CCIS Ethics, Legal Issues & Professional Boundaries 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A crisis counselor learns that a client they worked with last week is now being seen by a colleague. The counselor mentions the client's name and crisis details in the break room. This action most directly violates which ethical principle?
- Autonomy
- Confidentiality (Correct answer)
- Nonmaleficence
- Fidelity
Correct answer: Confidentiality
Disclosing a client's identity and crisis details to others without consent is a direct breach of confidentiality.
Question 2: Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), when may a crisis counselor share protected health information without client authorization?
- When a family member requests an update
- To avert a serious and imminent threat to the client or others (Correct answer)
- When law enforcement requests information for routine purposes
- When the client has not signed a consent form
Correct answer: To avert a serious and imminent threat to the client or others
HIPAA permits disclosure without authorization when necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
Question 3: A crisis counselor who previously provided services to a client now wants to enter a personal friendship with that person. Which concept best explains why this is ethically problematic?
- Dual relationship (Correct answer)
- Informed consent
- Transference
- Duty to warn
Correct answer: Dual relationship
Forming a personal friendship with a former client creates a dual relationship that can blur professional boundaries and exploit the therapeutic connection.
Question 4: State law requires a crisis counselor to report all suspected child abuse. A client discloses abuse but begs the counselor not to report it. What is the counselor's legal obligation?
- Honor the client's request to maintain therapeutic trust
- Use clinical judgment to decide whether reporting is necessary
- File a mandated report regardless of the client's wishes (Correct answer)
- Consult a supervisor before deciding whether to report
Correct answer: File a mandated report regardless of the client's wishes
Mandated reporting laws supersede client preferences; counselors are legally required to report suspected child abuse.
Question 5: A crisis worker continues seeing a client whose presenting issues have evolved beyond the worker's training in substance use disorders. Which ethical duty is most relevant?
- Duty to warn
- Competence (Correct answer)
- Nonmaleficence
- Justice
Correct answer: Competence
Practitioners are ethically obligated to practice only within the boundaries of their competence and training.
Question 6: A crisis counselor accepts expensive gifts from a client who is grateful for their help. This behavior primarily raises concerns about which ethical area?
- Self-disclosure
- Boundary violations (Correct answer)
- Informed consent
- Supervision requirements
Correct answer: Boundary violations
Accepting significant gifts from clients creates a boundary violation that can compromise the professional relationship and objectivity.
Question 7: Which legal doctrine gives involuntarily hospitalized individuals the right to receive adequate treatment, not just custody?
- Parens patriae
- Right to refuse treatment
- Right to treatment (Correct answer)
- Least restrictive alternative
Correct answer: Right to treatment
The right to treatment doctrine, established in Wyatt v. Stickney, requires that involuntarily committed individuals receive adequate care.
CCIS Ethics, Legal Issues & Professional Boundaries 2
A crisis counselor learns that a client they worked with last week is now being seen by a colleague.
The counselor mentions the client's name and crisis details in the break room.
This action most directly violates which ethical principle?