SOWK 602 SU Ethical Decision Making in Social Work Paper

Pick one of the scenarios/dilemmas posted in the module. For this assignment, you will be applying a modified version of the General Decision-Making Model and the Ethics Decision-Making Framework (see prompts below) and then selecting the ethical theory that is most connected to the dilemma. Be sure to respond to the following points:

Part I: Scenario Reviews below is the scenario I picked 

1. Ms. Aspira Montgomery is a female in her late 20s who has been diagnosed as depressed and has a history of suicidal ideation. She has been in individual therapy with Violet Bruder, a social worker, for the last two years. During a recent session, Ms. Montgomery disclosed that she was a victim of sexual abuse during her teenage years and that she had not told anyone about it before. By law, Ms. Bruder is required to report the alleged abuse to the local Child Protective Services agency, but Ms. Montgomery is very resistant to her doing so and fears retaliation because the perpetrator is a relative and still alive. Ms. Bruder is also afraid that if she reports the abuse, Ms. Montgomery will become even more depressed and may harm herself. After careful consideration, Ms. Montgomery determines that the best course of action would be to maintain confidentiality and not make the report at this time.

Identify which scenario you are focusing on for this assignment. Provide a quick overview of the scenario and ultimate decision presented. Do not copy and paste the full scenario here – demonstrate your understanding of the scenario and resolution.

Part II: Ethical Decision-Making

For this section you need to go through all 8 steps – be sure to use subheadings to ensure you cover all required materials.

Identify the ethical issues from the scenario.

Identify the persons, institutions, clients, professional, support systems, victims, and others that are involved in this issue.

Determine who should be involved in the decision making about how to address the ethical dilemma.

Identify the relevant values (remember that values are different from the specific standards or principles) from the NASW Code of Ethics that apply to this scenario.

Based on the result of the scenario/the strategy employed by the social worker in the scenario, what do you surmise to be the ethical goal of the social worker in the scenario?

Identify one alternative strategy that the social worker in the scenario could have used to resolve the issue differently.

Identify the benefits for this alternative.

• Identify the downsides for this alternative.
• Identify the relevant ethical theory for this scenario. (Ethical theories can be found in your textbooks. Please remember that ethical theories are different from practice theories.)
• What makes this theory applicable to the scenario? Be specific – reference your texts
• Based on the information provided in the scenario and the alternative you developed, select the most appropriate strategy for resolving the ethical scenario (the one from the scenario or the one you developed).

Why is this strategy the most appropriate/ethical?