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

Course content © copyright 2009-2019 by Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D. and Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Ph.D.. All rights reserved.

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1. The authors contend that the chances of mental health professionals being confronted with an ethical dilemma at some point in their career are: Help
25%
 40-50%
 90%
 100%
2. Newer writings on ethical decision-making stress the role of ___ in ethical decision-making. Help
Logical analogies
 Emotional and nonrational influences
 Cognitive dissonance
 Law enforcement
3. The identities of mental health professionals who are found guilty by ethics committees or licensing boards are made known: Help
To committee or board members only.
 Only to members of the professional association to which they belong.
 To no one except other therapists in their geographical area.
 Increasingly to the general public via the Internet.
4. Which of the following is NOT one of the core ethical principles presented in the course? Help
Self-protection
 Pursuit of excellence
 Compassion
 Respect for others
5. The LEAST common offender profile is the therapist who: Help
Has a momentary lapse and "slips."
 Engages in boundary violations.
 Rationalizes the appropriateness of poor decisions.
 Seeks revenge against a client or colleague.
6. One of the more frequent and the most commonly discussed forms of client exploitation is: Help
Sexual activity with ongoing clients.
 Going into risky business ventures with clients.
 Financially defrauding clients.
 Cooperating with clients in criminal activities.
7. 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.
8. Which of the following is a major criticism of a risk management approach to the delivery of mental health services? Help
The requirements to keep detailed 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 educated, articulate clients are safe.
9. Which of the following are "red flags" that should serve as a signal to stop and evaluate before going forward? Help
Daydreaming that a client is not a client but in some other type of relationship with you
 Feeling sexually aroused by a client
 Failing to refer a client when it is clear that he/she is not benefitting from your services
 All of the above are cause for evaluation and possibly consultation with a trusted colleague.
10. Which of the following is NOT among the conditions that maximize the chances of a satisfactory outcome to an ethical conflict? Help
Providing an opportunity to involve all relevant parties
 Properly identifying 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
 Maintaining an ongoing evaluation that allows for midcourse corrections
11. All of the following EXCEPT which one, are recommended suggestions for making an ethical decision in regards to a client? 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.
12. When engaging in a decision-making process in response to an ethical dilemma, the first step is to: Help
Determine that the matter involves an ethical issue rather than simply poor professional etiquette.
 Make a quick decision, which is almost always the best one.
 Talk to your friends about it.
 Generate several alternative decisions.
13. A wise reason for considering several options during an ethical decision-making process and documenting the consequences for each is that: Help
You will impress your colleagues.
 This process will conclusively assure no long-lasting consequences.
 This process will prove useful should others later question your actions.
 All involved persons will be satisfied with the outcome.
14. 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.
15. When one must make an ethical decision under emergency or crisis conditions, more likely than not the matter involves: Help
Adolescents.
 Temper tantrums.
 Immediate danger.
 Marital discord.
16. Mental health professionals may have to make ethical decisions under behavioral emergency and crisis conditions. Which of the following is NOT recommended by the authors 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 loaded gun in your desk drawer.
17. Why should you confront a colleague's unethical behavior even though that colleague is 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. 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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