Deck 14: Ethical and Legal Issues

Question 1

Ethical decision-making is a process which:

A) once started, is automatic.
B) is easily achieved.
C) requires careful analysis and attention.
D) will evolve over time.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Clients have certain legal rights, including:

A) the right to privacy and competent treatment.
B) the right to informed consent, and to refuse treatment.
C) the right of protection against harm.
D) all of the above.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following current trends in counseling have created more complex ethical issues?

A) Reporting child or elder abuse
B) Using technology in counseling
C) Multiple/dual relationships
D) All of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When confronted with a situation where boundary crossing could occur, resulting in multiple (or dual) relationships with a client, counselors should do all of these EXCEPT:

A) ask whose needs are being met, to ensure it is the client's.
B) discuss the situation fully (including client's identifying information) with a trusted friend.
C) examine their motives carefully, remembering to "first, do no harm."
D) discuss the potential risks and benefits with the client and get their consent, before acting on the situation.
E) seek supervision or consultation first, and document any boundary crossing, even if consensual and beneficial.

Question 5

Which type of multiple (dual) relationship is considered to be the most destructive?

A) When counselors become friends with clients
B) When non-erotic physical contact is present and may be misinterpreted
C) When bartering occurs
D) When sexual involvement occurs

Question 6

Knowledge of legal issues as they impact counseling is:

A) essential for practicing counselors.
B) best left for the specialists.
C) an inefficient use of time.
D) only useful in rare instances.

Question 7

The process of the seduction of a client by a counselor is:

A) part of the therapeutic process.
B) an exploitative breach of trust.
C) unlikely to occur.
D) a healthy expression of affection.

Question 8

In which of the following situations should you place legal concerns above personal values, ethical codes, and institutional policies?

A) When you receive a court referral
B) When a client's civil rights are violated
C) When clients are involved in custody battles or divorce action
D) When a client is engaged in planning or carrying out criminal acts
E) All of the above

Question 9

Beginning counselors should:

A) disregard the code of ethics until experienced.
B) study and follow the code of ethics.
C) improvise ethical decisions.
D) be flexible with regard to ethical issues.

Question 10

In a landmark court case, now referred to as the Tarasoff decision, a counselor:

A) had consensual sexual relations with a client during the counseling session.
B) had a sexual relationship with a former client over a year after treatment had concluded.
C) failed to warn a murder victim of potential danger from his client.
D) bartered his counseling services in exchange for free legal advice from the client, who was a practicing attorney.

Question 11

The ethical decision-making process involves a number of sequential steps. According to your reading, which of the following is the second step in the process?

A) Recognize that there is an ethical conflict.
B) Review professional literature.
C) Reflect on personal morals and values.
D) Describe the problem.

Question 12

Counselors have an ethical and legal obligation to breach client's confidentiality when any of the following occur EXCEPT:

A) when the client is a danger to herself/himself or others.
B) when ordered to do so by the court.
C) when a client in couples counseling is contemplating adultery.
D) when a child or elder is the victim of abuse.

Question 13

Experts on the impact of the Internet on counseling ethics have recommended all of the following EXCEPT:

A) keep current with HIPAA regulations.
B) be familiar with computer technology.
C) keep emergency contact information readily at hand.
D) delete any social networking accounts your clients may see.

Question 14

Duty-to-warn rules and guidelines:

A) are clearly outlined in the codes of ethics for each professional organization or association.
B) are federal law.
C) vary by state.
D) apply exclusively to HIV-reporting issues.

Question 15

It is useful to consider ethical issues and possible resolutions at which critical times?

A) Only after the most pertinent ethical issues have arisen
B) While an issue is presenting itself
C) Before an ethical issue occurs in session
D) None of the above

Question 16

Informed consent is based on the notion that clients have a right to be protected against which of the following?

A) Coercion
B) Manipulation
C) Harmful treatment
D) All of the above

Question 17

The codes of ethics provided by different professional organizations are:

A) easily applied and understood to individual cases.
B) easily enforced.
C) sometimes contradictory.
D) only guidelines, not rules.

Question 18

In working through misjudgments and failures in counseling, which of the following is a false assumption?

A) Failures are unavoidable and inevitable.
B) Failures can provide opportunities for learning and growth.
C) A failure is a sign of a failed counselor.
D) Mistakes and misjudgments can be worked through constructively by considering clients' secondary gains.

Question 19

The confidential nature of the counselor/client relationship may ethically be breached when:

A) the client poses no danger to self or other.
B) inadvertent slips of information occur.
C) it is so ordered by the courts.
D) it is in the best interest of the counselor.

Question 20

Even though they are multiple/dual relationships, the ACA Code of Ethics (revised in 2005) describes all of the following as "potentially beneficial interactions" EXCEPT:

A) adopting a client's unwanted child.
B) attending formal ceremonies, such as weddings or graduations.
C) purchasing needed services from a client.
D) mutual membership in community organizations.