MFT Legal Issues 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client discloses that they are HIV-positive and refuses to inform their sexual partner. The therapist is concerned the partner is at risk. This scenario is best addressed by which legal/ethical framework?
- Duty to report to the CDC
- Duty to warn/protect under Tarasoff principles, balanced against confidentiality (Correct answer)
- Mandatory disclosure to all sexual partners under HIPAA
- Immediate termination of the therapeutic relationship
Correct answer: Duty to warn/protect under Tarasoff principles, balanced against confidentiality
HIV disclosure scenarios are addressed through Tarasoff-based duty-to-protect analysis, with therapists needing to weigh confidentiality against identifiable third-party risk per state law.
Question 2: In a professional malpractice claim against an MFT, the plaintiff must establish all of the following EXCEPT:
- The therapist had a duty of care
- The therapist breached the standard of care
- The client experienced subjective dissatisfaction with treatment (Correct answer)
- The breach caused actual damages
Correct answer: The client experienced subjective dissatisfaction with treatment
Malpractice requires duty, breach, causation, and damages — subjective client dissatisfaction alone does not establish a legal claim.
Question 3: An MFT practicing in a state that does not have a specific 'duty to warn' statute encounters a client making threats. What guides the therapist's legal obligation in this situation?
- There is no legal obligation without a state statute
- Common law negligence principles and professional ethics still apply (Correct answer)
- Federal law requires warning in all states
- The therapist may only act after consulting a supervisor
Correct answer: Common law negligence principles and professional ethics still apply
Even without a specific statute, therapists may have common law duties of care, and professional ethics require action when a client poses foreseeable danger.
Question 4: A licensing board receives a complaint that an MFT engaged in a sexual relationship with a current client. This conduct is best categorized as:
- An ethical violation only, not a legal issue
- Grounds for license revocation and potential criminal charges in many states (Correct answer)
- Acceptable if the client provided written consent
- A civil matter between the parties, not a licensing concern
Correct answer: Grounds for license revocation and potential criminal charges in many states
Sexual contact with current clients is a serious ethical and legal violation — many states criminalize it and licensing boards routinely revoke licenses for this conduct.
Question 5: An MFT is ending treatment with a client who still has significant clinical needs. To avoid abandonment liability, the therapist should:
- Simply stop scheduling appointments
- Provide reasonable notice, offer referrals, and document the transition plan (Correct answer)
- Wait until the client terminates the relationship first
- Refer the client only if they request a referral
Correct answer: Provide reasonable notice, offer referrals, and document the transition plan
Proper termination requires advance notice, clinical justification, provision of referrals, and documentation to protect against abandonment claims.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the legal concept of 'res ipsa loquitur' as it might apply to an MFT malpractice case?
- The client must prove the therapist acted in bad faith
- Negligence is inferred from the nature of the harm without direct proof of specific error (Correct answer)
- The therapist must prove their innocence once a complaint is filed
- The licensing board automatically determines negligence in ethical violations
Correct answer: Negligence is inferred from the nature of the harm without direct proof of specific error
Res ipsa loquitur allows negligence to be inferred when the harm caused is of a type that ordinarily does not occur without negligent conduct.
Question 7: A therapist is asked by a client to sign a letter stating the client is 'mentally fit' to adopt a child. The therapist has only seen the client for three sessions. What is the most appropriate response?
- Sign the letter as a professional courtesy
- Decline, as issuing a fitness opinion after minimal contact exceeds the scope of competent assessment (Correct answer)
- Sign only if the client has shown no symptoms in the past 90 days
- Refer the client to a psychiatrist to cosign the letter
Correct answer: Decline, as issuing a fitness opinion after minimal contact exceeds the scope of competent assessment
Issuing a fitness-for-adoption opinion after only three sessions is outside the therapist's competence and could constitute misrepresentation.
MFT Legal Issues 5
A client discloses that they are HIV-positive and refuses to inform their sexual partner.
The therapist is concerned the partner is at risk.
This scenario is best addressed by which legal/ethical framework?