PRA

a therapist receives a phone call from a client who wants to see his file because he believes it contains inaccurate information- client abruptly terminated three weeks ago and owes $ for his last two sessions. Which response to the client is consistent with HIPAA? (if you send me written request I can let you see your file except for some information that was given to me under promise of confidentiality, if you send me a written request I can let you see your file but only a health care provider can request that changes be made to it, I cannot allow you to see it because the info is privileged and I haven't received a subpoena, i can let you see your file but only after you pay the balance on your account)

"if you send me a request, I can let you see your file except for some information that was given to me under a promise of confidentiality"

when a client asks for a summary of their treatment record (rather than a copy of the entire record), a psychotherapist must provide the summary within ____ working days after the receipt of the client's written request unless the record is of 'extraordinary length' or treatment of the client was terminated within the last 10 days (6, 10, 15, 20)

10

a minor who is at least ___ years of age may consent to medical care and counseling relating to the diagnosis and treatment of an alcohol-related problem (10, 12, 15, 16)

12

when its determined that a person is gravely disabled as the result of a mental disorder, they may be initially held in a locked facility for ___ hours followed by an additional period of up to ___ days if it is determined they are still severely disabled

72 hours; 14 days

which of the following accurately describes legal and ethical prohibitions against becoming sexually involved with a former therapy client? (CA law and CAMFT/AAMFT ethical guidelines prohibit MFTs from becoming sexually involved with a former client for at least two years following the termination of therapy, CA law and CAMFT (not AAMFT) ethical guidelines prohibit mfts from becoming sexually involved with a former client for at least two years following terminating therapy, CA law and AAMFT (not CAMFT) prohibit mfts from becoming sexually involved with a former client for at least two years following terminating therapy, CA law and CAMFT/AAMFT prohibit mfts from becoming sexually involved with a former client regardless of how much time has passed since termination)

CA Law and CAMFT (not AAMFT) ethicla guidelines prevent mfts from becoming sexually involved with a former client for at least two years following terminating therapy

John Doe, age 19, has chronic paranoid schizophrenia, lives in a group home, and has a conservator who was appointed by the court. who should give consent to psychotherapy for John? (john since he is an adult, any officer of the court, his caregiver at the group home, his conservator)

John's conservator

as defined in ca welfare institutions code section 5250, at the expiration of an initial 72 hour hold, an additional 14 day hold may be considered for individuals who are... (mentally ill, gravely disabled only, danger to themselves or others only, danger to self others or gravely disabled)

a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or gravely disabled

legal and ethical requirements for an MFT's clinical records (SOAP, DAP, or other standardized format must be used, format consistent with sound clinical practice must be used, the format required by the insurance must be used, brief records with general info is best)

a format that is consistent with sound clinical practice must be used

who is legally allowed to decide whether or not to involuntarily hospitalize a person (section 5150 of the CA welfare and institutions code) (any licensed mental health professional, any psychiatrist, a professional person designated by the county, anyone over 18 who believes the person is a danger to self or others)

a professional person designated by the county (peace officer, mobile crisis team, etc) (law)

psychotherapist-patient privilege is NOT waived in which situation: (a client is suing her employer claiming harassment at work was the cause of an anxiety disorder that interfered with her job, a therapists current client is a defendant in a criminal case accused of physically assaulting his boss, a therapist conducts a custody evaluation as an employee of the court, a client has initiated a malpractice suit against her therapist as a result of breach of confidentiality)

a therapists current client is a defendant in a criminal case accused of physically assaulting his boss

A therapist has been seeing Maria Elena for several months. As a holiday gift, she brings a basket of cookies that she baked for the therapist. the therapist should... (politely refuse the gift and explain that she's not allowed to accept, accept the gift but make sure she knows it's against the rules for her to give maria a gift, accept the gift but explore its meaning for the client and possible impact on the therapeutic relationship, politely refuse the gift for herself personally but let the client know she will put the basket in teh waiting room so others may enjoy her generosity)

accept the gift but explore its meaning for the client, and the possible impact on the therapeutic relationship (ethics)

a therapist has a home office that she uses for her private practice, and she stores clinical files in her computer. Legally and ethically, this practice is permitted if... (access to the computer is secure, access to the computer is secure and records do not contain diagnostic labels or other medical info, access to records is secure and she also retains a hard copy of the records, access to the computer is secure and she disposes of outdated records by deleting files on a regular basis)

access to the computer is secure

a therapist is treating a couple. one partner reveals information to the therapist during a phone call and asks that it be withheld from the spouse. what should the therapist do? (adhere to policy established with the couple regarding secrets at the start of therapy, maintain the partner's confidentiality only if she determines that doing so will not interfere with treatment progress, tell her partner she cannot keep the info confidential since both partners are her clients, tell her partner she cannot keep the info confidential but suggest that the partner disclose the info in the couple's next therapy session)

adhere to the policy she established with the couple regarding 'secrets' at the beginning of therapy

an MFT should never (breech confidentiality without signed authorization, advise a client about her medication dosage, sue biofeedback or hypnosis to treat client's symptoms, consult another professional without informing the client)

advice client about medication dosage

when a therapist receives a written request from a client to see his or her clinical record, the therapist must... (consider if it would cause emotional stress and refuse if so, transmit a copy or summary within 25 business days, allow the client to inspect it within 10 business days or transmit copy within 30 days, allow the client to inspect it within 5 business days or transmit copy within 15 days)

allow the client to inspect the record within 5 business days or transmit a copy of the record within 15 days

situations in which confidentiality must be breached include all of the following except when... (client reports that his adult sister is writing fraudulent checks using his 89 year old mothers name, client is telling his therapist that he smackcs his son on his face since spanking has never been effective, adult client says he was sexually abused when he was a teen 6 years ago, an erratic client tells his therapist he plans to kill his boss since he was fired for no reason)

an adult client tells his therapist that he was seuxally abused when he was a teenager, 6 years ago

you receive a subpoena requiring you to testify in court about a current therapy client. you are treating the client for anxiety and depression triggered by harassment at work, and she is suing her employer for hostile work environment. the subpoena was issued by the employer's attorney. when you contact the client, she says she doesn't want to testify. you should... (notify their employer that you will not appear in court because the client authorized you not to, appear in court but claim client privilege, explain to the client you are legally required to testify because privilege is waived, do nothing until you receive an order from the court)

appear in court but claim client privilege

a 20 year old woman with a serious physical disability come to see you for a consultation. She lives with her mother and 16 year old sister. she says her mom wont help her shower even though she cant do it without assistance. as an ethical and legal abiding therapist, you... (are mandated to report, have the option to report, cant report because she is 20 but should try to determine if the mother is abusing or neglecting the 16 year old, must maintain the client's confidentiality

are mandated to report to the appropriate authorities

when counseling a client whose racial, ethnic, or cultural background differs from yours, you should... (only discuss the difference if the client raises concerns, rely on generalizations about client's racial/ethnic/cultural group to mazimize effectiveness, ask the client if they have concerns about the diference during the initial session, be aware that client's experience with prejudice may take the form of paranoia and pathological defensiveness

ask the client if they have any concerns during the initial session

a therapists new client was just released from prison. he was incarcerated for stalking his gf and sending her threatening emails. the therapist notices a gang tattoo on his right arm indicating that he has killed someone. when asked how he feels, the client says he is angier now than when he went to prison. the therapist should... (contact the local law enforcement agency, contact the local law enforcement agency and the person the client stalked previously, call teh probation officer to discuss concerns about renewed violence, ask the client to describe his anger in more detail)

ask the client to describe his anger in more detail

a new client, maggie, 27 years old, lives with her husband, has no children, and is employed as a veterinary assistant. during her first session, she tells the therapist that her husband lost his job last month and, since then, has become physically & verbally abusive. she says on one occasion, he gave her a black eye. the therapist should... (get maggies permission to file a spousal abuse report and provide her with the phone number of a local shelter, encourage maggie to file a police report herself and discuss her options, recommend that maggie bring her husband to the next session)

assess the level of danger and help maggie develop a safety plan

A therapist sees two children (8 & 10) to deal with high conflict divorce. They live with mom and see dad every other weekend. Who may have access to the records of treatment? (only the mother since she has physical custody, both parents because the law specifies that access to records cannot be denied to non-custodial parent, only the children because they are the clients and are the holder of privilege, only the mother and children since the father is not involved in treatment)

both parents- the law specifies that access to records cannot be denied to a non-custodial parent (law)

suzanne, age 15 tells her therapist for the last 2 months, she's been stalked by a couple of gang members who follow and harass her when she walks home after school every day and send her 'scary' emails. she asked them to stop following her, but they just laughed and made her threatening gestures, so shes been ignoring them as best she can. when the therapist asks if she has told her school or parents, she says she doesn't want anyone to know because it'll make it worse. what should the therapist do? (break confidentiality by contacting police and/or notifying her parents if it seems in her best interest to do so, report child abuse, report child abuse and notify her parents and school, maintain confidentiality but coach her in protective measures)

break confidentiality by contacting police and/or her parents if it seems in her best interest to do so

a therapist, sally, has been seeing thomas, 23, in therapy for nearly 5 months. 3 days after last session, he calls emergency number right after sally left the office for the day and says he wants to kill himself. when she tries to get additional info, he says "there's nothing left to talk about". He had previous attempt the previous year. He lives with his mother. the therapist should... (call law enforcement or a mobile crisis team and have thomas involuntarily hospitalized, contact his mother and ask her to take him to nearest hospital for emergency evaluation, have thomas agree to a safety plan to see sally first thing in the morning, encourage thomas to meet her at the office later that evening)

call law enforcement or a mobile crisis team to have thomas involuntarily hospitalized

the parents of a 15 year old girl bring their daughter for individual treatment. the parents provide consent for therapy and will be paying the fee. the therapist should... (caution the girl that since she's a minor anything may be told to her parents, advise the parents that he is required to maintain confidentiality and will not be able to advise them of anything the girl says during sessions without authorization, clearly establish to her and her parents prior to seeing her what the policy will be in regard to sharing info with the parents, use his discretion with regard to what info to reveal to the girl's parents and what info to keep confidential)

clearly establish with the girl and her parents, prior to therapy, what the policy will be regarding sharing info with parents (ethics)

which of the following situations most clearly represents an unethical dual relationship (the client is a salesperson in the on;y department store in the small town where you live and work, the client is the adult daughter of a neighbor who lives at the end of your block, the client is your husband's secretary)

client is husband's secretary

dan comes to his first therapy appointment with paul. he tells paul that he is currently receiving therapy services from another therapist across town and would like to continue with both therapists. paul should first...

consider the clients needs, presenting treatment issues, and whether or not this would be considered a duplication of services

a therapist from an agency is seeking additional info to develop a treatment plan for a new client. the therapist must obtain authorization from the client before... (consulting with a colleague for advice about the treatment plan, consulting with the client's previous therapist, consulting with an agency supervisor during case consultation, reviewing preliminary assessment results obtained by the intake counselor at his agency)

consulting with the client's previous therapist

patti, an lmft is issued a subpoena for one of her clients. she determined that the subpoena is legally valid. pattis next step should be... (releasing info she believes is relevant to the case, refuse to vomply, contact the client to discuss implications of providing requested info and obtain the client's consent to release confidential information, to claim psychotherapist-patient privilege on the client's behalf)

contacting the client to discuss the implications of providing the requested information and obtain the client's consent to release confidential information

a therapist named jen has been seeing robbie in therapy in therapy for several months and he just became an AMFT at a clinic where jen is a supervisor for associates/trainees. jen should... (refer robbie to another therapists and do not supervise him, let robbie decide whether he wants to be her supervisee or her client, act as both as long as she discusses potential risks with robbie, continue seeing robbie as a client and have him receive supervision from another supervisor)

continue seeing robby as a client and have him receive supervision from another supervisor

your new clients are a mexican american family that consists of a husband and wife and two daughters. they came to therapy because one of the girls has a shoplifting problem and the other has an eating disorder. you realize during the first session that you and the parents are members of the same country club. you should... (terminate immediately, ask parents what they'd like to do, determine whether you can maintain your objectivity with this family, not concern yourself because this situation presents no ethical dilemma)

determine whether you can maintain your objectivity with this family

client comes in for treatment to deal with anger related problems, loses temper easily and wants to learn to 'cool off' and will stop lashing out to subordinates at work. after 2 successful months, his company suspended medical and he cannot afford treatment, though he would benefit from more. the therapist should... (offer to continue therapy at a reduced fee, discuss his options with him, refer him to low-fee agency, terminate therapy since he has learned the skills he needs)

discuss his options with him

A MH agency received a grant to conduct research on the effectiveness of service's from the agency's MFTs. Ethically, it's most important for the agency to consider... (will the results of research benefit the clients, do clients have sufficient info to make an informed choice about wether or not to participate in the research, is the agency being paid to conduct the research, do clients understand the potential limitations on the confidentiality of information that will be collected during the study)

do clients have sufficient information to make an informed choice about whether or not to participate in the research

dorothy and ira are divorced parents of a 10 year old girl, laura. they share joint legal custody. what are their legal rights regarding mental health care decisions? (both parents must consent before treatment begins, laura must consent before treatment may begin and both parents must assent, either parent alone may consent to treatment before treatment begins, one of the parents must obtain a court order before treatment may begin)

either parent alone may consent to treatment before treatment begins (equal rights bc joint custody custody)

a therapist's new clients are the smith family, consisting of both parents and two biological kids + a foster child. the parents say the foster kid is the 'problem', the therapist wants to see the whole family in session. who consents for treatment?

either parent can give consent for the biological kids, but the legal guardian of the foster child should give consent for the foster child

the toll free number, 988, has been implemented in order to provide free and confidential assistance specific to ____ issues

emergency suicidal, mental health, and substance abuse

your new client says he's been having trouble in his relationship with his girlfriend lately, and he also complains of restlessness, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. you refer him to a physician who refers him to a psychiatrist and determines he would benefit from anti-anxiety meds. you ask the client to sign an authorization for him to confer with the psychiatrist, but the client says he hasn't filled the prescription and isn't sure he wants to take it. you should... (refuse to see him in therapy until he starts taking it, encourage him to make appointment w psychiatrist to discuss concerns, advise him to start taking it and see if it helps his symptoms, tell him the case is outside your scope of practice and refer him to another therapist)

encourage him to make an appointment with the psychiatrist to discuss his concerns

the therapist receives a phone call from a man who says he is looking for a good therapist. he is not specific about what he hopes to gain from therapy or what he considers his problem to be. he asks the therapist many questions about her specialities, education, and training, and he requests a 'free consultation'. from the nature of his questions and his request, it is clear to her that he is 'therapist shopping'. the therapist should... (see him for one session for free, explain your policy regarding free initial session, see him and consider it part of pro bono work, educate him about the difficulty of choosing a therapist on the basis of one session)

explain your policy regarding a free initial session

a therapist is from a different background than her new client and has had limited experience working with individuals from the client's culture. ethical standards suggest the therapist should (refer client to therapist familiar with client's culture, discuss the differences with the client to determine whether client is comfortable, explore her own values with a colleague to asses for personal biases that might affect her ability to work objectively with the client, explore the cultural fit between herself anf the client and decide whether she can work in a culturally competent way with the client)

explore the cultural fit between herself and the client and decide whether she can work in a culturally competent way with the client

a couples comes to a therapist for premarital counseling. they ask the therapist if he is married. the therapist should... (explore the significance to them of his marital status, tell them, only tell them if he feels comfortable, deflect and change the subject)

explore the significance to them of his marital status

you have been treating sue and stan in couples therapy for three months. sue reveals new info during a phone call and asks you not to tell stan. what should you do? (follow the policy regarding privately shared info that you discussed with the couple at the beginning of treatment, tell sue that you must share hte info with stan since they're both your clients, consider the welfare of both clients to determine whether or nor ro share sue's info with stan, tell sue you will not reveal the info to stan without her permission but recommend that she tell stan herself during the next session)

follow the policy regarding privately shard info that you discussed with the couple at the beginning of treatment (ethics)

outside the scope of practice for a LMFT (giving advice to clients about nutritional supplements diet and exercise, suggesting a client see a psychiatrist to determine if they would benefit from antidepressants, using family therapy techniques for which the therapist has not been adequately trained, administering and interpreting the beck depression inventory and similar standardized measures of depression)

giving advice to clients about nutritional supplements, diet, and, exercise

an mft who teaches and conducts research at large university asks a graduate student to assist on a research project in a field of interest to the student. the student will be required to spend 25 hours a week a week on the project and will be paid on an hourly basis. with regard to public credit, the mft should do which of the following when preparing a journal about the study? (include the student as a co-author since they are working more than half-time on this, note the student's contribution in a footnote or intro statement since the student is essentially an employee, acknowledge the student in a manner consistent with her contribution to the project)

he should acknowledge the student in a manner consistent with her contribution to the project

amanda (18) is struggling to decide what college to attend. her therapist has some strong opinions about the best college, based on her personal experience. ethically, what should the therapist do? (help amanda gather info about the colleges shes considering and weigh her options but not offer an opinion, offer the opinion in a way consistent with his theoretical orientation and amanda's best interests, offer objective info about any colleges he's familiar with, offer his opinion only if amanda asks for it)

help amanda gather info about the colleges she's interested in and her options but not offer an opinion

when the client has a concrete plan and access to lethal means to carry out that plan, has multiple risk factors, and is unwilling or unable to form a therapeutic alliance, this person is considered to be in ____ of dangerous behavior (high, moderate, low, or no risk)

high risk

false and deceptive advertising of professional therapy services is... (illegal and unethical, illegal only, unethical only, neither)

illegal and unethical

a client tells his current therapist that another therapist he was seeing a few months ago made sexual advances toward him several times during the course of therapy. what should his current therapist do first? (build trust by reassuring the client that this is not typical behavior for a therapist, recommend the client report the other therapist to the ethics committee, inform the client of his alternatives in this situation, reassure the client that he can talk freely about what happened and that no one else will hear about it)

inform the client of his alternatives (options) in this situation

mrs jane jacobs, an MFT, is unsure of what diagnosis to assing harvey based on his symptoms, however she wants to get pais by the insurance company so she writes a diagnosis down for now with plans to change it later. this is...

insurance fraud

jane smith advertises on her website that she has a 95% success rate in preventing divorce with couples therapy. in terms of ethical guidelines, which of the following is true about her ad? (acceptable if she has evidence, acceptable if she can support it with client testimonials, acceptable if she has both + written permission, it is unacceptable)

it is unaccaptable

an mft plans to use couples she is currently seeing in therapy as subjects for her research study on marital satisfaction. which of the following is true about this situation? (it is unethical to conduct the research because mft's arent allowed to use clients as research subjects, it is unethical to conduct the research because mft's are allowed to use previous clients but not current as subjects, it may be ethical as long as she determined that doing so is not likely to impair her personal judgement or exploit the subjects, it may be ethical as long as she does not collect info that differs from the info she would normally obtain during course of therapy)

it may be ethical as long as she determined that doing so is not likely to impair her professional judgement or exploit the clients

when a therapist encounters a client situation for which she or he has had little or no training or experience, the therapist is... (ethically required to consider referring the client to another therapist since treating the client would be outside the scope of practice, legally and ethically required to consider referring if they determine the situation is outside their scope of competence, legally required to obtain appropriate training if they determine its outside of scope of competence, legally and ethically required to obtain appropriate training before seeing client to stay in scope of competence)

legally and ethically required to consider referring the client to another therapist if they determine that the client's situation is outside their scope of competence

during his 3rd session with MFT, a client reveals he sometimes hits his wife and has a history of getting into physical fights, especially when he thinks someone is hitting on his wife. he says he recently beat up a man at a party when it looked like he was making advances on his wife. he seriously injured the man and he ended up in the hospital. the mft is obligated to... (maintain client confidentiality but monitor him for future indications of violence, report the beating but not the domestic violence, report the domestic violent but not the beating, activate a 5150 to protect others from the danger the client poses)

