Ethics and Values Quiz
During the initial session, the client mentions that she has been hospitalized several times for "severe depression." The client becomes tense and guarded when the social worker attempts to explore the hospitalizations, saying that "it's in the past." She also states adamantly that she won't give permission to get those records. The social worker should FIRST:
Acknowledge her right to decide about releasing her records.
An elderly client who had previously overcome cancer has been readmitted to the hospital. The cancer has returned and spread. The client tells the social worker that she is at peace with the news and doesn't want to suffer through all the treatments again. The social worker is upset and is concerned that the client isn't thinking clearly. The social worker should FIRST:
Acknowledge the client's right to self determination.
An 18-year old woman has started seeing a social worker in private practice for issues related to childhood sexual abuse. The social worker uses electronic record keeping software and her computer is encrypted appropriately. The social worker takes her computer home to do work over the weekend and is typing progress notes in her home office. One of the social worker's children enters the room unexpectedly and says, "who's Kayla and why was she crying?" The social worker's PRIMARY responsibility is to:
Address the breach of confidentiality at the next session with the client and process the impact on the treatment relationship.
A social work supervisor receives a call from a former client of a community mental health center. The client reports that she had an affair with the social worker who treated her. The supervisor should FIRST
Ask the social worker about the relationship with the client.
Which of the following actions by a social worker is considered unethical?
Asking a client to give a testimonial for the social worker's website
A social worker is developing a website to promote her private practice. It would be unethical to include the following:
Assurances that the treatment will be effective.
A social worker recently purchased a used car from an individual. The social worker later discovers that the individual is the stepfather of a current client. This is an example of:
Boundary crossing
A social worker has begun treating a 23-year-old woman and her infant daughter. The woman attends the first two sessions, but then misses 3 sessions in a row, despite several emails sent from the social worker reminding her of her appointments. At this point, the social worker should NEXT:
Call the client directly to see whether or not the emails have been received.
A 22-year-old is in therapy with a social worker for depression following the breakup of a long-term relationship. The client's mother, who is paying for the sessions, contacts the social worker and requests information about what is happening in the client's sessions. The social worker's INITIAL response to this request would be to:
Clarify with the mother the nature of confidentiality within the therapeutic relationship.
A 23-year-old graduate student is referred to the on-campus social worker after getting into a fight with a classmate during a student protest. Over the course of the first 3 sessions, the client becomes increasingly angry, blaming his situation on the student organization that held the protest, and repeatedly wishing that he could "go back to the fight and do things differently." After the fourth session, the social worker is concerned that the student plans to engage in a violent act during another planned protest that is scheduled prior to their next session. In this situation, the social worker could:
Consider looking at the student's social media pages to determine whether any threats have been made.
A social work supervisor receives a subpoena from the court to testify in a court hearing for a client accused of child abuse. The social worker should FIRST:
Consult with a lawyer regarding the matter.
A social worker begins treatment with a 17-year-old girl who is newly pregnant and trying to decide what to do about the pregnancy. After several sessions, the social worker realizes that her own value system may be interfering with the client's treatment. What should the social worker do NEXT?
Consult with a supervisor or colleague to try and resolve the dilemma.
During the initial therapy session with a new client, a social worker becomes aware that the client recently ended a romantic relationship with another client. It is apparent that neither of the clients knows that the other is seeing the social worker for therapy. The social worker is unsure if providing therapy to both clients is ethical. After the social worker reviews the ethical standards, what else should the social worker do to resolve the issue?
Consult with knowledgeable social work colleagues.
A social worker in an isolated, rural area intends to expand his private practice to teletherapy so that he can serve more clients and obtain additional income. He receives an inquiry from a prospective client and notices that the client's phone number appears to have an out-of-state area code. Before initiating treatment, the social worker should FIRST:
Contact the client to clarify the client's physical location.
A social worker in a community mental health agency is on a social media site. The social worker notices that a colleague, who is a personal friend, has posted a picture of herself at a recently deceased client's memorial service. The social worker is uncomfortable, as several family members of the client are clearly visible in the picture. The social worker SHOULD:
Contact the colleague directly to share the concerns.
A social worker receives a subpoena from the court requesting a current client's record. The social worker believes that releasing the file would cause great harm to the client. After contacting the client, the social worker should NEXT:
Contact the court and advocate for confidentiality of record.
A social worker receives a subpoena from the lawyer of a client whom the social worker treated for couples therapy. The couple is getting divorced. The husband signed a release for the records. The social worker should FIRST:
Contact the wife to determine her wishes.
