Alfonzo's Ethical Case Study: Navigating Depression and Work Challenges

1 BSHS/335 Ethical Case Study Mitch Lewis Ethical Case Study Mitch Lewis BSHS/335 7/24/2017

2 BSHS/335 Ethical Case Study Mitch Lewis The case of Alfonzo involves a fifty-two-year-old construction worker that needs to be seen for depression. Alfonzo was injured on the job and is put on disability as his income replacement from the injury. During the time off Alfonzo has become depressed from not being able to work and being put on disability. The client has stated that he lacks the self-confidence to return to work. Alfonzo’s physical wounds are healing up, but his psychological state of mind is concerning. If Alfonzo is afraid to go back to work from being depressed, we must figure out if it will be safe for him to return to work in his current state depression and Alfonzo said that he wishes he can stay on disability forever. As a case manager Louise Thompson is responsible for helping the client make choices that require self-determination and allows the client to make their own decisions regarding the care and services that they receive. Alfonzo does have the right to make all his own choices, and the professional will help the client be empowered to do so. The case worker has a responsibility to help the client, and the community will be supported as well. The client is part of the community and deserves fair treatment and service delivery options. The helper has a responsibility to the client that helps them receive services and to have the least intrusive intervention created for them by the helper. The least restrictive environment is also something the professional will help Alfonzo obtain during the process as well. The least intrusive intervention will make the process easier for the client to follow. Trying to determine the least invasive intervention may make or break whether Alfonso gets the help and services he needs or not. The least intrusive of interventions are sometimes based on the

3 BSHS/335 Ethical Case Study Mitch Lewis most socially acceptable sources of intervention strategies that are used. Alfonzo may respond to an intervention better if he knows the intervention is widely used throughout the community and for society in general. As well as using the least intrusive intervention, using the least restrictive environment for Alfonzo will help him feel more comfortable during treatment and receiving of services. One thing that may help Alfonzo is having the Dr. make sure that transitioning from disability to return to work goes as smoothly as possible for Alfonzo, so he feels comfortable. Ethical dilemmas can cause intervention services to be harder to determine for the case manager. Hearing Alfonso says that he wishes he could stay on disability forever is a source of concern for the Dr. especially if Alfonso is stating that he wants to be on disability forever may be cause for some red flags concerning honesty regarding the client. If the client intends to be on disability forever, they may never attempt to return to work and may make up stories and be dishonest to get what he wants which sounds like to be on disability forever. The case manager cannot recommend that the client remains to be physically disabled if their body can do the job or another comparable job anyway. Another ethical dilemma is what if Alfonzo is truly depressed and it may be too dangerous for him to work if he is mentally incapable due to being so depressed. Individuals that are depressed may make poor decisions that they would not normally make, but they are doing now due to the depression and poor thinking habits. Ethically, the Dr. is questioning whether she should respond to the requests of the insurance company and tell them what Alfonzo said about being on disability forever. If the client is able bodied and is claiming to be disabled, then that is an ethical dilemma for the professional. If the helper tells the insurance company, then Alfonso will be left with no

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4 BSHS/335 Ethical Case Study Mitch Lewis disability and being very depressed may cause more mental issues for him. The Doctor is stuck in a hard situation that I bet she wishes was not the case. The worker will have to be honest and tell the insurance company about the depression he is suffering from, and she will need to be honest about his injuries healing up. The client will have to be honest, and hopefully, the insurance company agrees with the Dr. and keeps him on disability until he is not depressed any longer and he can do the job safely in the right mental state. As a human services professional, approaching this ethical dilemma while respecting confidentiality, providing informed consent, and while considering the duty to warn and protect would be as follows. I would be honest with the client and make sure Alfonso knows his confidentiality is important and I will do everything I can to help him, but it will be in the guides of the law and ethical codes I am bound by as a professional. I will never provide information regarding him unless he gives me the consent to do so. Alfonso will know if I feel like he is trying to harm himself or anyone else, I am forced to tell the authorities. The client would know that as a clinician I have a duty to warn and protect that must be followed by all professionals. The Dr. has an obligation to protect the client from themselves if they are threatening to harm themselves or displaying actions that show they are harmful towards themselves or others. The professional also has the duty to protect other people from a potentially violent and destructive client as well. The duty to warn is something that the helper will need to take seriously as well. The helper can lose their license, position, and reputation as a good helper if they do not follow the laws and the duty to warn and protect like they are supposed to.

5 BSHS/335 Ethical Case Study Mitch Lewis The professional has ethical dilemmas that they face every day. Making the right decision to help them the best way possible and making moral choices is vital to success. The helper must be aware of making ethical decisions even when nobody is looking at what they are doing. Ethical dilemmas are what will help the professional growth, and the client gets the right services. Louise may need to refer Alfonso out to another professional that may have more experience in dealing with the physically injured and depressed. Both physical and mental problems are areas that may require special expertise that Louise does not possess enough of to be helpful to Alfonso.

6 BSHS/335 Ethical Case Study Mitch Lewis References Parsons, R. D., & Dickinson, K. L. (2017). Ethical practice in the human services: from knowing to being . Los Angeles: SAGE.

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7 BSHS/335 Ethical Case Study Mitch Lewis

week 2 Ethical Case Study (1)

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