maintain client confidentiality, but minitor him for future indications of violence

the client tells his therapist that he's mad at his neighbor. he says he plans to slash the tires of his neighbor's car that evening as soon as it gets dark. the therapist should... (call police, call the neighbor, call both, maintain confidentiality)

maintain the client's confidentiality

to help ensure that individuals who are at risk for violent behavior do not possess firearms, CA law requires that, when a client communicates a serious threat of physical violence against an identifiable victim, the psychotherapist must... (make a report to law enforcement within 24 hours of the threat, make a report to law enforcement within 48 hours of threat, make a report to law enforcement and warn the intended victim within 24 hours of threat, make a report to law enforcement and warn the intended victim within 48 hours)

make a report to law enforcement within 24 hrs of the threat

after treating a family for several months, they decide they want to terminate. At termination, they have a small outstanding balance they promise to pay. after several months of billing with no response, the therapist stops billing. A year later they receive a request from another therapist for copies of evaluations she administered. the therapist should... (make copies of the requested evaluations and send them to the therapist only if the request is accompanied by signed authorizations from the family members, make copies of the requested evaluations and send them to the family with copies of a past due bill, call the family to obtain a verbal authorization to release copies of the evaluations before sending them to the therapist, send a letter to the family stating that she will send copies of the requested evaluations to the therapist when they pay their outstanding balance)

make copies of the requested evaluations and send them to the therapist only if the request is accompanied by signed authorizations from the family members

when an adolescent client is suicidal, the therapist... (must tell their parent/guardian, must contact child protective services, may break confidentiality if necessary to prevent the threatened danger, should have the client complete a safety plan)

may break confidentiality if necessary to prevent the threatened danger

a therapist's client calls to cancel his appointment less than 48 hours before the appointment. which of the following is true? (iiegal to charge fee, may charge fee if cancelation less than 24 hrs, can charge normal fee-but not full, may charge fee as long as policy was discussed at beginning of therapy)

may charge fee as long as policy was discussed at beginning of therapy

for a therapist to provide outpatient therapy to a minor without the knowledge or consent of the minor's parent or guardian... (minor must be at least 11, minor must be at least 12, minor must be at least 12 and it must have been determined it would be inappropriate to involve parents, the minor must be at least 12 years old and the therapist must have determined that the minor is in danger if they do not receive therapy)

minor must be 12+ years old and the therapist must have determined that it would have been appropriate to involve the parent or guardian

An MFT routinely administers a questionnaire to all clients at the beginning and end of therapy and wants to use the info for qualitative research. to be consistent with ethical requirements, the therapist... (must explain to the clients she chooses to include that their participation is voluntary and that confidential info will only be released with their authorization, should describe the study's purpose and procedures to all of her cliey, nts and include only those that volunteer to participate, should not tell clients they'll be included since doing so may have adverse impact on the therapeutic relationship and distort the results of the study, must include only new clients who agree to participate in the study when they complete the questionnaire at the beginning of treatment)

must explain to the clients she chooses to include her study that their participation is voluntary and that confidential information will be released only with their authorization

a therapist has been working with lindsay for six weeks when, unrelated to her presenting problem, she mentions that her adult son often loses his temper and ends up hitting his 4 year old daughter. teh therapist... (does not need to report since she didnt learn about it from the victim or perpetrator, can choose to report as a concerned private citizen, must make a report since the info is revealed to her in her professional capacity, does not need to make report)

must make a report since the information is revealed to her in her professional capacity

a client tells an mft that, when caring for her 72 year old mother, she sometimes gets so annoyed that she slaps her. the mft... (must report the abuse, may but is not mandated to file a report of abuse, should not make a report unless she determines that the mother is not mentally or physically competent to take care of herself, should not make report unless the slaps cause substantial physical harm)

must report the abuse

an mft, who is a good friend of yours, calls about a client you terminated therapy with a year ago. the mft is starting therapy with this client and would like you to give him information about the client's diagnosis and treatment. you trust this mft and know he will use this info to effectively treat his client. you should... (give him the info now but tell him you need signed auth. from client asap, tell him you'll need a signed authorization from this client before you can release any info, give him the info he requests since doing so is clearly in the best interests of the client, not even acknowledge that this individual was you client and contact the client to obtain authorization to release info to the mft)

not even acknowledge this individual was your client and contact the client to obtain authorization to release info to the mft

the clients are two emancipated minors, sal and sally, ages 14 and 16. they tell the therapist they are in love and have started having sex with each other. what should the therapist do? (immediately file a child abuse report because of their differences in ages, immediately file child abuse report because it involves lewd and lascivious acts, not file a report because this constitutes nonreportable consensual intercourse, not file a report because both are emancipated so you aren't required to make a report)

not file a child abuse report because this constitutes non-reportable consensual sexual intercourse