Because social workers practice in a jurisdiction that grants privileged communication status, social workers can:
Contest a request for confidential information.
A social worker seeks advice from a peer. He shares that after working with a client for three months, the social worker recognizes that he has lost objectivity and permitted himself to be pulled into the client's manipulative strategies. This is an example of:
Countertransference in the relationship.
In a rural, isolated area, social workers receive supervision via videoconferencing to prevent excessive travel time. The supervisor engages with the supervisees both in groups and individually on a weekly basis. Several of the supervisees have requested to connect with the supervisor personally on a social media website, citing the benefit of increased support and contact between sessions. The supervisor should:
Decline the social media connections in order to avoid dual relationships which could harm the supervisory relationship.
A hospital social worker in the neonatal intensive care unit is approached by a hospital volunteer asking which infants may be available for adoption. The social worker's most appropriate response is to:
Decline to share such information with the volunteer.
During the initial phase of treatment with a new client, it is MOST important that the social worker:
Determine the client's expectations.
A 14-year-old has been referred to the school social worker because of hostility and fighting with peers. To establish a therapeutic relationship with this client, the social worker should FIRST:
Discuss confidentiality limitations with the student.
A client with anxiety and depression asks her social worker to contact her spouse and let him know that she is in need of greater support from him. The client explains that she feels her husband would listen to the social worker better than he would listen to her. What should the social worker's response be to this request?
Discuss strategies the client can use to engage her spouse.
During an initial intake with a new client, the client informs the social worker that her brother received therapy from another social worker in the same agency and a business relationship developed between the therapist and the client's brother. The social worker's FIRST course of action should be to:
Discuss the alleged ethical violation with the colleague.
A 42-year-old patient was recently admitted to the hospital with a brain tumor. The physician refuses to inform a patient that his condition is terminal and the hospital social worker is opposed to keeping this information from the patient. The social worker should:
Discuss the concerns with the physician.
An applicant at a social service agency requests help finding child care for her two young children. During the initial discussion with the social worker, it becomes obvious that marital difficulties are also a major concern. The social worker should FIRST:
Discuss the presenting problem.
A client with a history of anger issues and aggressive behavior has been seeing a social worker for therapy for two months. During a heated session, the client storms out. The following day he delivers a letter demanding his records or he will take legal action. The social worker believes that releasing his records will cause him serious harm. According to professional ethics, the social worker should FIRST:
Document in the record both the request and the rationale for non-release.
A community-based social worker is counseling a client who tested positive for HIV five months ago. The client admits to not informing sexual partners of the diagnosis. The social worker should FIRST:
Encourage the client to inform sexual partners.
An agency-based social worker has been treating a client for three months. The client often arrives late for appointments and frequently fails to call in advance to cancel. When confronted, she minimizes the problem and accuses the social worker of having unreasonable expectations. The social worker's MOST appropriate response is to:
Encourage the client to talk about her feelings and perceptions.
A social worker is treating a client who is involved in a contentious custody battle with his ex-wife. The social worker receives a subpoena for client's records from the wife's lawyer. The social worker should FIRST:
Exert privilege on behalf of the client.
A client, who has been missing work, has been referred to a social worker by her Employee Assistance Program for a maximum of four sessions. Any additional sessions would be the client's financial responsibility. During the initial intake, it becomes clear that the client has many long-standing relationship issues and a trauma history that has not been resolved. She states that she is looking forward to solving her problems. Before developing a treatment plan, the social worker should FIRST:
Explore the client's understanding of the referral and coverage provided.
A client informs the social worker that she was offered a better job in another state where she doesn't know anyone. She requests assistance finding childcare for her 3-year-old. She adds that she thinks that it would be easier for her to remain in her present living arrangement with her parents until the child is older. Given the client's desire to move, the social worker should FIRST:
Explore the pros and cons of her options.
A hospital social worker is interviewing a recently widowed, elderly patient who was hospitalized for treatment of severe malnutrition. The patient has no immediate family and reports having been financially exploited by acquaintances following the spouse's death. In helping the patient make discharge plans, the social worker should FIRST:
File a report with Adult Protective Services.
A client seeks therapy with a social worker and discloses that she engages in non-suicidal cutting and has a history of sexual abuse as a child. The social worker has no experience in this area and feels uncomfortable working with the client. Social worker values require that the social worker:
Find a therapist skilled in the area to whom the client can be referred.
