Ethics and Professionalism Final

Law and ethics differ in that:...

Laws dictate minimum standards of behavior that society will tolerate while ethics represent the ideal standards expected by the profession.

Counselors who use technologies, such as the Internet, in their work with clients...

Should be careful not to assume that clients have access, expertise, or confidence in using computer applications.

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

Should be ongoing, coupled with periodic evaluation and opportunities to correct deficiencies.

When a husband subpoenas a counselor to reveal information in a court hearing that was provided by the wife in joint couples counseling sessions, and the wife objects to the information being revealed, the counselor...

Should consult with an attorney because laws and court cases vary as to whether the counselor will have to reveal the information over the wife's objection.

A counselor who is beginning a group...

Should explain that while the counselor will keep things confidential, there is no guarantee others in the group will do the same.

Counselor competency can be assured if...

There is no way to assure counselor competency.

A "sliding scale" in counseling refers to...

A fee structure based on amount of family income and family size.

Most legal issues faced by counselors involve...

Acting as a witness in litigation concerning other people.

When counseling a client from a racial, ethnic, or cultural group different from the counselor's, it is important for the counselor to remember that...

Although certain groups share similar traits or beliefs, each individual is unique and may not be like most others from his or her group.

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.

In regard to giving credit to contributors to research projects in published reports...

Appropriate credit must be given, but there are no firm rules.

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

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

Before students agree to serve as research assistants, counselor educators should discuss and provide...

Assurance that those who decline to participate will not be penalized. A clarification of expectations regarding who will do which parts of the work. An agreement regarding the type of acknowledgement students will receive when the research is published. A time-line to complete the various tasks.

Examples of unintentional racism included all of the following...

Avoiding the issue of cultural differences by claiming to be color blind and treating all people as if they were alike. Being too color conscious, thus attributing all problems to a client's cultural background.\n Facilitating co-dependency relationships with ethnic clients out of a need to be needed. Misinterpreting a client's culturally learned patterns of communicating or behaving.

The most significant problem within the counseling profession today, according to the authors of the text, appears to be...

Becoming a united and societally recognized profession.

Counselors who function according to mandatory ethics...

Believe that their duty is to comply with basic "must" and "must not" statements in codes of ethics, and nothing more.

A supervisor is competent if he or she...

Can supervise other counselors in a professional and appropriate manner.

Boundaries serve to protect the welfare of clients because...

Clients are vulnerable in counseling relationships

Key points with respect to diagnosis include all of the following EXCEPT...

Clients must be told in writing the implications of any diagnosis that might be assigned to them.

The nature of the privacy concepts of confidentiality and privileged communication is...

Confidentiality is primarily an ethical issue, and privileged communication is primarily a legal issue.

In a situation in which one spouse in a married couple demands that a counselor testify in court as to what occurred in counseling sessions, and the other spouse insists that the counselor not testify, the best course of action is for the counselor...

Consult with an attorney and follow his or her advice.

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 counselors in training make audiotapes or videotapes of counseling sessions for supervision purposes...

Counselors after delivering the tapes to their supervisors, must retrieve the tape after the supervisors have reviewed them, and then erase the tapes. Supervisors must handle the tapes appropriately during the time the tapes are in the supervisors' possession. Supervisors should return tapes to counselors after the tapes have been reviewed. The tapes should be labeled simply, in a manner that does not bring attention to the fact that the tapes are confidential records.

Regarding a counselor's personal values...

Counselors could disclose their values to a client, if it is possible to do so in a way that conveys to the client that the counselor's values can be accepted or rejected without risking the relationship.

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

Counselors give clients a clear written explanation of how counselors use, keep, and disclose their health care information. Clients have access to their records. That a written process exists for clients to request amendments to their records. A written history of most disclosures of client information be available to clients.

HIPAA rules state that if clients are first informed and given an opportunity to orally object...

Counselors may give health care information to family members or others assisting in the client's care.

Which of the following statements is most appropriate regarding clinical case notes?...

Counselors should take the clinical notes they need in order to function effectively as professionals.

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.

Each of the following groups might be considered to be vulnerable adults who are protected from abuse in some states by stature EXCEPT...

Emotionally distressed adults.

