MFT Professional Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client discloses they are having an affair and asks the therapist to keep it secret from their spouse, who is also a client. What is the therapist's most appropriate response?
- Immediately disclose the affair to the spouse
- Continue treating both clients and maintain secrecy
- Discuss the ethical conflict and consider discontinuing conjoint therapy (Correct answer)
- Report the client to the licensing board
Correct answer: Discuss the ethical conflict and consider discontinuing conjoint therapy
When individual secrets create conflicts in conjoint therapy, the therapist should address the ethical dilemma and may need to discontinue treating the couple together.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes 'informed consent' in the context of MFT practice?
- A one-time document signed at intake
- An ongoing process ensuring clients understand therapy goals, risks, and alternatives (Correct answer)
- A legal requirement waived for minors
- Consent given only for specific interventions
Correct answer: An ongoing process ensuring clients understand therapy goals, risks, and alternatives
Informed consent is an ongoing process throughout treatment, not merely a signature on an intake form.
Question 3: An MFT is treating a teenager whose parents are divorcing. The father demands all session notes. What should the therapist do first?
- Release all notes immediately to avoid conflict
- Consult state law regarding minors' privacy rights and parental access (Correct answer)
- Refuse all access to protect the minor
- Ask the teenager to decide
Correct answer: Consult state law regarding minors' privacy rights and parental access
State laws vary regarding parental rights to access a minor's therapy records, so consulting applicable law is the essential first step.
Question 4: A therapist realizes mid-session that they have a significant value conflict with a client's lifestyle. The ethical course of action is to:
- Immediately terminate the therapeutic relationship
- Continue therapy and suppress personal values
- Acknowledge the potential for bias and consider consultation or referral if needed (Correct answer)
- Disclose personal values to align the client with the therapist's worldview
Correct answer: Acknowledge the potential for bias and consider consultation or referral if needed
MFTs must recognize when personal values may impair objectivity and seek consultation or referral to protect the client's welfare.
Question 5: Under HIPAA, which of the following is considered a permissible disclosure without client authorization?
- Disclosing to an employer that the client is in therapy
- Sharing information for treatment coordination with another provider (Correct answer)
- Releasing records to the client's attorney upon attorney request alone
- Discussing the client's diagnosis at a dinner party
Correct answer: Sharing information for treatment coordination with another provider
HIPAA permits disclosure for treatment purposes, including coordination of care with other treating providers.
Question 6: A former client contacts an MFT two years after termination requesting a personal relationship. According to the AAMFT Code of Ethics, the therapist should:
- Accept the relationship since two years have passed
- Never enter a personal relationship regardless of time elapsed
- Evaluate carefully, as sexual relationships with former clients are prohibited for at least two years (Correct answer)
- Refer to a colleague before making a decision
Correct answer: Evaluate carefully, as sexual relationships with former clients are prohibited for at least two years
The AAMFT Code prohibits sexual intimacy with former clients for at least two years post-termination, and even after two years such relationships require careful ethical scrutiny.
Question 7: When a client presents a risk of harm to an identifiable third party, the Tarasoff ruling established that therapists have a duty to:
- Maintain confidentiality at all costs
- Hospitalize the client immediately
- Take reasonable steps to protect the potential victim (Correct answer)
- