Assertive community treatment
Directions
Read the following short clinical description and answer the questions that follow.
Tamar’s internship is with an assertive community treatment (ACT) team working with adults on life skills, housing, and employment, and education goals. Arlene, a client Tamar has worked with for over two months, has recently declined several visits. In a phone message, she let Tamar know that she would like to move from working with the ACT team to only seeing a therapist and prescriber at the agency’s clinic. Team members have shared their concern that Arlene made a similar change one year ago, stopped using her medicines and her wellness tools, and nearly lost her home. Tamar is not certain what to do.
Resources
Refer to the NASW Code of Ethics as you consider your answers. You may also want to refer to the description and standards of assertive community treatment. You have learned about working in teams and guidelines for addressing complex ethical concerns, which can further inform your responses.
- What social work values and principles can Tamar draw on in this situation?
- Identify the most relevant ethical standards that apply to this situation and explain why.
- What are at least two next steps Tamar can take?
