LMSW Professional Values and Ethics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client terminates therapy abruptly after three sessions without explanation. The MOST ethical response from the social worker is to:
- Close the case without any further contact to respect the client's choice
- Send a letter acknowledging termination and offering to resume services (Correct answer)
- Call the client daily until they respond to ensure their safety
- Report the termination to the client's family as a welfare concern
Correct answer: Send a letter acknowledging termination and offering to resume services
A brief letter acknowledging the termination, expressing availability for future contact, and providing referral information respects autonomy while fulfilling duty of care.
Question 2: Which ethical principle is MOST relevant when a social worker advocates for a client's access to resources they are legally entitled to but have been denied?
- Veracity
- Justice (Correct answer)
- Fidelity
- Nonmaleficence
Correct answer: Justice
Justice requires that social workers pursue fair access to resources and challenge discrimination or wrongful denial of entitlements on behalf of clients.
Question 3: A social worker who works with a marginalized population realizes they lack cultural knowledge to serve clients effectively. The MOST ethical response is to:
- Continue serving the population while relying on clients to educate them
- Refuse to accept clients from that population until training is completed
- Seek education, consultation, and training to develop cultural competence (Correct answer)
- Hire a consultant to handle all culturally-specific concerns
Correct answer: Seek education, consultation, and training to develop cultural competence
The NASW Code requires social workers to proactively develop cultural competence through education, training, and consultation to serve diverse populations effectively.
Question 4: A social worker receives a Facebook friend request from a current client. The MOST appropriate response is to:
- Accept the request to build rapport and strengthen the therapeutic alliance
- Decline the request and address it as clinical material in the next session (Correct answer)
- Ignore the request and say nothing to avoid embarrassing the client
- Accept temporarily and unfriend once the therapeutic relationship ends
Correct answer: Decline the request and address it as clinical material in the next session
Accepting a client's social media request blurs professional boundaries; declining and processing it therapeutically maintains appropriate limits and uses it clinically.
Question 5: When a minor client discloses sexual activity with another minor of the same age, the social worker's reporting obligation depends MOST on:
- The age of the minor making the disclosure
- Whether the activity was consensual and state laws regarding age of consent (Correct answer)
- The parents' wishes regarding disclosure
- Whether the minor has a history of prior abuse
Correct answer: Whether the activity was consensual and state laws regarding age of consent
Reporting obligations for minor sexual activity depend on state-specific age of consent laws and whether the activity meets the legal definition of abuse or exploitation.
Question 6: The ethical principle of 'veracity' obligates social workers to:
- Verify all information clients provide before accepting it
- Be honest and truthful with clients about services, findings, and limitations (Correct answer)
- Disclose all personal information if a client asks directly
- Share all assessment findings with the client's treatment team
Correct answer: Be honest and truthful with clients about services, findings, and limitations
Veracity requires social workers to be truthful and transparent with clients, including about the nature of services, assessment findings, and any limitations.
Question 7: A social worker practicing from a strengths-based perspective encounters a client in a values conflict. This approach would guide the social worker to:
- Help the client identify values that are more aligned with societal norms
- Focus on the client's values as assets that can guide problem-solving (Correct answer)
- Challenge values that are contributing to the client's problems
- Remain neutral and avoid exploring the client's values altogether
Correct answer: Focus on the client's values as assets that can guide problem-solving
The strengths-based perspective views client values as resources and assets that can be leveraged in the helping process, not as deficits to be corrected.
LMSW Professional Values and Ethics 5
A client terminates therapy abruptly after three sessions without explanation.
The MOST ethical response from the social worker is to: