CAADE Ethical & Legal Considerations in Substance Abuse Counseling 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CAADE-certified counselor is subpoenaed to testify about a client's treatment. Without a client waiver, the counselor should:
- Comply fully with the subpoena and provide all records
- Appear and assert the client's confidentiality protections until a court order is issued (Correct answer)
- Refuse to appear and ignore the subpoena
- Provide records to the court but not testify verbally
Correct answer: Appear and assert the client's confidentiality protections until a court order is issued
A subpoena alone does not override 42 CFR Part 2 or state confidentiality; the counselor should appear, assert protections, and await a proper court order.
Question 2: Which ethical principle most directly prohibits a counselor from entering into a business partnership with a current client?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Avoiding dual relationships (Correct answer)
- Veracity
Correct answer: Avoiding dual relationships
Dual relationship prohibitions prevent counselors from engaging in business, personal, or romantic relationships with clients that could impair professional objectivity.
Question 3: A client signs a release allowing their employer to receive information about their treatment progress. The counselor may ethically disclose:
- All session content, including sensitive personal disclosures
- Only the specific information the client authorized in the release (Correct answer)
- A general summary including diagnoses not mentioned in the release
- Nothing, because employer releases are ethically prohibited
Correct answer: Only the specific information the client authorized in the release
A release of information authorizes disclosure only of what is explicitly stated; counselors may not exceed the scope of the client's consent.
Question 4: The ethical principle of 'fidelity' in counseling means the counselor must:
- Always achieve positive treatment outcomes for clients
- Honor commitments and keep promises made to clients (Correct answer)
- Treat all clients equally regardless of their circumstances
- Advocate for the client's legal rights in court
Correct answer: Honor commitments and keep promises made to clients
Fidelity refers to faithfulness to commitments, including being honest, keeping promises, and maintaining trustworthiness in the therapeutic relationship.
Question 5: A counselor working in a faith-based recovery program has strong religious beliefs that conflict with a client's lifestyle. Ethically, the counselor should:
- Share personal religious views to guide the client toward better choices
- Provide competent, non-judgmental services or refer the client if personal beliefs impair effectiveness (Correct answer)
- Refuse services and document the client's non-compliance with program values
- Ask the client to adopt a neutral stance on lifestyle issues during treatment
Correct answer: Provide competent, non-judgmental services or refer the client if personal beliefs impair effectiveness
Ethical codes require counselors to set aside personal values that would impair their effectiveness, and to refer clients when those values cannot be reconciled with providing competent care.
Question 6: Under California law, mandated reporting of child abuse by a substance abuse counselor is triggered by:
- A client's history of childhood abuse they experienced themselves
- Reasonable suspicion that a child is currently being abused or neglected (Correct answer)
- A client reporting another adult's abusive behavior toward a child they know
- Any mention of a child in a session involving a client with a criminal record
Correct answer: Reasonable suspicion that a child is currently being abused or neglected
Mandated reporters in California must report when they have reasonable suspicion—not proof—that a child is currently being abused or neglected.
Question 7: An ethical issue arising when a counselor accepts gifts from a client is best described as a concern about:
- Boundary violations that may compromise therapeutic objectivity (Correct answer)
- Revenue reporting obligations under California tax law
- Violation of mandatory reporting duties
- Breach of the counselor's scope of practice
Correct answer: Boundary violations that may compromise therapeutic objectivity
Accepting gifts from clients can blur professional boundaries, create power imbalances, and compromise the counselor's ability to make objective clinical decisions.
CAADE Ethical & Legal Considerations in Substance Abuse Counseling 3
A CAADE-certified counselor is subpoenaed to testify about a client's treatment.
Without a client waiver, the counselor should: