LPCC Safety and Infection Control 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A counselor inadvertently leaves a client chart visible on a shared computer screen in a break room. This situation MOST directly violates which standard?
- Duty to warn regulations
- HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules (Correct answer)
- Mandatory reporting requirements
- Professional licensing standards
Correct answer: HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules
Leaving protected health information visible to unauthorized personnel constitutes a HIPAA breach related to physical and technical safeguard requirements.
Question 2: When a client with severe agoraphobia requires home-based services, the counselor's safety planning should ADDITIONALLY include:
- Limiting sessions to 30 minutes to reduce exposure risk
- Notifying the agency of the home visit location and expected return time (Correct answer)
- Requiring a family member to be present during all sessions
- Conducting all sessions outdoors to reduce infection risk
Correct answer: Notifying the agency of the home visit location and expected return time
Home visit safety protocols require counselors to notify supervisors or agency staff of their location and schedule to ensure counselor safety.
Question 3: A client infected with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) attends an outpatient session. Which infection control measure is MOST appropriate for the counselor?
- Refuse to see the client until they receive medical clearance
- Follow contact precautions including hand hygiene and avoiding contact with wound drainage (Correct answer)
- Wear an N95 respirator mask throughout the session
- Conduct the session outdoors to prevent airborne transmission
Correct answer: Follow contact precautions including hand hygiene and avoiding contact with wound drainage
MRSA is primarily spread through direct contact, so hand hygiene and avoiding contact with wound sites are the key infection control measures.
Question 4: Under which circumstance would a counselor be MOST justified in breaking confidentiality without client consent?
- A client expresses passive suicidal ideation with no plan or intent
- A client makes a specific, credible threat to harm an identifiable person (Correct answer)
- A client discloses past marijuana use that is illegal in the state
- A client admits to having an extramarital affair
Correct answer: A client makes a specific, credible threat to harm an identifiable person
A specific, credible threat to an identifiable third party triggers duty to protect obligations and justifies breaking confidentiality.
Question 5: A counselor's office is in a shared building where the waiting room is used by multiple practitioners. To protect client privacy, the counselor should:
- Ask clients to wait in their cars until called
- Use a white noise machine outside the office door and avoid discussing client details in shared spaces (Correct answer)
- Post a privacy notice in the lobby and consider this sufficient
- Conduct intake assessments via email before the first visit
Correct answer: Use a white noise machine outside the office door and avoid discussing client details in shared spaces
White noise machines and avoiding discussions of client information in shared spaces protect confidentiality in multi-practitioner environments.
Question 6: Which of the following represents an evidence-based approach to assessing a client's suicide risk?
- Relying primarily on the client's verbal denial of suicidal intent
- Using a structured assessment tool such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) (Correct answer)
- Asking the client to complete a written no-harm contract
- Deferring risk assessment to the client's psychiatrist
Correct answer: Using a structured assessment tool such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
Structured tools like the C-SSRS provide validated, systematic methods for assessing suicide risk that go beyond verbal self-report.
Question 7: A counselor who works with trauma survivors learns a client's abuser lives nearby and has made implicit threats. The MOST appropriate response regarding counselor safety includes:
- Sharing the abuser's identity with other clients as a community warning
- Consulting with a supervisor and implementing office safety protocols such as secure entry procedures (Correct answer)
- Confronting the abuser directly to establish firm boundaries
- Relocating the office immediately to another part of the city
Correct answer: Consulting with a supervisor and implementing office safety protocols such as secure entry procedures
Counselors facing potential third-party threats should consult supervisors and implement institutional safety protocols to protect staff and clients.
LPCC Safety and Infection Control 3
A counselor inadvertently leaves a client chart visible on a shared computer screen in a break room.
This situation MOST directly violates which standard?