mrs saledo, an mft, has been treating a 16 year old client for over two months. the client is unemancipated, but she legally consented to therapy without her parents' knowledge or permission and the therapist determined that involving her parents would be inappropriate. the parents have recently learned that their daughter is seeing mrs saledo, and call her ro as what is going on in the sessions. mrs saledo should... (provide info to the parents since the client is unemancipated minor, not provide info to the parents unless the client authorizes its release, comply with the parents request unless she suspects that doing so may be detrimental to the client or relationship, refuse to comply with the parents request unless she discussed the limits on confidentiality with the client at the beginning of therapy)

not provide information to the parents unless the client authorizes its release

the mother of a former client asks you for a copy of her daughter's treatment records. the daughter, whom you saw for one year, died several months ago at age 45. what should you do? (not release any info about client without appropriate authorization, send the mother a copy as requested, send the mother only info that you believe wont be harmful, allow the mother to inspect the records in your office)

not release any client info without appropriate authorization

during her initial session, a client tells miss goodwin that she and her husband are having 'marital problems' and that she thinks they may need marriage counseling. as the client describes her husband, miss goodwin realizes she had a sexual relationship with the man nine years ago in graduate school, a couple of years before he married the client. miss goodwins best course of action would be to... (make an appointment with the husband to discuss the matter with him before setting up a session w the couple, agree to see the wife in individual therapy and refer the couple to another therapist for marriage counseling, see the couple in therapy only if she feels her previous relationship will not interfere with her objectivity, not see the wife or couple in therapy and refer them to another therapist)

not see the wife or couple and refer them to another therapist

HIPAA's privacy rule requires therapists to provide clients with a written ___ at or before the beginning of treatment that indicates how protected health information will be used and disclosed (informed consent, copy of security rule, notice of privacy practices, copy of the transaction rule)

notice of privacy practices

the code of ethics explicitly requires mft's to address which of the following when providing professional services to clients electronically? (availability of alternate services, voluntary nature of client participation, training and experience with this kind of therapy, potential risks and benefits of the services)

potential risks and benefits of the services

a young man comes into therapy for 'interpersonal problems' at work. In the first session, therapist learns he has history of criminal offenses that he finds difficult to work with. the therapist feels he would not like working with him. as an ethical mft, the therapist should... (disregard his personal preferences and accept the young man into treatment, provide the young man with appropriate referrals, accept the young man with appropriate referrals, accept the young man into therapy but seek supervision, tell the young man that he cannot accept him into therapy and refuse to make another appointment with him)

provide him with the appropriate referrals

you work in a mental health clinic and a psychologist who also works in the clinic tells you he's heard that bob bronstein, one of your current clients, has threatened to harm someone. the psychologist is not willing to reveal the source of his information but says he believes the information is valid. you have been working with bob for several months and believe he's capable of becoming physically violent toward someone when sufficiently provoked. you should... (contact police, question bob in a general way during his next therapy session to determine if he's angry at home, call bob's wife to determine if she has any concerns about her husband's current potential for violent behavior)

question bob in a general way during his next therapy session to determine if he's angry at anyone

ms polly petrovich, a licensed mft, has been seeing a couple for over 14 months with no apparent change in the couple's problem. she should... (advise the couple that she is ethically obligated to terminate therapy, raise for discussion the possibility of terminating and referral to another therapist, determine if the couple is satisfied with the progress of therapy and if so continue to see them, continue seeing the couple since 14 months is not an unusually long time for therapy to continue without a significant change in symptoms)

raise for discussion the possibility of termination and referral to another therapist

which of the following is now considered to be a condition that must be met for consent to be truly informed? (receptiveness, capacity, comprehension, voluntariness)

receptiveness

julie, a therapist, is employed by a shelter for battered women to provide crisis intervention to the residents. one of the residents tells julie her son is also her son, 5. she describes several incidents in which her husband hit the boy for crying after seeing her get beaten up. she does not plan to return to the husband. based on this info, what should you julie do first? (tell her to file child abuse report and help her do so, assess the son before filing, report child abuse, support the woman's decision to leave her husband and discuss how to help her child)

report child abuse to authorities

a new client, 15, tells her therapist that she had sexual intercourse with her school counselor last semester. Legally, the therapist must... (report immediately to child protective services, give her the brochure Professional Therapy Never Includes Sex, report immediately to child protective services and notify the school about the counselors behavior and contact client's parents, report to child protective services after telling the client that therapists are legally required to break confidentiality)

report immediately to child protective services

Bill Jones, age 21, has cerebral palsy and lives in residential treatment facility. In session, he reports they don't help him make phone calls or tell him when family/friends call, and he thinks a staff member is stealing his money. The therapist should... (report suspected dependent adult abuse, interview the facility staff to determine if reportable abuse has occured, tell bill's parents to look into their sons complaints and contact the facility director if they find bill is being treated poorly, report bill's parents to child protective services for abandoning their son)

