Chapter 4: Client Rights and Counselor Responsibilities
1. The court cases in Bruff and Walden demonstrated that
a. counselors with strong religious beliefs against abortion should refer clients who wish
to explore whether or not to terminate a pregnancy
b. counselors who work in secular community agencies should not discuss religion with
clients
c. counselors should carefully explain each possible exception to privacy before
beginning the counseling relationship.
d. counselors may be terminated from their employment if they take rigid positions
regarding referring LGBTQIQ clients
e. counselors can successfully claim that their Title VII of the Civil Rights Act have
been violated if they refuse to counsel LGBTQIQ clients
2. Because clients may have emergencies between counseling sessions, it is usually wise for
counselors to
a. instruct clients to call a 24-hour mental health hotline number or report to a hospital
emergency room.
b. give clients their home phone number.
c. supply clients with a pager number by which the counselor may be reached.
d. avoid accepting clients for counseling who may have between session emergencies.
e. explain to clients that any situation they are dealing with can be resolved at the next
regularly scheduled counseling session.
3. It is ethically permissible for counselors to terminate a counseling relationship for all of the
following reasons EXCEPT
a. the client does not pay the fees charged.
b. it is clear the client is no longer benefitting from counseling.
c. agency limits do not allow services to continue.
d. insurance benefits for mental health care have been exhausted.
e. the client experiences a crisis.
4. Because counselors have a fiduciary relationship with their clients, counselors must
a. ensure their client’s finances are being handled properly.
b. protect the best interests of their clients and not benefit inappropriately from the
counselor-client relationship.
c. ensure that clients do what is best for themselves.
d. act as the client’s guardian if the client cannot care for himself or herself.
e. make arrangements for clients to be taken care of by family members or close friends
if their clients can no longer care for themselves.
5. It is vital for counselors to become aware of their own personal needs and values so that
they
a. know which of their values they can encourage clients to adopt.
b. can avoid accepting clients who hold values that are different from their own values.
c. can avoid getting their own personal needs met through their counseling relationships.
d. can give clients advice that is congruent with the counselor’s value system.
e. can choose a counseling specialty that allows them to get their personal needs met
while providing counseling services to others.
6. When clients seek counseling related to issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, interracial
marriage, premarital sex, or sexual identity, counselors
a. must accept such clients for counseling services even if these issues distress
counselors on a personal level.
b. must be able to rise above any personal feelings they have about such issues and have
an obligation to assist all clients who come to them for services.
c. must examine their own values regarding these issues to ensure they can provide
counseling services without allowing their own beliefs to interfere.
d. should immediately refer such clients to other counselors who specialize in
counseling persons with those particular concerns.
e. should accept such clients for counseling only if the counselor has experienced such
issues in his or her personal life and has successfully resolved them.
7. Regarding counselors’ personal values, counselors
a. must always avoid disclosing their own personal values to their clients.
b. should avoid discussions of values if their own values conflict with those of their
clients.
c. 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.
d. could disclose their values to a client, but only if the counselor holds the same values
as the client.
e. should disclose their values to clients so that clients see the counselor as genuine and
authentic.
8. All of the situations below may lead to client dependency EXCEPT
a. managed care programs that limit the number of counseling sessions.
b. the requirement in internship that counselors in training have a minimum number of
client contact hours.
c. the belief that a counselor is effective if the client returns for counseling sessions on a
regular basis.
d. a counselor has a strong need to be needed by others.
e. it is less risky for clients to maintain close relationships with counselors than with
others in their lives .
9. When involuntary clients are required to sign documents waiving their privacy before
beginning counseling sessions,
a. counselors should refuse to counsel these clients who have been forced into
counseling.
b. the client in these situations is the agency forcing the client into counseling, not the
client himself or herself.
c. counselors then have no responsibility to maintain the client’s privacy.
d. counselors should warn clients that they should never say anything in counseling
sessions that may put them in a difficult situation with the person or agency that has
mandated their counseling sessions.
e. counselors should carefully explain to clients the limits of their privacy within the
counseling relationship.
10. Informed consent documents that clients sign before counseling sessions begin
a. are not required under the federal HIPAA rules.
b. are required by law in every state.
c. are mandated by the ACA Code of Ethics.
d. are a good way to inform clients of their rights and responsibilities and are required
by some federal rules and state laws.
e. serve no useful purpose if counselors have put considerable effort into carefully
explaining the information to their clients orally and have assured themselves that
their clients understand.
11. With respect to a client’s right to choose the time and means of his or her death, the ACA
Code of Ethics
a. requires counselors to uphold the client’s confidentiality when the client discloses
such an
intention.
b. does not address this issue directly.
c. allows counselors the option of counseling the client regarding this issue or referring
the client to another helping professional.
d. requires counselors to warn a physician or family member that the client is
considering taking his or her own life.
e. acknowledges that counselors are not properly trained to assist clients with a medical
issue such as end-of-life decision making.
12. To avoid being sued by a client for abandonment, counselors are advised to
a. terminate a counseling relationship if the client becomes angry with the counselor.
b. refer the client if the client gets into a life-threatening crisis situation.
c. give notice of termination orally, but put nothing in writing.
d. give the client adequate notice that the counselor is terminating the
counseling relationship.
e. continue to see the client if the client refuses a referral to another counselor.
13.In two recent court cases, students in counseling master’s degree programs were dismissed
from their training programs because they failed to
a. demonstrate basic listening skills
b. change their religious beliefs
c. learn to counsel LGBTQIQ clients effectively
d. complete the required number of direct contact hours working with
clients during practicum
e. refer clients whose diagnoses were so severe that they lacked
competence to counsel these clients
14.When choosing and implementing a counseling technique to use when counseling clients,
counselors should be aware that
a. research has demonstrated that some techniques are more effective than
others in working with particular concerns and mental disorders
b. conversion or reparative therapy should be used cautiously
c. counselors should avoid choosing techniques based on the counselors’
theoretical orientation
d. clients depend on counselors to choose the best techniques and should not
be asked to help select the techniques to be implemented
e. it is best not to discuss potential risks of counseling techniques as clients
might be frightened into terminating counseling prematurely
15.Research has shown that
a. clients are unlikely to drop out of counseling prematurely if their counselors
are warm and empathic
b. counselors are generally willing to continue to counsel clients, at no cost
to clients, when the clients’ insurance benefits have run out
c. at least 30% of clients in counseling drop out prematurely
d. clients very rarely drop out of counseling without giving the counselor an
explanation
e. the average adult client completes 6 counseling sessions no matter how many
sessions are authorized by the client’s health insurance provider
Chapter Four