Chapter 3- Ethical Issues in Counseling Practice
MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST ITEMS
1. In becoming an ethical practitioner, a crucial task is to: (p. 38)
a. learn how to arrive at clear-cut answers for difficult situations.
b. identify a specific ethical code as the source of answers to ethical dilemmas.
c. learn how to interpret and apply ethical codes to an ethical dilemma.
d. avoid making any mistakes in counseling practice.
e. discover the correct solution for every ethical dilemma that might arise.
2. According to the text, the challenge of providing informed consent consists of: (p. 41)
a. telling clients about the nature of confidentiality.
b. striking a balance between giving clients too much and too little information about the
therapeutic process.
c. convincing clients that counselors know what they are doing.
d. teaching clients about state laws that pertain to counseling.
e. getting clients to read the ethical codes of the profession.
3. Many ethical codes state that dual relationships: (p. 49)
a. should be avoided whenever possible.
b. are clearly grounds for revocation of one’s professional license.
c. are helpful in case of counseling one’s friends or relatives.
d. are impossible to avoid.
e. always result in serious harm to the client.
4. Confidentiality can be considered as: (p. 41-42)
a. an absolute that guarantees clients that their disclosures will never be revealed.
b. central to developing trust in the therapeutic relationship.
c. both an ethical and a legal issue.
d. something that is limited under specific circumstances.
e. all but (a)
5. Confidentiality must be breached and information must be reported by practitioners when: (p. 42)
a. clients pose a danger to others.
b. a child under the age of 16 is the victim of incest, rape, or child abuse.
c. an older adult is being abused.
d. the therapist determines that the client needs immediate, involuntary hospitalization.
e. all of the above
6. Which of the following statements is not true about guidelines for ethical practice in counseling and
psychotherapy? (p. 37)
a. Most professional organizations provide broad guidelines.
b. Therapists ultimately have to discover their own guidelines for reasonable practice.
c. Practitioners are free to formulate any ethics they choose.
d. Ethical issues should be periodically reexamined throughout your professional life.
e. There are differences of opinion among practitioners about how ethical guidelines apply to
certain situations.
7. Under what circumstances should a therapist consult with colleagues or specialists? (p. 37)
a. when a client complains of physical symptoms
b. when facing an ethical problem
c. when working with a client for an extended period of time and losing objectivity
d. all of the above
8. Clients have a right to be informed about: (p. 40-41)
a. their therapist’s qualifications.
b. the general goals of counseling.
c. the approximate length of the therapeutic process.
d. all of the above
9. Both feminist therapists and postmodern therapists tend to view diagnosis as it is traditionally done:
(p. 46)
a. as an appropriate part of counseling sessions.
b. as generally helpful to women clients.
c. as an essential part of the medical model they follow.
d. as often oppressive and ignoring of societal contexts.
10. Among the ethical issues related to multicultural counseling are the problems of: (p. 43)
a. using interventions that were developed in a different cultural context.
b. counseling culturally different clients by a therapist who has not been taught the necessary
skills.
c. helping clients to accept the values of the dominant culture that they have chosen to live in and
be a part of.
d. all of the above
e. both (a) and (b)
11. According to the text, positive ethics is a practice in which counselors: (p. 37)
a. do what is mandated by professional standards.
b. base their ethical decisions on what is best for their clients rather than minimum standards
of care.
c. strive for the highest level of ethical practice.
d. strictly adhere to lengthy ethics codes, even if this is not in the client’s best interest.
12. Most clinicians agree that the process of diagnosis is: (p. 45)
a. a barrier to understanding the client’s subjective world.
b. an important method of describing individuals with mental disorders.
c. heavily influenced by cultural considerations.
d. counterproductive to the therapeutic relationship.
13. Assessment is a useful method of: (p. 46)
a. evaluating a client’s current level of functioning.
b. forming a case conceptualization.
c. involving the client as an active participant in treatment.
d. gaining insight into the client’s subjective world.
e. all of the above
14. Evidenced-based practices: (p. 47)
a. are broadly designed to treat a wide variety of symptoms.
b. are tailored to address specific problems and symptoms.
c. are founded on empirical research.
d. are generally lengthy.
e. both (b) and (c) are true
15. Ethical considerations for therapists delivering evidence-based treatments include: (p. 48)
a. loss of focus on the individual client’s unique concerns.
b. the counselor’s theory.
c. pressure to provide brief treatments may cause a conflict of interest in client care.
d. none of the above
e. both (a) and (c) are true
ANSWER KEY FOR CHAPTER 3
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS