Law and Ethics in Counseling

Flashcards based on the provided lecture notes on law and ethics in counseling.

How do law and ethics differ?

Laws dictate minimum standards of behavior, whereas ethics represent the ideal standards expected by the profession.

What is the best statement about professional ethics in counseling?

Because there are few absolute right answers to ethical practice questions, consultation with counseling colleagues is very important when making ethical decisions.

What influences the personal values of counselors?

Are influenced by their families of origin and their cultures, among other factors.

While principle ethics asks “What should I do?,” what does virtue ethics ask?

“Who should I be?”

At their most fundamental level, what do codes of ethics serve to do?

Protect and promote the welfare of the client.

When attempting to make an ethical decision, counselors should take all of the following steps EXCEPT:

Consult with an attorney.

List a situation in which it is necessary to consult with colleagues?

When deciding whether to respond to a subpoena.

When a counselor discovers that a client holds values that are dramatically different from the counselor’s own values, what should the counselor do?

Respect the client’s values, even though the counselor disagrees with them.

Counselors with a strong professional identity are able to do which of the following?

All of these

What is a core belief that members of the counseling profession hold concerning helping others with their mental health concerns?

Prevention and early intervention are the most appropriate means to deal with emotional and personal problems.

How do counselors who practice from a developmental perspective view personal development?

View most problems people encounter as natural and normal since all developmental stages of life bring challenges.

What does counseling aim to help clients do?

Be empowered to problem-solve independently.

Within the counseling profession, what is the primary national voluntary certification agency?

National Board for Certified Counselors

Professionalism in counseling includes which of the following:

All of these

What is a fundamental tenet of the wellness model?

Mental health exists along a continuum.

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP):

Has been generally accepted as the model curriculum for training counselors.

What is the primary difference between counselors and other mental health professionals?

Counseling is the primary professional service that counselors provide.

What does the term “culturally encapsulated counselor” refer to?

Defines reality according to one set of cultural assumptions and fails to evaluate other viewpoints, which renders the counselor insensitive to cultural variations.

According to Ridley, give an example of unintentional racism?

Assuming that a client’s problems are due to the client’s cultural background.

When counseling a client from a racial, ethnic, or cultural group different from the counselor’s, what is important for the counselor to remember?

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

According to McIntosh, examples of White privilege include all of the following EXCEPT:

Growing up in a White middle or upper-class family environment.

What is the most important resource for counselors to use in learning about different racial, ethnic, or cultural groups?

Their clients.

Multicultural considerations were not given extensive attention in the ACA Code of Ethics until when?

The fourth version adopted in 1988.

When a counselor determines that a gay or lesbian client may have been illegally discriminated against, what should the counselor do?

Help the client determine whether or not to seek legal advice.

A new and notable development in the 21st century has been:

A focus on cultural bias in assessment

What did the court cases in Bruff and Walden demonstrate?

Counselors may be terminated from their employment if they take rigid positions regarding referring out LGBTQIQ clients.

Because clients may have emergencies between counseling sessions, it is usually wise for counselors to:

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

It is ethically permissible for counselors to terminate a counseling relationship for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

The client does not pay the fees charged.

Because counselors have a fiduciary relationship with their clients, counselors must:

Protect the best interests of their clients and not benefit inappropriately from the counselor-client relationship.

It is vital for counselors to become aware of their own personal needs and values so that they:

Can avoid getting their own personal needs met through their counseling relationships.

When clients seek counseling related to issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, interracial marriage, premarital sex, or sexual identity, counselors:

Must accept such clients for counseling services even if these issues distress counselors on a personal level.

Regarding counselors’ 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 client’s values can be accepted or rejected without risking the relationship.

All of the situations below may lead to client dependency EXCEPT:

Managed care programs that limit the number of counseling sessions.

When involuntary clients are required to sign documents waiving their privacy before beginning counseling sessions:

Counselors should carefully explain to clients the limits of their privacy within the counseling relationship.

The Informed Consent documents that clients sign before counseling sessions begin:

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

With respect to a client’s right to choose the time and means of his or her death, the ACA Code of Ethics:

Allows counselors the option to maintain confidentiality depending upon applicable laws and the specific circumstances of the situation after seeking consultation or supervision from appropriate professional and legal parties.

To avoid being sued by a client for abandonment, counselors are advised to:

Give the client adequate notice that the counselor is terminating the counseling relationship.

In two recent court cases, students in counseling master’s degree programs were dismissed from their training programs because they failed to::

Change their religious beliefs.

When choosing and implementing a counseling technique to use when counseling clients, counselors should be aware that:

Research has demonstrated that some techniques are more effective than others in working with particular concerns and mental disorders.

Research has shown that:

At least 30% of clients in counseling drop out prematurely.

With respect to confidentiality and privileged communication:

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

What do privileged communication statutes do?

Protect clients from having confidential communications with their counselors disclosed in a court of law without their permission.

Breaches of client confidentiality by counselors:

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

If a counselor is asked to disclose privileged information about a client who cannot be located, then the obligation to assert the privilege rests with:

The counselor.

When uncertain about the privileged status of information requested for disclosure through a subpoena, a counselor should consult with:

An attorney who represents the counselor or his or her employer.

