Ethics

Which of the following statements regarding counselor competence is false?

Licensure ensures that practitioners are competent to do what their licenses permit them to do

Regarding dual relationships between counselors and clients

There is no consensus among professionals as to which dual relationships are acceptable and which is not

A "sliding scale" in counseling refers to

a fee structure based on the amount of family income and family size

Many states have laws requiring reports of suspected abuse of all of the following EXCEPT

abused wives

Most legal issues faced by counselors involve

acting as a witness in litigation concerning other people

Subpoenas are used

all of the above

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that

all of the above

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), which is sometimes referred to as the "Buckley Amendment," affects

all public educational institutions

Disclosure of confidential information is acceptable when all of the following conditions exist EXCEPT

an attorney sends a counselor a subpoena

Minor clients have

an ethical right to privacy and confidentiality, but no legal right in most states

Informed consent documents that clients sign before counseling sessions begin and that set forth the nature of the counseling relationship

are a good way to inform clients of their rights and responsibilties and are required by some federal rules and state laws

Ethical standards for consultants in the mental health field

are sparse in codes of ethics

If a subpoena for the counseling records of a client is received, a counselor who works in a mental health agency should

ask his or her supervisor to obtain a legal opinion as to whether the records should be copied for the attorney who has issued the subpoena.

When it comes to determining who has the right to make decisions regarding a child's life, the law favors

biological parents

The nature of the privacy concepts of confidentiality and priveleged communication is

confidentiality is primarily an ethical issue, and privileged communication is primarily a legal issue

When you have an ethical question and you are having trouble making a decision, you should

consult with colleagues

If a formal ethics complaint is filed against you, you should NOT

contact the client who filed the complaint to see if you can work things out

When clients seek counseling related to issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, interracial marriage, premarital sex, or sexual identity

counselors must examine their own values regarding these issues to ensure they can provide counseling services without allowing their own beliefs to interfere

If you believe another counselor is behaving in an unethical manner, the first thing you should do is

discuss the matter with the counselor and attempt to get him or her to change the behavior

The primary purpose of diagnosis is to

facilitate effective treatment

Generally, counselors create clinical case notes

for their own use, so that they may be effective counselors

In the event a counselor has a client with a large bill for services that is several months late, the counselor should

forget the bill and take steps in the future to prevent these bills from developing

Regarding the law of privileged communication in relation to family and group counseling

generally, privilege is waived if there is a third party present during counseling

If a counselor wants a person other than a biological parent (such as a step-parent or grandparent) to have confidential information regarding a child client, a simple solution is to

get a signed statement from the child allowing the counselor to disclose information to the step-parent or grandparent

A family counselor who uses paradoxical directives or interventions could get into trouble because clients who follow their prescriptions for behavior may be

harmed

"Distressed counslors" or "counselors suffering from burnout" are terms used to refer to

impaired counselors

Malpractice is a type of civil lawsuit that can be filed against counseling professionals for practicing in a manner that leads to

injury to a recipient of their services

The only dual relationships that are prohibited by the ACA Code of Ethics are those

involving a sexual relationship between the client and the counselor

The typical counselor who enters into a sexual relationship with a client is

is a professional isolated male counselor who is experiencing distress or crisis in his personal life

The standard used to determine whether a particular counselor is qualified to administer and interpret a particular test

is not absolute and each counselor must make that determination for himself/herself

Pre-screening of group members

is required by the ACA Code of Ethics

Proper maintenance of test security by counselors includes all of the following EXCEPT

letting clients take tests home to complete

It is impossible for counselors to understand all aspects of the law but the best advice for counselors who face legal questions is to

listen to their lawyer and do what the lawyer says

A counselor's self-disclosure in a counseling session

may be acceptable if the counselor believes the disclosure will

Parents who object to their child's participation in counseling

may have the right to demand that services be discontinued

When administrative and clinical supervisors give corrective feedback to supervisees, that feedback

must be followed by the supervisee

Regarding a client's privacy, counselors should

promise the client privacy, but explain there are exceptions and give a general overview of the exceptions

Privildged communication statutes

protect clients from having confidential communications with their counselors disclosed in a court of law without their permission

Supervision agreements between a clinical supervisor and supervisee

should be in writing so both parties understand the terms of the relationship clearly

If a counselor were to purposefully make false oral statements that damaged the reputation of another mental health professional, the counselor could be sued for

slander

As a professional counselor, you are required by law in all states to report

suspected child abuse or neglect

When a counselor determines that a client may be at risk for harming self or others, the counselor always must

take tha steps necessary to prevent harm

If a supervisee is sued for negligence when a client commits suicide and a jury finds the counselor at fault

the administrative supervisor is most likely to be held accountable as well because the administrative supervisor has direct control and authority over the counselor's day to day activities

Legal principles view the contents of the counseling records about a particular client as belonging to

the client

When a client accuses a counselor of wrong doing through a complaint with the counselor's licensure board or through a malpractice law suit filed in court

the client automatically waives his or her privacy rights and the counselor can reveal private information related to providing counseling services to the client

It is ethically permissible for counselors to terminate a counseling relationship for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

the client experiences a crisis

If a counselor is asked to disclose privileged information relative to a client who cannot be located, then the obligation to assert the privilege rests with

the counselor

If you believe your supervisor at your work setting is forcing you to act in what you consider to be an unethical manner, you should

try to work with your supervisor to resolve the problem

The testimony of expert witnesses

usually supports one side in a legal controversy and damages the position of the other side

Family counselors often view the family system as their client and treat the family as one entity, as opposed to treating individual family members, and our laws

view family members as having separate and distinct rights and responsibilities that are individual in nature