Ethics: case study for a social work class

Ethics
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Ethics
An analysis done by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention states that about 42, 773 Americans die by suicide annually. Additionally, for every suicide 25 people survive the attempt. Creating awareness in the community is important in order to save lives. Social workers often work with people struggling with suicide either as a chronic or acute situation. Suicide compels the practitioner to face complex legal, ethical and psychological policies while trying to control an urgent circumstance. This essay reflects on the legal and ethical issues I may face while helping the ten-year-old boy.
When dealing with a suicidal client, a social worker’s responsibility seems clear. Congress states that the NASW ethical code that permits one to break a client’s confidentiality is ‘widely accepted except by the most radical thinkers’ (Barsky, 2020). However, the principle can make a situation backfire. Today, attempted suicide has serious social and health consequences all around the world. Suicide poses intense hardships for the families and friends of the individual. Additionally, a client’s conviction may pose a threat to the personal and religious values of a social worker. A practitioner may end up feeling powerless in preventing a suicide attempt. In the context of chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, ending one’s life is seen as a way to alleviate suffering whereas people suffering from depression are not accorded the same outlook. In both circumstances, an outsider’s view is shaped by stigma. It is the practitioner’s responsibility to determine whether the person is rational enough to make his or her own decisions. Although it is difficult to ascertain a person’s state of mind, intervention can always give a person a second chance.
To begin with, it is important to know whether the kid is acutely or chronically suicidal. Dealing with an acutely suicidal person is easy whereas when it comes to a chronically suicidal person an ethical dilemma arises. Chronically depressed individuals often go for years without a lasting improvement to their mental health. When trying to help persons who are evidently suffering, the need to protect life competes with a social worker’s responsibility to alleviate suffering (Doherty, 2016). In the case of other mental illnesses, a social worker’s conviction to stop suicide at any cost may compromise the ethical code. Choosing to continue treatment when the client is suffering from other mental illnesses may only extend a period of torture. However, a practitioner’s intervention in the form of simply listening to the client death wishes may offer the client a glimmer of hope. Knowing they can talk to someone often gives the client a new perspective of life. Moreover, this intervention must not cross legal and ethical boundaries.
In order to avoid any future malpractice suits, I will start by conducting a risk assessment by investigating social, cognitive and biological factors that influence the client’s thinking. The assessment should be carefully documented. Sometimes factors such as abusive homes and dysfunctional parents can lead a ten year old to contempla...