Flexibility in relationship boundaries between counselor educators and students may be more acceptable than between counselors and clients because in counselor educator/student relationships, the student...

Eventually becomes a colleague.

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.

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 consultant is not a consultee's administrative supervisor, the consultant...

Generally, would not be held legally responsible for actions taken by the consultee based on the consultant's advice.

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 form one of the biological parents allowing the counselor to disclose information to the step-parent or grandparent.

All of the following are steps toward professionalization...

Getting state laws passed that regulate the practice of the profession. Changing names to reduce identification with the previous less recognized occupational status. Developing a code of ethics. Requiring members of the profession to possess specialized knowledge and skills.

Because race, ethnicity, gender, and social class are salient cultural variables for all people,

Individuals simultaneously experience both privilege and oppression.

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.

University committees that review research proposals to ensure that human participants are protected are called...

Institutional review boards.

Because clients may have emergencies between counseling sessions, typically the better option is for counselors to

Instruct clients to call a 24-hour mental health hot line number or report to a hospital emergency room.

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 based on a formula that includes graduate courses taken, number of administrations of that particular test previously, and amount of supervised experience giving that particular test.

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.

A counselor's self-disclosure in a counseling session...

May be acceptable if the counselor believes the disclosure will benefit the client.

A preferred provider organization (PPO)...

May not accept counselors as providers of mental health services and can limit the number of providers on their list of providers.

When a counselor must render a DSM diagnosis before a client may be reimbursed for mental health care services, the counselor...

Must render the proper diagnosis, whether or not the client will be reimbursed.

Within the counseling profession the primary national voluntary certification agency is...

NBCC

All of the following steps are suggested when counselors open private practices...

Obtain a federal tax ID number if there are any employees. Apply and obtain a business license. Purchase liability, property damage, or other types of insurance. Obtain a professional license if one is required in the state to practice counseling independently.

School counselors have a legal obligation to do all of the following EXCEPT..

Obtain written parental permission before counseling students in most circumstances.

Breaches of client confidentiality by counselors...

Occur rarely, and when they do occur usually were inadvertent.

The attorney for the other side will minimize the impact of an expert witness's testimony by each of the following actions EXCEPT...

Offering the counselor more money to not testify.

According to the United State Small Business Administration, the percentages of business that fail are...

Over 50% fail in the first year, and 95% fail within the first 5 years.

A core belief that members of the profession of counseling hold concerning helping others with their mental health concerns is...

Prevention and early intervention are the most appropriate means in dealing with emotional and personal problems.

Regarding a client's privacy, counselors should

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

At their most fundamental level, codes of ethics serve to

Protect and promote the welfare of the client.

It is questionable ethically for a university professor to...

Require a student to participate in a research project.

A counselor who is dealing with an angry client who is threatening to sue the counselor should...

Respond directly to the person making the threat, if possible.\n Calm the person down, if possible, and listen to the concerns. Be careful and not admit to wrongdoing. Not say anything you would not want repeated or would not want to repeat yourself under oath at a later time.

One of the most ethically sensitive components of counselor training that has generated considerable debate is...

Self-growth experiences.

When a counselor uses a computer for the storage of confidential information on clients, the counselor must...

Set up a system that requires a password to access the files.

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

Take the 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.

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.

When a counselor communicates with a client using e-mail...

The client should be advised that e-mail messages can always be retrieved and that e-mail systems are not as secure as other means of communication.

When local chapters, state branches, regions, and divisions of ACA receive ethical complaints against members, they refer them to...

The national ACA ethics committee.

Legislators agree to license a professional group, such as counselors, only when it can be shown...

The public cannot determine which practitioners are competent, and they might be harmed by incompetent members of that profession.

Regarding dual relationships between counselors and clients...

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

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.

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.

In the view of the authors of the text (Remley and Herlihy), a counselor who failed to report to the police that a client had been illegally discriminated against in a public restaurant based on his race

Would be acting appropriately, in that counselor's have no duty to enforce laws.

While you are counseling as a graduate student...

You must follow the same code of ethics as practicing counselors.

When reporting suspected child abuse in good faith, counselors should...

review their particular state statute to determine all of the following EXCEPT Counselor liability for defamation of character.

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

the client.