report suspected dependent adult abuse

your client tells you she works the late shift at a local restaurant and is gone from her house for 4 hours, 5 nights a week. she also says she leaves her 6 year old daughter at home alone during that time. she thinks it's safe because she doesn't leave until she's asleep and that she has practiced with the child how to call her if she wakes up or theres and emergency. what should you do? (make sure the child has the number of a neighbor to call police and provide your client with info on child development and parenting skills, encourage the mother to get a babysitter for the child and have the client call you regularly so that you can monitor her behavior, report to cps and then work with the client to help her understand the dangers inherent in her behavior)

report to cps then work with the client to help her understand the dangers inherent in her behavior

your client is moving to another city in CA and wants to continue therapy with you via the internet. you are legally and ethically... (required to obtain written consent before internet sessions are scheduled, required to provide client info w possible limitations, allowed to do so because you're continuing an existing ther. relationship, allowed to only if you've completed CE course on distance counseling)

required to provide client info about possible limitations

miss chang, an mft, has been working with ralph in therapy for three months to help him deal with problems he's having with his boss and co-workers. during a recent session, ralph revealed to mr. chang that he is gay. mr. chang doesn't have experience working with gay clients. she should... (continue to see ralph of she believes his problems at work are unrelated to his sexual obsession, continue to see ralph but seek professional assistance if he does not respond to treatment, seek professional assistance to determine the best course of action and if she continues to see him obtain additional guidance if needed, refer ralph to another therapist)

seek professional assistance to determine the best course of action, and if she decides to continue to see ralph, obtain additional guidance when working with him if needed

a mandated reporter is legally required to file a child abuse report for all of the following acts perpetrated against a minor except: (neglect, cruel corporal punishment, serious emotional damage, or sexual abuse)

serious emotional damage

which of the following is true about the dissolution of marriage in america? (must always be a plaintiff and defendant, couples automatically go to mediation when there are children, ground for divorce is usually irreconcilable differences, both parties must appear in court to tell their side of the story)

the grounds for divorce is usually irreconcilable differences

ca law describes the information that must be provided to a client in a summary of their health record. according to the law, the summary must include all the following except: (clients diagnosis when determined, the initial goals of counseling, a description of the progress of treatment, a description of the client's prognosis)

the initial goals

an mfts client was just left by her husband for another woman, and she says she wants to kill herself because she 'cant live without him'. if the mft believes the client is capable of suicide, which of the following is true? (mft is legally and ethically permitted to break confidentiality in any way that is likely to prevent the client from harming herself, there are no laws applicable to the prevention of suicide but the MFT is ethically permitted to take any action that is likely to prevent the client from harming herself, the mft is legally required to report the potential suicide if doing so is necessary to prevent the client from harming herself, the mft is ethically obligated to take whatever action is in the client's best interest but is legally permitted to break confidentiality only if it is necessary to involuntarily hospitalize the client)

the mft is legally and ethically permitted to break confidentiality in any way that is likely to prevent the client from harming herself

an mft receives a written request from a formal client to see his records. He is 22 and saw the mft for 6 months when he was 14. Which of the following is true (mft should get authorization from former client's parents before giving him access to records since they likely signed his consent for treatment, ethically and legally the mft should have destroyed the records of the former clients 7 years after the date of their last therapy session and should explain to the former client that his recording are no longer available, the mft should send a copy of the records to the former client within 15 days, the mft should send only parts of the record that do not contain obsolete information to the former client within 10 days)

the mft should send the copy of his records within 15 days

a therapist is seeing a 12 year old without the consent of her parents and has determined that involving her parents and has determined that involving her parents in therapy would be inappropriate. who is responsible for paying the fee? (the minor, the parents, any relative who is willing to help, a social welfare agency)

the minor

which of the following is legally identified as 'a holder of privilege' (patient's guardian/conservator, patient's therapist, parents of a patient under 18, judge or officer of the court)

the patient's guardian or conservator

after a therapist dies, what is most likely to happen with their clinical records? (given to the client, handled by spouse, handled as specified in their will, records will be destroyed)

the records will be handled as specified in their will

an associate mft is beginning a new supervision relationship with a therapist who has a private practice. to meet legal and ethical requirements... (the supervisor must have been licensed as an mft for at least two years, the associate must be provided with at least one hour of supervision every week they see clients, the supervisor must pay the associate for their services, the supervisor must sign a supervision agreement)

the supervisor must sign a supervisor agreement

which of the following determines if a case is within a licensed marriage and family therapist's scope of competence (the therapist has sufficient education, training, and experience to adequately address the client's situation, client's presenting problem is related to difficulties they are having with interpersonal relationships, client's symptoms suggest their diagnosis will be for relatively mild disorder, the therapist will use a family systems theoretical model when treating the client)

the therapist has sufficient education, training, and experience to adequately address the client's situation

A client tells her therapist her husband has drinking problem and hits her during binges but doesn't remember. when the therapist asks about her bruises, she says she got them when her husband knocked her around drunk three days ago. which of the following is true in this situation? (therapist must report abuse to the appropriate authorities immediately, the therapist must explain to client that she is legally required to break confidentiality and then report abuse to the appropriate authorities,, the therapist must report abuse to the appropriate authorities only if the client is a minor, the therapist must report to the proper authorities only if the client is a minor elder or dependent)

the therapist must report to the proper authorities only if the client is a minor, an elder adult, or a dependent adult

to see a minor in therapy without notifying their parents or guardian... (therapist must sign document in the notes why this decision was made, therapist must document in the notes that the minor refused to give permission for the therapist to contact the client's parents/guardian, minor must live apart from parents with their consent and manage own finances, minor must be a victim of incest or child abuse)

therapist must document in the notes why the decision was made to not notify the parents/guardian

