ASPPB Ethical Standards & Professional Conduct 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A psychologist discovers mid-treatment that a new client is the ex-spouse of a current client. What is the most ethically appropriate first step?
- Continue treating both clients without disclosure
- Immediately terminate one client without explanation
- Assess the potential for conflict of interest and consult before proceeding (Correct answer)
- Refer both clients to other providers immediately
Correct answer: Assess the potential for conflict of interest and consult before proceeding
APA ethics require psychologists to assess conflicts of interest and consult when dual relationships arise unexpectedly during treatment.
Question 2: Under the APA Ethics Code, when is it permissible for a psychologist to disclose confidential information without client consent to protect a third party?
- Whenever the psychologist judges it beneficial
- Only when the threat is serious, credible, and imminent (Correct answer)
- When a family member requests the information
- Only after a court order is obtained
Correct answer: Only when the threat is serious, credible, and imminent
The duty to protect third parties is triggered only when a threat is serious, credible, and imminent, consistent with Tarasoff-influenced ethical standards.
Question 3: A psychologist providing telepsychology services to a client who has moved to another state must primarily ensure:
- The client has a stable internet connection
- Compliance with licensure laws in the client's new state (Correct answer)
- That sessions are recorded for quality assurance
- The client signs a new financial agreement
Correct answer: Compliance with licensure laws in the client's new state
Practicing across state lines without appropriate licensure violates both ethical standards and legal requirements governing telepsychology.
Question 4: Which situation best illustrates the ethical principle of nonmaleficence in psychological practice?
- Providing pro bono services to underserved populations
- Refraining from using an assessment tool with known cultural bias on a diverse client (Correct answer)
- Sharing research findings with the professional community
- Obtaining informed consent before beginning treatment
Correct answer: Refraining from using an assessment tool with known cultural bias on a diverse client
Nonmaleficence requires avoiding harm, including refraining from using biased instruments that could produce harmful or invalid results for diverse clients.
Question 5: A supervisee discloses to their supervisor that they falsified data in a case note. The supervisor's ethical obligation is to:
- Keep the disclosure confidential to protect the supervisee
- Address the misconduct directly and report per organizational and legal requirements (Correct answer)
- Immediately terminate the supervisory relationship
- Consult only with close colleagues informally
Correct answer: Address the misconduct directly and report per organizational and legal requirements
Supervisors bear ethical responsibility for supervisee conduct and must address misconduct through appropriate channels per APA and licensing board standards.
Question 6: When a psychologist is asked to perform a forensic evaluation on a former therapy client, the primary ethical concern is:
- The client's ability to afford the evaluation
- The role conflict created by shifting from a therapeutic to an evaluative relationship (Correct answer)
- Whether the referral source is a licensed professional
- The length of time since therapy ended
Correct answer: The role conflict created by shifting from a therapeutic to an evaluative relationship
Forensic evaluators must maintain objectivity, which is compromised when they have a prior therapeutic relationship with the evaluee.
Question 7: A psychologist who has been treating a client for anxiety learns the client is also receiving treatment from another mental health professional for the same issue. The psychologist should:
- Immediately discharge the client for non-disclosure
- Seek the client's consent to coordinate care with the other provider (Correct answer)
- Continue treatment without addressing the overlap
- Report the other provider to the licensing board
Correct answer: Seek the client's consent to coordinate care with the other provider
Coordinating care with client consent promotes welfare and avoids conflicting treatment plans, consistent with ethical competence and beneficence.
ASPPB Ethical Standards & Professional Conduct 2
A psychologist discovers mid-treatment that a new client is the ex-spouse of a current client.
What is the most ethically appropriate first step?