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"What Should I Do?" - Ethical Risks, Making Decisions, and Taking Action - Test
by Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D. and Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Ph.D.

Course content © copyright 2009 by Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D. and Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Ph.D.. All rights reserved.

Please note that printing this page does not constitute proof of completion of the course. After successfully completing this test, you may purchase your Certificate of Completion and print it immediately or have it mailed to you.

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1. An effective response to an ethical dilemma requires: Help
competent skills.
 the right information.
 a pre-established ethical awareness.
 all of the above
2. Which of the following types of clients is least worrisome from a risk management perspective? Help
a client with a snake phobia
 a client diagnosed as borderline personality disorder
 a client who forms a rapid, intense transference relationship
 a client who reports having been abused by a previous therapist.
3. Which of the following is a major criticism of a risk management approach to the delivery of mental health services? Help
The requirements for keeping notes are too stringent.
 Only those who can pay full fee are accepted as clients.
 Clients who need help badly may be rejected because they might cause problems for the therapist.
 Only high risk clients are acceptable while others who are less troubled but who also need professional help are turned away.
4. Which of the following is not one of the nine core ethical principles presented in the course? Help
Self-protection
 Pursuit of excellence
 Compassion
 Respect for others
5. Ethical infractions based on irresponsible behavior can arise when a mental health professional: Help
is unreliable in the execution of professional duties.
 performs shoddy or superficial professional work.
 attempts to blame others for his or her own mistakes.
 All of the above answers are correct.
6. A therapist yawned through most of his sessions and looked tired much of the time. He seemed to be getting more detached from his clients and his billing practices are haphazard. It is likely that this therapist is: Help
drunk
 burned out
 exploitative
 psychotic
7. What is the common name of the "internal con game" that people can play on themselves to justify their unethical behavior? Help
rationalization
 unification
 ethical misdirection
 moral turpitude
8. Which of the following is not among the conditions that maximize the chances of a satisfactory outcome to an ethical conflict? Help
an opportunity to involve all relevant parties
 proper identification of the person(s) or entity to whom one owes primary allegiance
 imposing an early and strict deadline so that the situation can be resolved quickly
 the maintenance of an ongoing evaluation that allows for midcourse corrections
9. All of the following are recommended suggestions for making an ethical decision in regards to a client, except which one? Help
Consult with a trusted colleague.
 Consult with local law enforcement.
 Evaluate the rights and responsibilities of all individuals involved.
 Refer to professional ethical guidelines.
10. During an ethical decision-making process, a wise reason for considering several options and documenting the consequences for each is that: Help
you will impress your colleagues.
 this process will conclusively assure that there will be no long-lasting consequence.
 this process will prove useful should others later question your actions.
 the victims will be satisfied.
11. The most difficult step in ethical decision-making is usually: Help
consulting with trusted colleagues about the matter.
 determining the underlying ethical or moral principle.
 assessing loyalties.
 implementing the decision by taking action.
12. When one needs to make an ethical decision under crisis conditions, more likely than not the crisis involves: Help
teenagers
 temper tantrums
 immediate danger
 marital discord
13. Going to a client's home, engaging in nonerotic touching of a client, and calling a client's parents in an attempt to locate the client are typically behaviors that are ethically questionable. However, all three actions might be ethically acceptable under which of the following conditions? Help
when, after a full discussion with the client, the two of you decide that these acts would be helpful to the therapy process.
 in certain serious crisis or emergency matters.
 if, in your experience, these behaviors had never caused any problems for you or the client
 None of these behaviors would be acceptable under any circumstances.
14. Mental health professionals may have to make ethical decisions under crisis conditions. Which of the following is not recommended as a helpful preventive step in preparing for such eventualities: Help
Join a peer supervision group.
 Obtain the name of an attorney knowledgeable about mental health practice.
 Keep a list of emergency community resources near your phone.
 Keep a gun in your desk drawer.
15. Why should you confront a colleague's unethical behavior when that colleague is also a close friend of yours? Help
Friends are likely to engage in more serious behaviors than are other colleagues.
 Friends rarely get angry at each other.
 You may be able to protect your friend from embarrassment or more public forms of censure.
 All of the above are wrong; Just ignore it.
16. Why do some mental health professionals fail to take action when they learn of a colleague's ethical violation? Help
They fear retaliation.
 They convince themselves that someone else will take care of it.
 They procrastinate until the matter is no longer relevant.
 All of the above are reasons why mental health professionals may fail to take action.
17. Before confronting a colleague suspected of unethical behavior, it is important to: Help
assure that any identity disclosure or other confidentiality issues have been resolved.
 assess the strength of the evidence.
 get in touch with and assess your own motivations to confront.
 All of the above are important "pre-confrontation" considerations.
18. When confronting a colleague about a possible ethical infraction, the session is likely to go best if you: Help
try to frighten your colleague into confessing.
 present yourself as having a problem-solving alliance with the colleague.
 insist on videotaping the session.
 hold the session in a nice restaurant over dinner.

 

 

  
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