Reflective Account

a. Description of activity (what happened)
I arrived at a client’s home to assist the client with completing the online application for disability as planned at the previous visit last week. This was the third visit that I was attending with the client in her home. The client welcomed me into the home and offered for me to sit on the couch near an outlet so that my computer could be plugged in while I assisted her with completing the online application for disability. I sat down on the couch and right away I noticed that there was a syringe in between the couch cushions. I was unsure if I should acknowledge that I had seen the syringe or if I should not acknowledge seeing it. I immediately sent a text message to my field instructor to advise …show more content…
I demonstrated the ability to apply ethical and professional behavior in this situation. Although I did not want to see the client get incarcerated I had become aware that the client was breaking the law by having the syringe in her possession and the ethical thing to do was to report the situation. I was unsure of how to handle the situation so when I reached out to my field instructor I demonstrated the ability to use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgement and behavior to ensure that I handled the situation professionally. In addition, I believe I was able to engage in policy practice by identifying social policy at the local and state level that impacts well-being, service delivery, and access to social services. I was aware that the law states that an individual cannot be in possession of a syringe and after it was disclosed that the client had the syringe the client was arrested, although it is not an ideal situation for the client to be incarcerated, it improved her well-being as she is currently unable to use heroin and will eventually allow additional services such as inpatient treatment or substance abuse treatment to be implemented for the client after she is released from