A newly hired social worker is meeting with her supervisor for the first time. The supervisor wants to develop learning objectives for the year. The supervisee identifies areas of interest. Before completing a training and staff development plan for the supervisee, the supervisor should NEXT:
Identify the specific competency requirements of the position.
A client is going on an extended trip with her husband. She requests to use email to communicate with a social worker while she is away. The social worker should FIRST:
Inform the client about the limitations and risks of electronic communication.
A social worker in private practice receives a client referral from another social worker. The referring social worker calls to find out how the first session went with the client. The social worker should FIRST:
Inform the social worker no information can be shared without a release.
A social worker is looking for a therapy group for an adult client who is HIV positive. The social worker calls an agency that offers treatment group for HIV positive individuals. The representative of the organization providing the group treatment services requests information about the sexual orientation of the client, stating that the information will assure a better fit between client need and services provided. In this situation, the social worker should proceed by FIRST:
Informing the person requesting the information that the client must be consulted before that information can be released.
Which of the following situations could be considered a breach of ethical conduct by a social worker?
Inviting the client to attend a concert
A hospital social worker learns that a patient's family member recently disciplined a child with spanking that left red marks. The social worker MUST:
Make a report of suspected child abuse to the appropriate agency.
A social worker is highly active in local politics and belongs to several online political organizations. In advance of an upcoming election, the social worker changes her profile picture to reflect the slogan of her political party on both her personal and professional social media pages. At a session with an elderly male client, she notices that he refuses to make eye contact and provides short, clipped responses to questions. How should the social worker respond?
Make an observation to the client about the change in rapport and explore possible reasons for it.
A client has ignored four written requests regarding payment for services rendered from a social worker in private practice. The social worker plans to inform the client of the decision to proceed with termination for nonpayment at the next regularly scheduled session. Before proceeding with termination, the social worker should FIRST:
Make certain that the client fully understands the details of the payment for service agreement.
A social worker at a community mental health center overhears another social worker agreeing to meet a former client who recently terminated later that night to go to dinner and a movie. The social worker in this situation should FIRST:
Meet with the co-worker to voice concerns about the behavior with the client.
A pregnant 16-year-old and her mother seek consultation for the daughter's unplanned pregnancy. The mother expresses the desire to place the baby for adoption because she is in ill health and cannot help her daughter raise the baby. The social worker's FIRST response should be to:
Meet with the young woman alone to explore her feelings and wishes.
A client has been seeing a social worker for 3 months to address issues of emotional grief and abandonment. The client is unexpectedly laid off from his job. He declines to attend termination sessions because of concerns about spending money while unemployed. The social worker should:
Offer termination sessions at a reduced fee to help the client discuss events and gain a sense of closure.
When working with a client who is paranoid, which of the following actions could BEST be used by a social worker to convey acceptance?
Offering assurance and gentle guidance
A 19-year-old single mother has a 22-month-old son placed in foster care for six months because of neglect. The mother has followed her reunification plan, and the foster care plan is to return the child to the home. The foster care social worker learns a week before the hearing that the mother is pregnant again. The social worker's BEST option is to request that:
Physical custody be returned to the mother and the family situation be monitored by the agency for six months.
A social worker responds to a flyer advertising housekeeping service and realizes during the discussions that the person is a former client. The former client recognizes the social worker and offers her services at half price, adding that she really needs work. The social worker's BEST response is to:
Politely decline services.
A social worker receives a court-ordered subpoena for a former client's records. The social worker is concerned that the release of the records will cause harm to the client. The social worker advocates to the court to limit the scope of the release. The court declines the request. The social worker should NEXT:
Provide a copy of the records immediately.
A client seeks assistance at a community agency. The client has been evicted and is in need of housing immediately. The social worker's brother owns an apartment building and has an available unit he's been struggling to rent. The social worker should:
Refer the client to apartments owned by anyone not personally known to the social worker.
A hospital social worker meets with parents of a recently admitted child. The mother describes multiple problems the family has experienced following the recent diagnosis of the youngest child's acute asthmatic condition. Given the various problems faced by the family, the social worker should consider which of the following actions?
Refer the family to a community agency.
A social worker in a large city goes to an alumni event for her undergraduate alma mater, and at the event, meets a woman and goes on a date with her shortly after. During a session with an established client the following week, the social worker realizes that the woman she met at the alumni event is the sister of her client. The woman later contacts the social worker to get together again. The social worker should:
Refuse the woman's request and cease all further contact with the woman.
