MC Master of Counseling: Ethical Guidelines and Professional Conduct 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A counselor is romantically attracted to a current client. The MOST ethical course of action is to:
- Disclose the attraction to the client to maintain transparency
- Seek supervision or personal therapy and take steps to protect the client (Correct answer)
- Immediately terminate the relationship so both parties are free to pursue it
- Continue the professional relationship as long as no action is taken
Correct answer: Seek supervision or personal therapy and take steps to protect the client
When experiencing attraction to a client, the counselor must prioritize the client's welfare by seeking supervision or therapy and ensuring the therapeutic relationship remains professional.
Question 2: What does the ethical concept of 'fidelity' primarily refer to in the counseling relationship?
- Promoting the client's overall well-being
- Honoring commitments and being trustworthy in the therapeutic relationship (Correct answer)
- Protecting clients from harm caused by the counselor
- Ensuring equal access to counseling services for all populations
Correct answer: Honoring commitments and being trustworthy in the therapeutic relationship
Fidelity refers to keeping promises, being loyal, and maintaining trustworthiness in professional relationships with clients.
Question 3: A counselor is approached to provide expert testimony in a case involving a former client. What is the primary ethical concern?
- Maintaining objectivity as a fact witness
- Potential breach of former client's confidentiality without consent (Correct answer)
- Whether the case involves a criminal or civil matter
- Whether the counselor holds a doctoral-level credential
Correct answer: Potential breach of former client's confidentiality without consent
Serving as an expert witness may require disclosing information about a former client, which raises significant confidentiality concerns requiring client consent or legal authorization.
Question 4: According to professional ethics, a counselor's personal values that conflict with a client's lifestyle should be handled by:
- Disclosing the values conflict and allowing the client to decide whether to continue
- Referring the client immediately to avoid any potential bias
- Setting aside personal values and providing competent, unbiased counseling (Correct answer)
- Integrating the counselor's values into the therapeutic framework with transparency
Correct answer: Setting aside personal values and providing competent, unbiased counseling
Counselors are ethically required to set aside personal values that may interfere with providing competent, respectful services to clients with diverse lifestyles.
Question 5: A supervisor discovers that a supervisee has been practicing outside their scope by conducting psychological testing without training. The supervisor's FIRST obligation is to:
- Report the supervisee to the licensing board immediately
- Protect clients by stopping the unauthorized practice and addressing it with the supervisee (Correct answer)
- Document the behavior and monitor the supervisee for two more weeks
- Refer clients currently being tested to a licensed psychologist only
Correct answer: Protect clients by stopping the unauthorized practice and addressing it with the supervisee
The supervisor's first obligation is client welfare; stopping unauthorized practice and addressing it with the supervisee directly is the immediate priority.
Question 6: A counselor who works at a community agency wants to begin a private practice on evenings and weekends. This arrangement is ethical ONLY if:
- The counselor's agency employer provides written approval
- There is no conflict of interest and the agency's policies permit it (Correct answer)
- The counselor recruits only clients who are not connected to the agency
- The private practice is located in a different city from the agency
Correct answer: There is no conflict of interest and the agency's policies permit it
Dual employment is ethically permissible when there is no conflict of interest, agency policies allow it, and the counselor avoids soliciting agency clients for private practice.
Question 7: Under the ACA Code of Ethics, how long must counselors typically retain client records after the last counseling contact for adult clients?
- 3 years
- 5 years
- 7 years (Correct answer)
- 10 years
Correct answer: 7 years
The ACA recommends retaining records for a minimum of seven years after the last contact with an adult client, though state law may require longer retention periods.
MC Master of Counseling: Ethical Guidelines and Professional Conduct 5
A counselor is romantically attracted to a current client.
The MOST ethical course of action is to: