Assignment Task:
Angelica is a first year social work intern at one of the county's community mental health centers. She was very anxious about the population served at this mental health center and felt very insecure about meeting new clients. She got into the habit of having several alcoholic drinks at lunch each day to "take the edge off her feelings" which caused her to slur her words in addition to feeling quite sleepy. She kept all of these issues to herself and was very quiet in individual and group supervision since she thought nobody knew of her difficulties. Other interns were very aware of Angelica's problems but did not say anything because they did not want to cause trouble.
She was assigned a weekly group for community members that had problems with isolation, loneliness, and financial difficulties. When she was orienting the group to the rules and the culture of group she told them that they were legally bound to keep the things that group members talked about in absolute confidence. She also refused to keep records regarding the group process but also any individual clients she saw saying that she was protecting their confidentiality by not having records on the services she provided. When she introduced herself to new clients, she called herself a Licensed Clinical Social Worker so that clients would have more confidence in her.
She went to a 2 hour seminar that introduced hypnosis as a treatment. When she returned to the mental health center, she created a flier inviting community members to a 10 week seminar stating that she was an expert in treating people with hypnosis.
What are three ethical issues or violations in this vignette and cite where you found it referenced in the Code of Ethics.
What is your opinion about the violations you listed above and why do you think this is a problem?
Using the BBS Statutes and Regulations text, cite specific Unprofessional Conduct Codes that you see in this vignette. Explain what the specific unprofessional code that you cite means to you. Make sure you are looking at Chapter 14 for Clinical Social Workers.
What is your opinion about the violations you have listed above and why do you think this is a problem? Want Professional Help?
If you were Angelica's peer, would you have any ethical responsibility to address what you see happening with her? Explain your thinking about this and don't forget to cite your source.