Allison, 50, has an adult son w/ autism spectrum disorder. She's started using BMOD plan that includes depriving him of food for 2-3 days when he misbehaves. The therapist believes this is not an appropriate way to deal with her son's problems. Which is the best way to manage the legal and ethical issues involved on this situation? (the therapist must report abuse but may delay doing so until the next week's session in order to research other ways for allison to control her son's behavior, the therapist must report abuse but to reduce the negative impact on the therapeutic relationship may ask allison to make the report herself if she hasn't done so by the next session, the therapist must report abuse immediately but to reduce the negative impact of doing so may choose to report while allison is still in the session, the therapist is not legally mandated to report abuse but should discuss alternative and less puniti

therapist must report abuse immediately, but to reduce the negative impact on the therapeutic relationship, may choose to do so while she is in session

a therapist has been seeing a client who is having trouble copping with his recent divorce. the client serves on the board of directors for an organization that the therapist has been interested in. during the sixth session, the client asks the therapist to serve on the board. the therapost should... (accept the offer but refer the client to another therapist, tell the client that the therapeutic relationship will end soon and that he will be available to join the board at this time, turn down the offer to join the board, accept the offer but not interact with the client during board meetings until therapeutic relationship has ended)

turn down the offer to join the board

a therapist has an arrangement with another MFT to pay $25 for referrals they make to each other. in terms of ethical guidelines, this is... (ethical since referral fees are not prohibited by code of ethics, thetical as long as referred clients are informed of this practice at the beginning of therapy, unethical if the payment is for the referral only, unethical if the payment represents more than 25% of the fees paid by client)

unethical if the payment is for the referral only

an mft named libby has found that when wroking with difficult clients, it is often useful to take a recording of sessions. libby would like to use the videos to illustrate therapeutic techniques in a grad-level class that she teaches. libby can... (never use the recordings for educational purposes, avoid being sued for using the recording for educational purposes if she obtains verbal or written consent from the clients, use the recordings for educational purposes as long as doing so does not exploit the clients, use the recordings for educational purposes only if she obtains written authorization from the clients)

use the recordings for educational purposes only if she obtains written authorization from the clients

the therapist is in the process of assessing a family consisting of two teenagers and their parents, determining the presenting problems is conflict between the oldest son & his father/teachers. therapist has not decided to conduct family therapy/see the oldest teen in individual therapy. Ethically, which question is important to consider first? (what info revealed by the minors will and will not be shared with the parents, is the oldest teenager competent to consent to individual treatment, which family members are the client/s and what will be the nature of the relationship with everyone involved in treatment, is the presenting problem within the therapist's scope of practice)

which family member/members are the client/clients and what will the nature of the relationships with everyone involved in treatment

your new client tells you she's also seeing a clinical psychologist. he's helping her with her anxiety symptoms, but she wants additional help from you to deal with problems she's having with her adult children and that are unrelated to anxiety. what are your ethical obligations? (with the client's permission consult with the clinical psychologist to ensure that you are both providing services in her best interest, tell the client it's unethical for you to see her until she has completed her work with the clinical psychologist, see the client in therapy since addressing interpersonal relationships is within your scope of practice, tell the client it's unethical to see her while she is still struggling with anxiety since it's likely to impair her ability to focus on relationship issues)

with the client's permission, consult with the clinical psychologist to ensure that you are both providing services in her best interest

HIPAA's privact rule allows therapists and other covered entities to relase a client's personal health info (PHI) to others ____ (only w client's written auth. in all circumstances, only w clients verbal or written auth in all circumstances, without auth. when the info is used for purpose of treatment, payment, or health care operations, without auth. only when info is needed for emergency treatment)

without auth. when info will be used for the purpose treatment, payment, or health care operations

your 28 year old male client tells you during a session that he wants to kill his girlfriend and has a gun. because you believe that his threat is serious, you immediately call the police and warn the girlfriend. during the next session, the client tells you that he was not serious about the threat and he is going to sue you for what you did. legally... (you can be held civilly liable, can be held criminally liable, are protected from civil or criminal liability, can be held civilly and criminally liable)

you are protected from any civil or criminal liability

you find your client, karen, is not making progress, even after meeting for nine months, once a week. you suspect she might have a personality disorder. she doesn't get along with others and has hard time connecting in therapy. she has experienced periodic episodes of depression for many years and has sought therapy. if you consult w a colleague... (you may tell her about the consultation, you must get her permission to discuss confidential info with the consultant, you do not need to get her permission as long as you don't reveal her identity to the consultant, you do not need to get her permission as long as you discuss only relevant information with the consultant)

you do not need to get her permission as long as you don't reveal her identity to the consultant