When reading the case, I experienced the anxiety of him getting lost in the woods, where he could overdose, and no one would be there to help. In addition, I experienced anger as I could not find him in bed because the policies and limits were beyond my control. This seems uncompassionate. I wondered if it would be possible for me to make some arrangements to help him with his sobriety for a while. However, I had intense emotions such as empathy and an urge to help and, at the same time, to come up with creative ways to keep him safe. I will not be able to afford errors and daydreaming. Thereupon, now there is no time to waste, so I have to show my care and attention to his needs.
My values build the perspective of my caring and protecting human life and service. I believe that all of us are born equal, and nobody is worth more than another, regardless of the mistakes that they may make. Moreover, my role is to help people in pain, no matter what they have done to deserve it. I must protect and represent the powerless in our society, and today, I saw an example of this in my interaction with Jack. Nevertheless, at the same time, I should watch out for any undercurrents of prejudice on my part, which may include the judgment of people with addiction as being a matter of choice or moral failure rather than a disease. Although individuals nonetheless must be accountable for reformation, addiction has physiological bases as well. As a professional, I will avail myself of a neutral attitude, devoid of prejudice, and use the elements of respect, sympathy, and the will to understand his situation to the contrary without bias.
The professional values of conduct and practice standards outlined in the CAMH’s guidelines are the major factors that control my communication and interaction with Jack (Ryan et al., 2021). The overall moral principles, which include respect for diversity, empowerment of the client, collaboration, and caring, are the foundation of my decision to be companionable to Jack and not impose my views. I need to start with a place where I am seeking his needs, strengths, and goals that he has.
Particularly, Standard 13 encourages me to support Jack in his attempt to gain housing and other services that he might need help accessing due to the system constraints or policies that are aimed against actively using substances. This example leads me to find ways to make the best of the resources available so that I can meet his urgent needs.
Moreover, I am motivated by a love of caring and will therefore dedicate myself to giving a compassionate service, knowing that pain, grief, and more underlie addiction. A basic outline of the standards indicates that the approach is based on harm reduction instead of moral judgment and is implemented while dealing with those with substance use issues (Babor et al., 2023).
There is a possibility of my values conflicting with each other – which is to observe moderation and to consider addiction as a conscious choice, while on the other hand, my professional responsibility is to care for Jack in a way that does not cause him any harm. While I am obliged to be non-judgmental, I actively offer compassion that is more directed at overdose risk reduction as opposed to requiring abstinence right away. The need to criticize me for blaming Jack and acting on CAMH standards for ethical and humane treatment of addiction as a health problem is so urgent.
Being a mental health and addictions worker, my scope of work includes doing substance use and mental health assessments, referrals to housing, treatment and other services, short-term counseling, and case management, which focuses on harm reduction (Thompson, 2021). I can provide emotional support, link Jack with the family doctor, and develop the safety plan. While for sure, I won’t be able to give medical care, detox services, and intensive therapy by myself. In the event that Jack suffers a health crisis like an overdose, I will immediately contact the emergency medical services. After that, I shall work with nurses, psychologists, social workers, and other professionals to provide the required services within the limits of my scope of practice for Jack.
If an ethical problem should appear, I will consider it while reviewing standards of practice and scholarly literature and consult with experts to get the analysis from all sides. In the process, I will explain my decision-making process using an ethical decision-making framework to discover the most caring and harmless solution for this vulnerable client while staying in line with my professional responsibilities.
I want to do it through an approach that will give me a clear understanding of the ethical standards and professional codes of conduct that will guide my decision-making in Jack’s best interest. This is how I stay confident about the fact that I am doing everything I can to preserve his well-being, even during those moments when I come across complex ethical dilemmas.
References
Babor, T. F., McRee, B. G., Kassebaum, P. A., Grimaldi, P. L., Ahmed, K., & Bray, J. (2023). Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT): toward a public health approach to the management of substance abuse. Alcohol/Drug Screening and Brief Intervention, 7-30.
Ryan, R., Berry, K., Law, H., & Hartley, S. (2021). Therapeutic relationships in child and adolescent mental health services: A Delphi study with young people, carers and clinicians. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 30(4), 1010-1021.
Thompson, A. H. (2021). Measures of mental health and addictions conditions show a U-shaped relationship with self-rated worker performance. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56, 1823-1833.