to see the situation from their perspective. This is a core part of being a professional. Especially in our practice. It helps us move beyond policy and risk. To what is truly best for the person. So, we can use the full LOVES Tool.
This addition reflects a growing emphasis in supervision literature on symbolic inclusion—asking, “If the client were here, what would they say?” or “How would they feel about this decision?” These questions help us stay grounded in empathy and accountability.
Beddoe and Davys (2016) describe this as keeping the service user ‘in the room’, even if only symbolically. Supervisors may use props, genograms, or eco-maps to remind us of the client’s wider context—family, community, culture. This helps us avoid pathologising language and keeps our decisions relational.
The ‘S’ also reminds us that ethical maturity includes justice. It asks us to consider fairness, dignity, and the long-term impact of our choices. It’s not just about what we do—it’s about who we do it for.
Putting the LOVES Tool into Practice
Let’s try a real-world example. A colleague was working with a homeless client. The client arrived at a session. He was visibly hungry and upset. My colleague had an apple in her bag. She felt a strong pull to offer it. But she was worried about professional boundaries. She brought this to her supervision. Using the LOVES Tool, we would explore this.
L – Legal Requirements: What are the legal issues? There are no legal requirements here that would prohibit this.
O – Organisational Requirements: What does the policy say? Her organisation had a policy against giving gifts. It’s meant to prevent boundary blurring and dependency. This is a clear conflict point.
V – Values: What are her personal values? She felt a strong sense of manaakitanga. She saw a fellow human in need. She believed in treating people with dignity and respect.
E – Ethical Codes: What does our professional code of ethics say? Our code talks about maintaining professional boundaries. But it also speaks about our duty to act with humanity. There is a clear tension here.
The ANZASW Code of Ethics encourages us to act with manaakitanga—respect, kindness, and compassion—and aroha—shared humanity and empathy. These values support the idea that offering the apple may not be a boundary violation. Rather, it is a mana-enhancing act of care. The code also reminds us to use our professional judgement without being judgemental, and to focus on people’s strengths and wellbeing.
Furthermore, the principle of mātātoa—moral courage—calls on us to act ethically even in uncertain or uncomfortable situations. Offering the apple, in this context, could be seen as a small but significant act of moral courage, rooted in relational ethics.
S – Service User: What is his perspective? He is hungry and feeling vulnerable. Would an apple build trust? Or would it create an unhealthy dynamic? The supervision helped her think about this. It was likely a simple, needed act of kindness.
In the end, she made a thoughtful decision. She offered the apple with an open heart. And she had a conversation with him. She explored his feelings about receiving it. And together they talked about how to get kai in the future. The supervision helped her to justify her choice. She could be accountable for her actions. It was not just a knee-jerk reaction. It was a mature ethical decision.
Final Thoughts
Ethics are not a formula to be solved. They are, as Carroll says, relational issues to be lived. Supervision is where we live them out. The LOVES Tool is an excellent guide. It helps us move from the messy, chaotic feeling. Towards a clear, justified, and thoughtful decision. It helps us serve our clients with integrity. And it helps us grow as ethical practitioners. Supervision is our opportunity to get it right. Let’s make the most of it.
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