Deck 5: Confidentiality: Supporting the Clients Right to Privacy

Question 1

Define privileged communication and describe the difference between privileged communication and confidentiality.

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Why is the term "duty to warn"
a misinterpretation of the California Supreme Court's ruling in the Tarasoff case?

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Discuss the ways in which the laws about parental rights to information about their adolescents can inhibit open communication between adolescent clients and their counselors and describe at least one strategy counselors can use to encourage teenage clients to openly discuss their concerns with counselors and therapists.

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

In some states counselors are obliged to disclose client communications relevant to crimes other than violence to others or child/elder abuse.Describe the circumstances under which this limitation may come into play.

Question 5

How are the issues that group and family counselors face in dealing with confidentiality of client communications different from the issues faced by counselors conducting individual counseling or psychotherapy.

Question 6

How should mental health professionals respond to subpoenas and court orders?

Question 7

Identify the criteria that ACA recommends using in determining whether a disclosure to a third party about a client's HIV infection is justified.

Question 8

Why are "blanket releases"and releases of client information to unknown persons problematic even when clients agree to them?

Question 9

When clients request that counseling information be released to a third person, counselors should:

A) Allow such a release only in an emergency or in a duty to protect situation
B) Actively discourage clients from seeking such releases because of the risks to their privacy
C) Agree to the release if it seems in the client's best interest
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 10

Whenever clients are at serious risk for harming themselves, the Tarasoff decision in California requires that:

A) A family member or friend must be informed of the client's self-injurious intent
B) Counselors make the safety of the client the highest priority
C) Counselors notify the police about the client's self-injurious intent
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 11

If a counselor is court-ordered to produce client records in a legal action, he or she

A) Must consult with the ethics committee of the professional association to which he or she belongs to get direction about whether to produce the documents
B) Must hire an attorney and appeal the court order to a higher court
C) Faces an ethics complaint and lawsuit by the client if he or she complies with the court order
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 12

If a client files an ethics complaint against a counselor or therapist, that professional:

A) May disclose client information to the adjudicating body if that body makes an official request for such information
B) Should first tell the committee that the information is confidential and cannot be released
C) Should not hire an attorney because that implies guilt
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 13

Counselors and therapists should report suspected child abuse or neglect when:

A) When a minor client reports abusive or neglectful behavior to them
B) When a client reports information to give professionals reason to suspect abuse in a child who is not a client
C) When they see an adult in the waiting room of their clinic acting abusively toward a child.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 14

The "duty to protect" doctrine means that:

A) Law enforcement authorities must be contacted when a client makes credible threat of violence against another person
B) Counselors must offer the third party at risk for violence the opportunity to participate in counseling with them
C) Intensifying treatment for the client is one option that must be considered
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 15

Risk assessment for a dangerous client does not include:

A) Obtaining a history of mental health treatment
B) Observing the client's behavior in group counseling or therapy
C) Gathering information about client's level of depression
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 16

Which of the following is not true about counseling clients with HIV spectrum disorders:

A) A duty to protect is a well-established legal concept in these cases
B) Counselors should verify a client's HIV status from an independent source
C) Research shows that counselors treat homosexual clients at risk for HIV infection differently than heterosexual clients
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 17

Which of the following legal rulings established that minors have some privacy rights separate from their parents:

A) Roy v. Hartogs (1975)
B) Larry P. v. Riles (1979)
C) In re Gault (1967)
D) None of the above

Question 18

When using facsimile machines for transmitting client data counselors should:

A) Avoid this practice and use "snail mail" instead
B) Verify receipt of client data immediately
C) Send whatever the client asks for provided there is a signed release for the fax transmission
D) All of the above
E) None of the above