CASAC Ethical and Professional Responsibilities 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CASAC counselor discovers that a colleague is romantically involved with a current client. What is the counselor's PRIMARY ethical obligation?
- Ignore it unless the client complains
- Report the violation to the appropriate supervisor or ethics board (Correct answer)
- Confront the colleague privately and let them self-correct
- Transfer the client to another counselor without reporting
Correct answer: Report the violation to the appropriate supervisor or ethics board
Dual relationships involving sexual or romantic contact are serious ethical violations that must be reported to supervisory or regulatory authorities.
Question 2: Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a CASAC counselor may disclose PHI without client authorization in which situation?
- To satisfy the curiosity of another treatment team member
- To respond to a valid court order or subpoena (Correct answer)
- To inform the client's employer of treatment progress
- To share information with the client's adult siblings
Correct answer: To respond to a valid court order or subpoena
HIPAA permits disclosure of PHI without authorization when required by a valid legal order such as a court subpoena.
Question 3: A client tells their CASAC counselor they plan to drive home while heavily intoxicated. The counselor's BEST response is to:
- Respect client autonomy and end the session
- Contact the client's family without the client's knowledge
- Attempt to prevent the client from driving and offer safer alternatives (Correct answer)
- File a report with the DMV immediately
Correct answer: Attempt to prevent the client from driving and offer safer alternatives
Imminent danger to self or others justifies intervention; counselors should first attempt to prevent harm through least-restrictive means.
Question 4: Which ethical principle obligates a CASAC counselor to keep promises and honor commitments made to clients?
- Nonmaleficence
- Autonomy
- Fidelity (Correct answer)
- Justice
Correct answer: Fidelity
Fidelity refers to the duty to be honest, keep commitments, and build trustworthy therapeutic relationships.
Question 5: A CASAC counselor working in private practice wants to advertise their services online. Ethically, the advertisement MUST:
- List fees for every possible service
- Include client testimonials to build credibility
- Be accurate and not make false or misleading claims (Correct answer)
- Guarantee successful treatment outcomes
Correct answer: Be accurate and not make false or misleading claims
Ethical advertising requires truthful, non-deceptive representations and prohibits guarantees of outcomes or misleading statements.
Question 6: When a minor client's parent requests access to all session notes, the counselor should FIRST:
- Provide all records immediately without review
- Consult applicable state law and agency policy on minor confidentiality (Correct answer)
- Refuse outright citing confidentiality
- Ask the minor's permission and, if refused, deny the parent
Correct answer: Consult applicable state law and agency policy on minor confidentiality
Minor confidentiality rights vary by state and by the type of treatment; the counselor must review applicable law and policy before acting.
Question 7: A CASAC counselor who realizes they lack the competence to treat a client's co-occurring eating disorder should:
- Continue treatment while researching the disorder independently
- Refer the client to a qualified professional and coordinate care (Correct answer)
- Diagnose the eating disorder and add it to the treatment plan
- Discharge the client immediately
Correct answer: Refer the client to a qualified professional and coordinate care
Ethical practice requires counselors to work within their scope of competence and refer clients when specialized expertise is needed.
CASAC Ethical and Professional Responsibilities 4
A CASAC counselor discovers that a colleague is romantically involved with a current client.
What is the counselor's PRIMARY ethical obligation?