A client who has been receiving therapy for several months has failed to make payments for services provided even though the client was made aware of the agency's fees and payment policy. The social worker is considering discontinuing services to the client. What should the social worker do FIRST?
Remind the client of the payment agreement to ensure understanding.
A social worker has seen a young adult client for a few months. During a session, the client tells a social worker that he has recently participated in a violent criminal act and plans to repeat the offense. The social worker should:
Report the intent according to jurisdictional law.
A hospital social worker meets with parents who refuse to provide appropriate medical care to their 6-year-old daughter with a life threatening illness because of their religious beliefs. The child is receiving some care within the guidelines of their church's ministry but the child's condition is getting worse. How should the social worker respond to this dilemma?
Report the situation to Child Protective Services.
A social worker confronts a fellow social worker after witnessing the colleague giving a client money and asking a client to purchase a magazine for the colleague at the next door drug store. The colleague replies that the client goes to the store daily, and the client does not lose any money, so there is no problem with the situation. The social worker should:
Report this to the supervisor for more attention.
A social worker at a community agency is treating a Latino adolescent client with a history of child abuse. In the course of therapy, the social worker becomes aware that the client has racist beliefs that clash with the social worker's value system. The social worker should:
Respect the client's beliefs and focus on the presenting problem.
A social worker is contacted by a representative of the managed care company to conduct a utilization review. The representative requests specific details about the sexual abuse incidents the client experienced. The social worker should FIRST:
Review the managed care company contract prior to providing information.
During the initial session, the client appears fearful and anxious and blurts out "I need to be sure that everything I tell you will stay between us." The social worker should FIRST:
Review with the client the limits to the social worker/client confidentiality.
A hospital social worker is experiencing difficulty concentrating and completing work-related tasks after the recent death of a parent. A colleague reports to the social worker that patients are complaining about the social worker's lack of attention and follow through. The social worker should:
Seek consultation immediately.
A social worker has been treating a client for four months in private practice and is experiencing intense sexual attraction toward the client. The social worker's BEST response is to:
Seek consultation immediately.
A 16-year-old is referred to a community agency for support. The client just learned she is pregnant and is confused, upset, and uncertain about her options. After the third appointment with the client, the social worker recognizes that her own values may be interfering with her relationship with the client. The social worker's MOST appropriate action is to:
Seek consultation to discuss the matter.
A social worker is part of an interdisciplinary team at a residential center for teens. The social worker should make it clear to the residents that confidential disclosures are:
Shared with the treatment team.
A client seeks therapy to help deal with problems with a roommate. After several sessions, the social worker realizes that the client's roommate is a personal friend who has often confided in the social worker about difficulties with this relationship. The social worker should:
Tell the client about the social worker's relationship with the roommate and refer the client to another therapist.
In an initial interview, a client appears suspicious of the agency and the social worker. He says that he wants to reveal certain facts but feels that this would get his friends in trouble. The appropriate response for the social worker is to:
Tell the client that she understands how hard it is for him to feel safe in this new situation and that he should reveal information when he feels he is ready.
A social work supervisor in a community agency has recently been trained in Trauma Focused CBT and wants to help supervisees incorporate some of these concepts into their work with children. As part of this, the supervisor asks the supervisees to record sessions in which they have used TFCBT interventions and bring them to group supervision for review. In order to do this ethically, the supervisor must ensure that:
The clients sign consent forms detailing the use of video recordings and how they will be used for supervision purposes.
A social worker maintains an active professional profile on an online social media site. During a recent meeting of the professional association, the social worker becomes aware of allegations of ethical misconduct on the part of a colleague in her state and decides to use the case as an example in a blog on appropriate boundaries. The social worker does not use the colleague's name, but does reference his specialty, the incident that occurred, and makes comments about the social worker's level of competence. This action is:
Unethical; social workers should avoid unwarranted negative criticism of colleagues in electronic communications.
A new client is distraught about the recent loss of her mother. The social worker can BEST convey empathy by:
Using reflective listening.
A social worker has been seeing a client intermittently for two years, and they have a strong relationship. The client is often fearful and suspicious of new situations. The focus of interventions has been to promote client independence and personal decision-making. The client recently learned of an opportunity to move into a group home that offers better social support than the current living arrangement. The client is reluctant to discuss the new housing option and reports being worried about making a change. The social worker asks the client to tour the home and see what it is like before rejecting it. Because he trusts the social worker, the client agrees. This is an example of:
Using the social worker/client relationship as an intervention tool.