Disclosure of confidential information is acceptable under all of the following conditions EXCEPT:

An attorney sends a counselor a subpoena.

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.

The Supreme Court ruling in Jaffe v. Redmond indicated that:

A societal stigma is still associated with seeking counseling.

Counselors DO NOT have an ethical obligation to uphold the confidentiality of information revealed to them when:

A family member of an adult client asks for information the client has revealed in an individual counseling session.

During the time that a counseling student is counseling clients in a practicum or internship setting, the student counselor:

Has the same ethical obligations to uphold confidentiality as does a licensed counselor.

Legal principles view the contents of a client’s counseling records as belonging to:

The client.

When counselor trainees make audiotapes or videotapes of counseling sessions for supervision purposes:

All of the above.

Generally, counselors create clinical case notes:

To protect themselves in the event they are later sued.

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.

When documenting for self-protection:

As much detail as possible (e.g., dates, times of events, and exact words spoken) should be included.

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

All of the above.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), which is sometimes referred to as the “Buckley Amendment,” affects all:

Public educational institutions.

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.

If a subpoena for the counseling records of a client is received, a counselor who works in a mental health agency should:

Ask his or her supervisor to obtain a legal opinion as to whether the records should be copied for the attorney who has issued the subpoena.

Subpoenas are used:

All of the above.

Keeping good records can benefit both counselors and clients in the following ways EXCEPT:

Proving that the counselor is not impaired or suffering from burnout.

When documenting for self-protection, counselors should not include:

Counselors’ thoughts, diagnoses, and conclusions.

What are the three major types of records that counselors keep?

Administrative, financial, and clinical case notes.

In compliance with the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1972, federally funded substance abuse programs can disclose client records under the following circumstances:

All of the above.

Per State v. Brown, 1985 and State v. Magnuson, 1984, ­­ what can be used against clients in criminal investigations and is not protected by the Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1972?

Clinical case notes

Counselor competency can be assured if:

There is no way to assure counselor competency.

Which of the following statements regarding counselor competence is FALSE?

Licensure ensures that practitioners are competent to do what their licenses permit them to do.

Graduate degree programs in counseling attempt to ensure their graduates are competent counselors by doing all of the following EXCEPT:

Eliminating from graduate programs any students who have their own emotional issues.

Registration is the form of state regulation of a profession that:

Protects a title, such as “Professional Counselor,” but anyone can practice the profession without being registered.

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

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

Give an argument AGAINST licensing specialties within the counseling profession (such as marriage and family counselors, rehabilitation counselors, career counselors, etc.)

It would confuse the public.

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

Clients should not be told the diagnosis that has been assigned to them.

Distressed counselors or counselors suffering from burnout are terms used to refer to:

Impaired counselors.

The primary purpose of diagnosis is to:

Help with effective treatment.

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

Take the steps necessary to prevent harm.

Studies regarding cultural bias in diagnosis have shown that:

African American clients are more likely to be diagnosed with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

The standard used to determine whether a particular counselor is qualified to administer and interpret a particular test:

Is not absolute and, thus, each counselor must make that determination for himself/herself.

Competence is most closely related to the moral principle of:

Do no harm.

The ACA Code of Ethics requires counselors to explain to clients, before testing takes place, all of the following EXCEPT:

That clients may ask questions while they are taking the test if any items are confusing to them.

With respect to what mental health professionals are qualified to diagnose using the DSM system:

The DSM manual specifically includes counselors as users of the DSM system.

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.

With respect to a counselor’s legal liability when a client commits suicide:

Very few lawsuits are filed against counselors due to client suicide.

It is impossible for counselors to understand all aspects of the law, but the best advice for counselors who face legal questions is to:

Educate themselves about the law and avoid lawyers.

Most legal issues faced by counselors involve:

Improper conduct complaints filed against them.

When you have an ethical question and you are having trouble making a decision, you should:

Consult with colleagues.

Counselors engage in many activities that could result in ethical complaints against them; however, they are still obligated to report:

Cases of suspected child abuse.

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

All of the above.

The primary purpose of the ACA Code of Ethics is:

To allow counselors to guide their own behavior.

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

The national ACA Ethics Committee.

If you believe another counselor is behaving in an unethical manner, what is the first thing you should do?

Discuss the matter with the counselor and attempt to get him or her to change the behavior.

If you determine that another counselor is engaging in an illegal activity:

You may decide to ignore the activity or take some kind of action, depending on the situation.

If a formal ethics complaint is filed against you, you should NOT:

Consult with an attorney.

Counselors have a duty to warn intended victims of their clients in all states EXCEPT:

Texas

To avoid accusations of unethical or illegal behavior, the authors suggested the following regarding counselor self-disclosure:

Document all self-disclosures in clinical case notes.

When an ethical complaint is filed against a counselor and is pending an investigation, an employer may not:

Deny a promotion solely based upon the filing of an ethical complaint.

It would be ethically permissible for you to consider entering into a bartering arrangement with a prospective client if:

Bartering is an acceptable practice among other professionals in your community.

Friendships with former clients:

Generally, should be avoided because they create a potential for problems.

Boundaries serve to protect the welfare of clients because:

Clients are vulnerable in counseling relationships.

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.

Regarding dual relationships between counselors and clients:

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