IC&RC Professional Ethics & Regulatory Compliance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client discloses that they are actively planning to harm a specific third party. Under duty-to-warn principles aligned with IC&RC ethics, the counselor should:
- Maintain strict confidentiality because the information was shared in session
- Warn the identifiable potential victim and notify appropriate authorities (Correct answer)
- Document the threat and take no further action until the next session
- Immediately discharge the client from treatment
Correct answer: Warn the identifiable potential victim and notify appropriate authorities
When a client poses a credible, imminent threat to an identifiable person, the counselor has a duty to protect that third party by warning them and notifying law enforcement.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes 'scope of practice' for IC&RC-credentialed addiction professionals?
- Any service the client requests regardless of the counselor's training
- Services and interventions within the boundaries of one's education, training, and credential (Correct answer)
- Only services explicitly listed in the state licensing statute
- Services approved by the counselor's supervisor on a case-by-case basis
Correct answer: Services and interventions within the boundaries of one's education, training, and credential
Scope of practice refers to the range of services a professional is qualified to perform based on their education, supervised experience, and credential requirements.
Question 3: An IC&RC credentialed counselor is approached by a former client who wants to start a business partnership six months after treatment ended. The most ethical response is to:
- Accept the partnership since the therapeutic relationship has ended
- Decline because post-termination business relationships carry risk of exploiting the prior therapeutic relationship (Correct answer)
- Consult only with the client's attorney before proceeding
- Agree only if the client signs a waiver acknowledging the prior relationship
Correct answer: Decline because post-termination business relationships carry risk of exploiting the prior therapeutic relationship
Post-termination relationships remain ethically problematic because the power differential and therapeutic influence may persist long after treatment ends.
Question 4: Peer review and clinical supervision serve which primary ethical function in addiction counseling?
- They are required only for counselors in their first year of practice
- They promote accountability and help ensure ongoing competent, ethical service delivery (Correct answer)
- They replace the need for continuing education requirements
- They are primarily administrative functions with no direct ethical bearing
Correct answer: They promote accountability and help ensure ongoing competent, ethical service delivery
Peer review and supervision are accountability mechanisms that protect clients by ensuring counselors maintain competence and adhere to ethical standards.
Question 5: A counselor discovers a colleague is billing Medicaid for sessions that never occurred. Under IC&RC ethical obligations, the counselor should:
- Ignore it as a billing matter unrelated to client care
- Confront the colleague privately and take no further action
- Report the fraudulent billing to the appropriate regulatory or oversight body (Correct answer)
- Wait to see if the behavior continues before taking any action
Correct answer: Report the fraudulent billing to the appropriate regulatory or oversight body
Fraudulent billing harms clients, payers, and the profession; IC&RC ethics require reporting such misconduct to appropriate authorities.
Question 6: Which term describes a counselor's obligation to act in the best interest of the client above the counselor's own interests?
- Autonomy
- Beneficence
- Fiduciary duty (Correct answer)
- Veracity
Correct answer: Fiduciary duty
A fiduciary duty requires the professional to prioritize the client's welfare over personal gain, making it foundational to ethical practice.
Question 7: Under IC&RC standards, how long must client records typically be retained after the last date of service for an adult client?
- 1 year
- 3 years
- 7 years (or as required by state law, whichever is longer) (Correct answer)
- Indefinitely
Correct answer: 7 years (or as required by state law, whichever is longer)
Most IC&RC-aligned regulations require retention of adult client records for at least 7 years or longer if state law mandates, to support continuity of care and legal accountability.
IC&RC Professional Ethics & Regulatory Compliance 2
A client discloses that they are actively planning to harm a specific third party.
Under duty-to-warn principles aligned with IC&RC ethics, the counselor should: