Social Work Commons^™

The Ethics Of Dying : An Exploration Of The Right To Suicide And Clinician Response To Self-Determination And Suicidal Ideation Among Adults Who Struggle With Mental Illness, Shelley Bair

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This paper explores the question: What beliefs, values and assumptions do social workers hold when assessing whether or not a person who is a mental health client has the right to suicide? The current literature reveals that individuals struggling with physical disorders deemed extreme and untreatable are likely to be accepted as rational grounds for suicide. Underrepresented in extant research is the critical examination of the desire to die as a rational versus pathological and treatable response to mental health concerns. The study question is examined, in part, through the lens of the Code of Ethics presented by the National …