Case Study – Self Harm, Suicidal Ideations and Mental Health

Case Study – Self Harm, Suicidal Ideations and Mental Health

Considering suicidal ideation and her situation, explain the stage of self-harm and suicidal ideation she is in.

Based on the story given for this assignment, the person involved is in the stage of active self-harm and passive suicide ideation. Active self-harm means that the person involved has thoughts of wanting to harm themselves and then take steps or make plans to fulfill these thoughts (Ashford et al., 2018). On the other hand, passive suicide ideation means that the individual involved has thoughts of wanting to die or simply wishing they were dead, but they do not have the intention or plan of doing it. For the account given for this assignment, the person harms themselves, but it is not with the intention of committing suicide but of relieving their emotional and mental pain.

What potential ethical dilemmas would you, as a social worker, encounter when working with her?

In my own opinion, I believe suicide to be unacceptable, morally wrong, and even a crime. However, it depends on the situation because I also support individuals who, for example, are terminally ill and have no hope of recovering, choosing assisted suicide or euthanasia. Any other case is unacceptable, in my opinion, because the value of life is so fundamental and undisputed in the world that the very fact of a person questioning this value should be regarded as illogical and a sign of sickness. As such, as a social worker working with the girl in the account given, I would face a few potential ethical dilemmas. One ethical dilemma, as explained above, would stem from my own personal values that life is precious and, therefore, everyone should take care of it. Secondly, professional codes of ethics currently do not clearly define the responsibilities and duties of social workers in all situations. This is in addition to guidelines on how to proceed with an individual who struggles with self-harm but does not really want to commit suicide (Feldman & Freedenthal, 2006), leaving all the decisions to social workers on how to handle the individual in terms of assessment and care, except when to disclose her situation to mental health. All these uncharted grounds will leave me as a social worker in numerous ethical dilemmas.

References

Ashford, J. B., LeCroy, C. W., & Williams, L. R. (2018). Human behavior in the social environment: A multidimensional perspective (6th ed.) Cengage Learning.

Feldman, B. N., & Freedenthal, S. (2006). Social work education in suicide intervention and prevention: An unmet need?. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 36(4), 467-480.

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Case Study – Self Harm, Suicidal Ideations and Mental Health

One Girl’s Account of Cutting

I was cleaning my room one day and found a broken piece of glass. I took it to my arm in the midst of me, bawling my eyes out over my boyfriend and me, and I proceeded to gash away at my lower arm. I then found a razor blade. I used that instead. I sat there and watched the blood pour out of the newly made cuts, and I just thought to myself, what is my life for? Why am I here? It would be so much better if I weren’t. But I didn’t want to die. I covered my arm with a towel and let the blood soak through. This was not the first time I cut myself, however. I was in the fifth grade the first time I cut myself. I broke a mirror that time and used the sharp pieces to carve into my leg ‘cause I was depressed.

Things with my boyfriend continued to get worse, and whenever I feel like crap, I go and cut myself some more. I do it on the same arm ‘cause I promised my boyfriend I wouldn’t do it anymore. But feeling the razor go through your skin and seeing the blood pour out is oddly soothing. It makes the mental pain go away for some time ‘cause you are too concentrated on the physical pain that’s inflicted on you. But this only lasts for so long. I continue to cut my arm up. It’s almost an everyday routine for me now. It’s addicting, and I wish that I could stop, but honestly, I don’t know how I am going to. My home life sucks. My school life sucks. I have no social life anymore ‘cause I sit around and cry all day ‘cause my boyfriend hasn’t taken the time to call me.

Source: Candace (2003), Physical pain of cutting “relieves” mental pain of depression. n.p.

1. Considering suicidal ideation and her situation, explain the stage of self-harm and suicidal ideation she is in.
2. What potential ethical dilemmas would you, as a social worker, encounter when working with her?