CTC Ethical Standards & Family Engagement 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CTC consultant discovers that a child's parent is sharing session details on social media without identifying the child by name. What is the most appropriate first response?
- Terminate services immediately
- Contact the parent privately to discuss confidentiality expectations and boundaries (Correct answer)
- Report the parent to child protective services
- Ignore the situation since no names were used
Correct answer: Contact the parent privately to discuss confidentiality expectations and boundaries
Consultants should address confidentiality breaches directly with the family through a private, collaborative conversation before escalating.
Question 2: Which ethical principle requires a CTC consultant to acknowledge and work through personal biases when engaging traumatized families from different cultural backgrounds?
- Nonmaleficence
- Cultural humility (Correct answer)
- Veracity
- Autonomy
Correct answer: Cultural humility
Cultural humility is the ongoing practice of self-reflection and acknowledging personal biases to provide equitable, effective trauma-informed care.
Question 3: A family requests a copy of a child's trauma assessment report. Under ethical standards, the consultant should:
- Refuse because assessment records are clinical property
- Provide a copy after confirming proper consent and reviewing any potential harm (Correct answer)
- Only release records to the child's physician
- Require a court order before releasing any records
Correct answer: Provide a copy after confirming proper consent and reviewing any potential harm
Clients generally have the right to access their records, but the consultant should review the request and ensure release does not cause harm.
Question 4: When working with a foster family, a CTC consultant learns the foster parent is also the child's Sunday school teacher. This situation represents a:
- Therapeutic alliance
- Dual relationship (Correct answer)
- Transference issue
- Scope of practice violation
Correct answer: Dual relationship
A dual relationship exists when a professional has more than one role with the same person, requiring careful ethical management.
Question 5: Informed consent for trauma-focused services with a minor should include which of the following elements?
- Assurance that all disclosures remain confidential
- Explanation of services, risks, benefits, and limits of confidentiality (Correct answer)
- A guarantee of treatment success
- Parent's right to access all session content without restriction
Correct answer: Explanation of services, risks, benefits, and limits of confidentiality
Proper informed consent covers the nature of services, potential risks and benefits, and the specific circumstances under which confidentiality may be broken.
Question 6: A consultant is working with a family where the non-offending parent minimizes the child's disclosure of abuse. The ethically appropriate response is to:
- Side with the child and exclude the parent from sessions
- Validate both perspectives without challenging the parent's denial
- Provide psychoeducation to the parent while maintaining the child's safety as the priority (Correct answer)
- Transfer the case immediately to avoid conflict
Correct answer: Provide psychoeducation to the parent while maintaining the child's safety as the priority
Supporting the non-offending parent through education and empathic engagement is critical, while always centering the child's safety and well-being.
Question 7: Which scenario best illustrates a boundary violation in the context of family engagement?
- Answering a parent's question about community resources
- Accepting a substantial gift from a grateful family after successful treatment (Correct answer)
- Providing a family with written psychoeducation materials
- Collaborating with a school counselor about a child's trauma history with consent
Correct answer: Accepting a substantial gift from a grateful family after successful treatment
Accepting gifts of significant value from clients crosses professional boundaries and can compromise objectivity and the therapeutic relationship.
CTC Ethical Standards & Family Engagement 2
A CTC consultant discovers that a child's parent is sharing session details on social media without identifying the child by name.
What is the most appropriate first response?