RP Professional Ethics and Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client discloses they are being physically abused by a partner. What is the psychotherapist's primary ethical obligation?
- Maintain confidentiality and explore the client's feelings
- Immediately call the police without informing the client
- Assess safety, discuss options, and follow mandatory reporting requirements as applicable (Correct answer)
- Refer the client to a domestic violence shelter only
Correct answer: Assess safety, discuss options, and follow mandatory reporting requirements as applicable
Therapists must assess immediate safety, explore options with the client, and comply with any mandatory reporting laws that apply in their jurisdiction.
Question 2: Which action best demonstrates adherence to the principle of non-maleficence in psychotherapy?
- Providing any treatment the client requests
- Avoiding interventions that could harm the client even if they might also help (Correct answer)
- Disclosing all client information to family members
- Terminating therapy whenever the therapist feels uncomfortable
Correct answer: Avoiding interventions that could harm the client even if they might also help
Non-maleficence means the therapist has an obligation to avoid causing harm, even when a treatment might have potential benefits.
Question 3: A psychotherapist receives a subpoena for client records. What should the therapist do first?
- Immediately send all records to the court
- Destroy the records to protect confidentiality
- Consult with an attorney and notify the client before releasing records (Correct answer)
- Refuse to comply and ignore the subpoena
Correct answer: Consult with an attorney and notify the client before releasing records
Upon receiving a subpoena, therapists should seek legal counsel and inform the client so they can object if appropriate before any records are released.
Question 4: What does 'informed consent' require a psychotherapist to provide to a client?
- Only the cost of sessions
- Information about treatment approaches, risks, benefits, alternatives, and limits of confidentiality (Correct answer)
- A guarantee of successful treatment outcomes
- Written consent for every individual intervention during a session
Correct answer: Information about treatment approaches, risks, benefits, alternatives, and limits of confidentiality
Informed consent requires disclosure of relevant information including treatment nature, risks, benefits, alternatives, and confidentiality limits so the client can make an autonomous decision.
Question 5: A therapist realizes they have developed romantic feelings for a client. What is the most ethical course of action?
- Disclose feelings to the client to maintain transparency
- Continue therapy while suppressing the feelings
- Seek supervision or consultation and consider appropriate referral (Correct answer)
- Wait for therapy to end and then pursue the relationship
Correct answer: Seek supervision or consultation and consider appropriate referral
When personal feelings could compromise objectivity, the ethical response is to seek supervision and consider transferring the client to protect the therapeutic relationship.
Question 6: Under HIPAA, which of the following is considered Protected Health Information (PHI)?
- Anonymized statistical data with no identifiers
- A client's diagnosis combined with their name and date of service (Correct answer)
- General educational information about mental health disorders
- Aggregated research data published in a journal
Correct answer: A client's diagnosis combined with their name and date of service
PHI includes any individually identifiable health information, such as a diagnosis linked to a client's name and dates of service.
Question 7: When is it ethically appropriate for a psychotherapist to break confidentiality without client consent?
- When the client's family requests information
- When the therapist disagrees with the client's lifestyle choices
- When a client presents a credible, serious threat to an identifiable third party (Correct answer)
- When an insurance company requests treatment notes for billing purposes
Correct answer: When a client presents a credible, serious threat to an identifiable third party
The duty to protect (Tarasoff principle) requires therapists to take steps to warn or protect identifiable third parties when there is a credible serious threat.
RP Professional Ethics and Standards 2
A client discloses they are being physically abused by a partner.
What is the psychotherapist's primary ethical obligation?