EFT Practitioner Ethics and Professional Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A former client contacts the practitioner six months after sessions ended, expressing romantic interest. What is the most ethical response?
- Begin a relationship since the professional relationship has ended
- Decline, as post-termination romantic relationships are ethically problematic due to the power dynamic (Correct answer)
- Consult with colleagues before making a decision
- Agree if the client feels the relationship is appropriate
Correct answer: Decline, as post-termination romantic relationships are ethically problematic due to the power dynamic
The power differential created in a therapeutic relationship persists beyond termination, making romantic relationships ethically inappropriate.
Question 2: What does 'scope of practice' mean for an EFT practitioner?
- The number of clients a practitioner can see per week
- The boundaries of what a practitioner is trained and qualified to do (Correct answer)
- The geographic area where a practitioner is allowed to work
- The specific EFT protocols approved by the certification body
Correct answer: The boundaries of what a practitioner is trained and qualified to do
Scope of practice defines the boundaries of professional activity based on education, training, and certification.
Question 3: A client asks the EFT practitioner to write a letter stating that EFT cured their anxiety disorder for an insurance claim. The practitioner should:
- Write the letter as a professional courtesy to the client
- Decline, as this would be a fraudulent misrepresentation of EFT's clinical status (Correct answer)
- Write the letter but describe EFT as 'complementary therapy'
- Ask the client to draft the letter themselves
Correct answer: Decline, as this would be a fraudulent misrepresentation of EFT's clinical status
Writing documentation with false or misleading clinical claims constitutes fraud and violates professional ethics standards.
Question 4: How should an EFT practitioner handle a situation where a client is also seeing a licensed therapist?
- Advise the client to stop seeing the therapist to avoid conflicting approaches
- Collaborate (with client consent) and ensure services are complementary, not conflicting (Correct answer)
- Ignore the parallel treatment since EFT operates independently
- Ask the therapist to defer all treatment decisions to the EFT practitioner
Correct answer: Collaborate (with client consent) and ensure services are complementary, not conflicting
Ethical practitioners support integrative care, communicating and coordinating with other providers when the client consents.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes 'informed consent' in EFT practice?
- A verbal agreement from the client at the start of the first session
- A comprehensive process ensuring clients understand EFT, its limitations, risks, and their rights before agreeing to proceed (Correct answer)
- A signed form releasing the practitioner from all liability
- Permission from the client to use any EFT techniques the practitioner chooses
Correct answer: A comprehensive process ensuring clients understand EFT, its limitations, risks, and their rights before agreeing to proceed
True informed consent is an ongoing process in which the client receives sufficient information to make a voluntary, educated decision to proceed.
Question 6: An EFT practitioner experiences significant personal trauma and notices it is affecting their ability to remain neutral with clients. The ethical course of action is:
- Continue working and trust that EFT will resolve the issue naturally
- Seek personal support, supervision, or temporarily reduce caseload until the issue is addressed (Correct answer)
- Only disclose the personal issue to clients who ask directly
- Refer all current clients to other practitioners immediately without explanation
Correct answer: Seek personal support, supervision, or temporarily reduce caseload until the issue is addressed
Practitioners have an ethical duty to maintain their own wellbeing and seek support when personal issues compromise their professional effectiveness.
Question 7: What is the ethical significance of keeping accurate and timely session records in EFT practice?
- Records are optional unless the practitioner is licensed in a regulated profession
- Accurate records support continuity of care, accountability, and protection for both client and practitioner (Correct answer)
- Records should only be kept if the client requests them
- Records are primarily useful for billing purposes
Correct answer: Accurate records support continuity of care, accountability, and protection for both client and practitioner
Thorough documentation ensures quality care, provides a legal record, and protects both the client's interests and the practitioner's professional standing.
EFT Practitioner Ethics and Professional Practice 3
A former client contacts the practitioner six months after sessions ended, expressing romantic interest.
What is the most ethical response?