WorksheetsLaw & Ethics Review
Total questions: 21
Worksheet time: 32mins
In a school setting, a therapist is working individually with students who are classified as “high risk” for one reason or another. During a recent session, a 13-year-old girl tells the therapist that she has been in six fights at school this year, and shows off the scratches and bruises from the most recent altercation. She is proud of these injuries because she believes it proves she is “tough” and “strong.” Fights among students are common at this school. What should the therapist do?
Gather the names and ages of the other students involved.
Maintain confidentiality.
Make a suspected child abuse report.
Take pictures of the bruises to share with school administration or law enforcement.
A therapist refers a client to a local psychiatrist for a medication evaluation. The next week, the therapist receives a card from the psychiatrist saying “thank you for the referral” and a $10 Starbucks gift card. The card does not mention the client’s name. What should the therapist do?
Return the gift.
Accept the gift since it is a low-value gift card and confidentiality was maintained.
Simply send a return "thank you" note for the gift.
Send a return note to clarify which client the psychiatrist was referencing.
A mother has consented for her 15-year-old daughter to begin individual therapy with a therapist. The client informed the therapist that she vapes nicotine and sometimes smokes cannabis. The next month, the client’s mother calls and asks the therapist about her daughter’s substance use habits. What should the therapist do?
Be honest with the mother, since she has consented for treatment and the client is a minor.
Consider any prior agreements made with the family regarding what information will be shared.
Maintain confidentiality and remind the mother that the therapist can only share information if the client is a safety risk.
Maintain confidentiality and recommend that the mother drug test her daughter.
A therapist is seeking consultation on a challenging case. The therapist finds a closed group for MFTs on Facebook and hopes that members will be able to provide guidance. The therapist poses a few questions for the group and provides enough background so the group can brainstorm specific ideas. The therapist ensures that they do not use the client’s name. Should the therapist have done this?
Yes, because it is a closed group (moderators can limit who can join).
Yes, because they did not use the client's name.
No, the therapist should not have shared so many details.
No, because there is nothing in the group rules requiring that information within the closed group remain confidential.
After attending individual supervision for a few months, a trainee therapist notices that they are attracted to their supervisor. After building the courage to disclose this to their supervisor, they learn the feelings are reciprocated. What is the most legal and ethical way to proceed?
Transfer the trainee to another available supervisor.
End the supervisory relationship. They cannot have a sexual relationship while they both work at the same place.
End the supervisory relationship. They must wait two years before they are permitted to engage sexually.
Assess how this attraction may impact supervision and obtain further consultation.
A trainee is having difficulty with a school-based client. Their supervisor asks the trainee to bring a video recording to session to help them review the case in more depth. The trainee is worried about recording sessions with a minor. What should the trainee’s next step be?
Review the limits of confidentiality before starting to record the session.
Record the next session as requested and bring it to supervision.
Obtain written consent for recording from each of the client's parents.
Explain to the client that it is common for trainees to record videos of sessions to share with their supervisor.
A family is seeking therapy to help build conflict resolution skills and address acculturation difficulties. The parents have a 10-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter. The family appears to struggle with hygiene, and often wear dirty, torn clothes to sessions. The daughter is unusually quiet, seems underweight for her age, and mentions that sometimes the family will not eat dinner until after she has gone to bed. She gets sick often, which is impacting school attendance. The father disagrees, clarifying that they discipline her by putting her to bed without dinner when she misbehaves. Legally, what does the therapist need to do?
Make a suspected child abuse report. This may be considered neglect.
Continue to assess the level of violence in the household.
Obtain a Release of Information (ROI) to review the daughter's medical history.
Reflect on how poverty and acculturation trauma may influence the situation.
A therapist’s 80-year-old client shares that they were under-medicated for several months while they were living in a nursing home in Kentucky last year. The client notes that her prescription bottle instructs her to take the medication twice per day. However, she was only given one pill each night with dinner. The clinician believes the client’s cognitive functioning is within normal limits. What should the therapist do?
Make a suspected elder abuse report to the Kentucky Adult Protective Services.
Encourage the client to document these events in case there is a lawsuit against the Kentucky nursing home.
Encourage the client to make a suspected elder abuse report to the Kentucky Adult Protective Services.
Make a suspected elder abuse report to the therapist's local Adult Protective Services.
A therapist is at the Hollywood Palladium and spots one of their teenage clients in the crowd. The client and her group of friends appear to be intoxicated. While standing in line for the bathroom, the client notices the therapist and quickly turns away in embarrassment. What is the therapist’s ethical responsibility?
Greet the client and let them know that it's okay for them to have fun at the concert. During the next session, pretend like nothing happened.
Let the client decide if they want to interact. Discuss boundaries during the next session.
Avoid the client and call their parents later on to tell them what was noticed.
Leave the concert. Consider terminating with this client, as the therapeutic relationship has been damaged.
A 16-year-old client who consented for therapy on his own shares that he and his 21-year-old boyfriend had oral sex for the first time. The client notes that both partners consented and enjoyed the experience. The client requests that the therapist keep this information private because he has not yet come out to his family. What should the therapist do?
Maintain confidentiality. Do not share information with anyone.
Must make a suspected child abuse report.
May make a suspected child abuse report.
Do not make a report, but remind the client the therapist cannot guarantee that their parents will not be able to access treatment records. Instead, take detailed notes that reference the client's LGBTQIA+ identity.
