NASW Code Of Ethics Case Study

Introduction The societal issue that I have selected involves the mental health population and their ability to experience a better quality of life within a community and not isolated in hospitals. For this population experts believe that services should be community based (community integration) and that a group of providers should provide a continuity of care that will best service the mental and behavioral disorders of this population. As an organization servicing this population it is imperative that the players understand the population and the direction the organization is moving when providing service. According to Ambramovitz (1998) social workers have a commitment to both individual and social change. NASW Code of Ethics calls for

Working with the mental health population, historically, the focus has been on the deficits, the problem behaviors and pathologies. The shift has moved to a more holistic approach in development (Trout, Ryan, La Vigne, & Epstein, 2003). The approach is now strength based (Laursen, 2000) and building on the strengths of the client. According to the American Counseling Association, as a professional, it is the counselor’s responsibility to organize the delivery of service (counseling.org, 2015). To live up to the code, and effectively advocate for the client and erode barriers, and improve the quality of care, staff should be well trained. As an administrator, overseeing the operations of psychiatric and residential services, this writer, would employ multicultural organizational development (MCOD). According to Hyde (2004) “MCOD is a long-term, complex organizational change process that “does not simply accept or celebrate differences, but aims at a reduction in the patterns of racism and sexism [and other oppressions] that prevail in most U.S. institutions and organizations” through fundamental transformation of an organization’s culture” (p.