Ethical Practices & Cultural Competency Flashcards

A bilingual crisis counselor is the only staff member who speaks a client's language. Using a client's child to interpret crisis-related information is:

Answer: Generally inappropriate because it burdens the child and compromises confidentiality

Using minors as interpreters places an inappropriate burden on children and violates the client's confidentiality and right to professional service.

The ethical principle of fidelity in crisis counseling primarily refers to:

Answer: Honoring commitments, keeping promises, and being trustworthy with clients

Fidelity involves being faithful to commitments made to clients, including maintaining confidentiality and following through on agreements.

A crisis counselor receives a friend request on social media from a current client. The most appropriate response is to:

Answer: Decline and address the boundary issue in the next session if clinically relevant

Accepting social media connections with clients blurs professional boundaries; the counselor should decline and use it as a clinical opportunity if appropriate.

A Latinx client in crisis repeatedly references family honor ('familismo') as central to her distress. A culturally competent counselor would:

Answer: Integrate the client's familismo values into the crisis conceptualization and intervention

Familismo is a core cultural value for many Latinx clients; effective crisis work must incorporate rather than pathologize these cultural strengths.

An ethical crisis counselor who realizes they are experiencing vicarious trauma should first:

Answer: Seek supervision, consultation, or personal counseling to address the impact on their functioning

Self-care and seeking support are ethical obligations; unaddressed vicarious trauma impairs a counselor's ability to provide competent care.

Which scenario most clearly violates the ethical standard of professional competence?

Answer: A counselor independently treats a client with complex PTSD without relevant training or supervision

Providing treatment without sufficient training or supervision directly violates competence standards and risks harm to the client.

When a crisis counselor encounters a client whose worldview sharply conflicts with the counselor's own values, the ethical obligation is to:

Answer: Provide competent, non-judgmental services or refer if the value conflict impairs care

Counselors must provide competent services regardless of value differences; referral is ethical only if the conflict demonstrably impairs the counselor's effectiveness.