A therapist helped a client navigate through a tricky divorce. Therapy was successful, and the client eventually terminated. A year later, the therapist learns that the man she has been dating for the past three months is her former client’s ex-partner. What should the therapist do?
Continue the relationship. The therapist's current partner has never been their client.
Reach out to the former client and obtain her permission before continuing the relationship.
End the relationship.
Self-report the relationship to the BBS.
A teen client discloses that she was raped while her family immigrated from Armenia to America. The client’s prior therapist made a suspected child abuse report and provided trauma therapy. There has not been any investigation or follow-up. Legally, what should the therapist do?
Make a suspected child abuse report.
Report the assault to federal immigration authorities.
Obtain a Release of Information (ROI) to contact the client's prior therapist and verify that this has already been reported.
Maintain confidentiality. The abuse did not happen in the U.S.
A client reaches out to their therapist for support with couples therapy. The client would like the therapist to see her both individually and with her partner. The client is willing to sign a Release of Information (ROI) so the therapist can discuss information from either session with both partners present. Ethically, how should the therapist proceed?
Continue individual treatment with the client and explain that a different therapist will need to provide couples therapy.
Continue individual treatment with the client and begin couples therapy. Make sure there are separate documents and plans for both sessions.
Screen the couple both together and individually to ensure that this will be a good fit.
End individual treatment and switch solely to couples therapy instead.
A 12-year-old client is recounting a story from her time at summer camp. One of her friends put a banana slug in the camp counselor’s shoe. The counselor was so upset, she hit the friend with a broom, leaving scratches on her face. Legally, what should the therapist do?
Maintain confidentiality. The friend is not the therapist's client.
Make a suspected child abuse report.
Consider whether or not the story is completely true.
Obtain a Release of Information (ROI) to speak to the camp director and gather more details.
A middle school parent is upset that a therapist did not make a suspected child abuse report after their son shared that they are being verbally and physically bullied. While the son does not fight back, the therapist explains that all of the children are around the same age and size. What should the therapist do?
Make a suspected child abuse report.
Explain to the mother why the son's injuries are not of major concern.
Reach out to the school administration for further support.
Consult with the student's teacher to gather more information about the bullying.
A therapist working with Catholic clients learns that three of their clients attend the same church. The three are friends and have discussed their thoughts about the therapist together. What should the therapist do next?
Request in session that the clients refrain from mentioning the other clients or their church in session.
Review limits of confidentiality with each client.
Ask that the clients refrain from discussing their sessions with one another to maintain each therapeutic alliance.
Determine if the clients bringing up one another in session will impair the therapist's clinical judgment.
A therapist is working with a Venezuelan mother and her 9-year-old daughter in therapy. The therapist observes strange bruises on the girl's face and arms that appear to be in different stages of healing. When the therapist inquires about the bruises, both the girl and her mother refuse to answer. What should the therapist do?
Make a suspected child abuse report.
Consider whether physical discipline is common in Venezuelan culture.
Review the limits of confidentiality with both clients.
Ask the girl to roll up her sleeves to assess for additional injuries.
A therapist in a rural area is taking on clients who have friendships and professional relationships with their other clients. The therapist does not always know of these relationships before accepting a new client. The therapist feels confident in their ability to maintain strong boundaries, but is unsure of what to do if the clients speak about one another in session. What should the therapist do?
Given the community is small, ask new clients not to speak about the other clients in therapy.
Consult with other therapists working in rural areas.
Start broadening their telehealth practice to increase their geographic service area.
Review your current client list with new clients to ensure these people are off-limits topics for the new client's therapy.
A therapist is working with a 15-year-old boy at his high school. His mother reached out to share that she discovered that her son and his girlfriend (also 15) have been sending one another naked pictures of themselves. The mother does not know if the pair has been sexually intimate. The 15-year-old boy is upset and sees this as invasion of privacy. Legally, what should the therapist do?
Make a suspected child abuse report, with the girlfriend as the victim.
Assess for potential child abuse and encourage the mother to support her son's autonomy.
Assess for potential child abuse and educate the boy about the dangers of sending nudes.
Make a suspected child abuse report, with the boy and his girlfriend as both perpetrators and victims.
During a session, a client expressed concern about his 90-year-old father. His father refuses to eat and will not leave his home to see a doctor. His health seems to be declining and he has lost weight. The client wants to help, but his father wants to be left alone. What should the therapist do?
Encourage the client to discuss this concern directly with his father.
Encourage the client to take his father to the doctor, even if he must be taken against his well.
Make a suspected elder abuse report.
Encourage the client to make a suspected elder abuse report.
"An MFT is seeing a family for an intake session. The family includes three foster girls, ages 16, 13, and 10. During individual interviews with each of the children, they all reveal that they are currently in sexual relationships. The 16-year-old received treatment for a sexually transmitted disease a year ago after catching it from her then-17-year-old boyfriend. The 13-year-old says that she is having sex with her 14-year-old boyfriend. And the 10-year-old tells you that she is pregnant, though she will not reveal anything about the age or identity of the father. Which of these relationships must be reported as child abuse?" (Question Sourced from High Pass Education)
All three children’s relationships are reportable.
The 16-year-old’s relationship and the 10-year-old’s
relationship are reportable.
Only the 10-year-old’s relationship is reportable.
Only the 13-year-old’s relationship is reportable.
