Chapter 8: Ethical & Legal Issues Facing Helpers Key
1. The following is true concerning ethical issues:
2. It may be necessary to make a referral when
3. In light of recent court cases, there is a duty to report when
4. Lois, a first-year intern, is assigned the case of a male client who discloses that he is confused about his
sexuality and is plagued with feelings of guilt because his wife of ten years has no idea about his confusion. He
reveals that he is tempted to be unfaithful to his wife in order to explore his sexuality. Overwhelmed and
uncomfortable, Lois truly does not know how to proceed. It would be best if Lois would
5. The following is a way to prevent malpractice suits:
6. In dealing with ethical dilemmas, it is important to realize that:
7. Which of the following is not a major purpose of codes of ethics?
8. Regarding following ethics codes, which is false?
9. Of the following, which is the first step in making an ethical decision?
10. Regarding informed consent, all of the following are true except for one statement. Which one is false?
11. Regarding incest and child abuse,
12. Clients have a right to know that:
13. In dealing with an HIV positive client who refuses to disclose his or her condition to a partner,
14. Of the following, perhaps the major goal of mental health managed care is:
15. Under a managed care system, confidentiality
16. Under managed care programs, utilization review refers to
17. Under managed care programs, termination of therapy is generally the result of
18. Which of the following statements is false as it applies to managed care?
19. When laws and ethics collide and conflict cannot be avoided, practitioners should
20. It is a good idea for helpers to obtain legal consultation about the procedures they use in their practice
because
21. With regard to making ethical decisions, which of the following statements is not true?
22. Which type of helping specialty does not have an affiliation with a professional organization that has a code
of ethics?
23. Informal peer monitoring
24. Poor ethical decisions often result from
25. One of the best precautions against malpractice is personal and professional honesty and openness with
clients.
26. The only time mental health professionals can disclose confidential information is in those specific cases
where a client authorizes this.
27. It is not necessary for school counselors to inform students they see about the limitations of confidentiality,
for if such limitations were made known to students, it is highly unlikely that they would seek counseling.
28. Ethical codes are necessary and sufficient for the exercise of ethical responsibility.
29. Formal ethical principles can never be substituted for an active, deliberative, and creative approach to
meeting ethical responsibilities.
30. Developing a sense of professional and ethical responsibility is a task never completely finished.
31. Getting a client’s informed consent involves a delicate balance between telling him or her too little and
overwhelming the client with too much information too soon.
32. State laws spell out special circumstances under which confidentiality must be compromised.
33. It is best to involve the inclusion of clients as collaborators in those cases where therapists need to make
ethical decisions.
34. In the context of school counseling, protection of confidentiality and privacy is generally not a key concern.
35. As long as school counselors act in an ethical and reasonable manner, they are protected from legal
sanctions.
36. It is considered below the standard of care to fail to keep current records for all a helper’s professional
contacts.
37. Practitioners who keep two kinds of client records are guilty of fraud and are highly vulnerable to
malpractice suits.
38. Informed consent is a legal doctrine that is rooted in the law’s recognition of the importance of self-
determination.
39. Confidentiality cannot be compromised, even in cases when a client’s records are subpoenaed.
40. As a general rule, practitioners are held legally liable for their failure to predict violent behavior of a client.
41. Asking clients to sign a form at the initial session does not discharge your duty toward informed consent.
42. The HIPAA privacy rule applies to both paper and electronic transmissions of protected health information
by covered entities.
43. Your client’s clinical record should never be altered after you have documented information into the record.
44. Following the minimal legal requirements is sufficient to demonstrate that one is practicing good risk
management.