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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 2009-2012 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 which of the following responses? Help
Competent skills
 The right information
 A pre-established ethical awareness
 All of the above are required to make effective responses to ethical dilemmas.
2. Newer writings on ethical decision-making stress the role of which of the following concepts? Help
Nonrational factors affecting decisions
 Cognitive dissonance
 Logical analogies
 Consulting with law enforcement before making the final decision
3. 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
4. Which statement 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.
5. Which of the following principles is not one of the nine core ethical principles presented in the course? Help
Self-protection
 Pursuit of excellence
 Compassion
 Respect for others
6. Ethical infractions based on irresponsible behavior can arise when a mental health professional exhibits which of the following behaviors? 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.
7. 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 became haphazard. It is likely that this therapist was Help
Drunk.
 Burned out.
 Exploitative.
 Psychotic.
8. Which is not one of the conditions that maximize the chances of a satisfactory outcome to an ethical conflict? Help
Involve all relevant parties.
 Identify the person(s) or entity to whom one owes primary allegiance.
 Impose an early and strict deadline so that the situation can be resolved quickly.
 Maintain an ongoing evaluation that allows for midcourse corrections.
9. All of the following suggestions are recommended for making an ethical decision in regard to a client, except which one? Help
Consult with a trusted colleague.
 Consult with a close family member.
 Evaluate the rights and responsibilities of all individuals involved.
 Refer to professional ethical guidelines.
10. When responding to an ethical dilemma, the initial step in the decision-making process is to Help
Determine that the matter involves an ethical issue rather than simply poor professional etiquette.
 Make a quick decision.
 Gather relevant information from the literature.
 Generate several alternative decisions.
11. Which of these characteristics of persons directly involved in an ethical matter can influence one’s ethical decision-making process? Help
Prejudices
 Financial considerations
 Social status
 All of the above can influence the ethical decision-making process.
12. A wise reason for considering more than one option during an ethical decision-making process and documenting the consequences for each option is that Help
You will impress your colleagues.
 This process will ensure that there will be no long-lasting consequence.
 This process will prove useful should others later question your actions.
 The victims will be satisfied.
13. Usually, the most difficult step in ethical decision-making is Help
Consulting with trusted colleagues about the matter.
 Determining the underlying ethical or moral principle.
 Assessing loyalties.
 Implementing the decision by taking action.
14. 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.
15. Going to a client's home, engaging in nonerotic touching of a client, and calling a child 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 these conditions? Help
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.
16. Mental health professionals may have to make ethical decisions under crisis conditions. Which of the following actions is not recommended as a helpful preventive step in preparing for such eventualities? Help
Join a peer support group
 Obtain the name of an attorney knowledgeable about mental health practice
 Keep a gun in your desk drawer
 Keep a list of emergency community resources near your phone
17. 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.
18. 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.

 

 

  
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