CCIS Ethics, Legal Issues & Professional Boundaries 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A counselor is subpoenaed to testify about a client's statements made during crisis counseling. The counselor should first:
- Provide all records and testimony requested by the court
- Immediately disclose all client information to avoid contempt
- Consult with an attorney and assert privilege on the client's behalf (Correct answer)
- Notify the client's family before responding
Correct answer: Consult with an attorney and assert privilege on the client's behalf
Upon receiving a subpoena, counselors should seek legal guidance and assert privileged communication protections until a court orders otherwise.
Question 2: The Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California ruling established that therapists have a duty to:
- Maintain confidentiality for all client disclosures
- Warn identifiable third parties of credible threats made by clients (Correct answer)
- Hospitalize any client who expresses violent ideation
- Report all threats to law enforcement within 24 hours
Correct answer: Warn identifiable third parties of credible threats made by clients
Tarasoff established the duty to protect identifiable third parties from credible, serious threats made by clients.
Question 3: A crisis counselor discloses personal struggles with depression to a client, saying it will help the client feel understood. This is best described as:
- Appropriate empathic self-disclosure
- A therapeutic technique to normalize the client's experience
- An inappropriate boundary crossing that serves the counselor's needs (Correct answer)
- A violation of the duty to warn
Correct answer: An inappropriate boundary crossing that serves the counselor's needs
Self-disclosure is ethically appropriate only when it serves the client's therapeutic needs, not the counselor's need for connection or validation.
Question 4: Which standard guides crisis counselors in determining whether their actions could be considered negligent?
- The best interest standard
- The reasonable care standard (Correct answer)
- The beneficence standard
- The do-no-harm standard
Correct answer: The reasonable care standard
Negligence is evaluated against what a reasonably competent professional with similar training would have done under the same circumstances.
Question 5: A minor calls a crisis hotline but refuses to identify themselves or their location. Regarding confidentiality, the counselor must:
- Immediately call 911 because minors cannot consent to services
- Continue to engage the caller while assessing risk, respecting their anonymity unless imminent danger exists (Correct answer)
- Terminate the call if the caller will not provide identifying information
- Transfer the call to a supervisor before proceeding
Correct answer: Continue to engage the caller while assessing risk, respecting their anonymity unless imminent danger exists
Crisis counselors should engage anonymous callers and assess risk, breaking confidentiality only when imminent danger is established.
Question 6: An ethically appropriate informed consent process for crisis services must include:
- A guarantee of positive outcomes and symptom resolution
- Disclosure of the limits of confidentiality before services begin (Correct answer)
- The client's agreement to unlimited session length
- Signed consent from a family member for all adult clients
Correct answer: Disclosure of the limits of confidentiality before services begin
Informed consent must include the limits of confidentiality—such as mandatory reporting and duty-to-warn obligations—before crisis services commence.
Question 7: A crisis counselor disagrees with a client's decision to refuse hospitalization. The client is competent and not imminently dangerous. The counselor's ethical obligation is to:
- Override the refusal and arrange involuntary commitment
- Respect the client's autonomy while providing safety planning (Correct answer)
- Consult the client's family to make the decision for them
- Discontinue services until the client agrees to hospitalization
Correct answer: Respect the client's autonomy while providing safety planning
Competent, non-dangerous clients retain the right to refuse treatment; counselors must respect autonomy while offering safety-focused alternatives.
CCIS Ethics, Legal Issues & Professional Boundaries 3
A counselor is subpoenaed to testify about a client's statements made during crisis counseling.
The counselor should first: