Professional values of crisis center staff

Abstract

This article examines the professional values of crisis center staff providing support to survivors of domestic violence. The aim of the study is to identify the key professional values of crisis center workers, analyze the typical ethical dilemmas arising in the process of supporting survivors, and determine the organizational and systemic factors influencing the implementation of professional principles in everyday practice. The study is based on a qualitative research design. The empirical data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with seven crisis center professionals from Almaty and Karaganda. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis with a coding framework structured around four analytical domains: professional values, ethical dilemmas, support practices, and systemic barriers.

The findings demonstrate that ensuring the safety of clients and children serves as the central professional orientation of crisis center staff. Core values consistently reflected in professional practice include a trauma-informed and non-blaming approach, respect for client autonomy, confidentiality, maintenance of professional boundaries, teamwork, and supervision. The value of the study lies in its empirical description of how professional values are enacted in everyday crisis intervention practices and how organizational environments influence the quality of professional decision-making. The study contributes to the development of research on professional ethics, crisis intervention, and social work in the field of domestic violence prevention and response. The practical significance of the findings lies in their potential application to the development of professional training programs for crisis center staff, improvement of service delivery standards, implementation of supervision systems, and strengthening of interagency support mechanisms for survivors of violence.

Keywords: domestic violence, crisis centers, professional values, ethical dilemmas, safety, confidentiality.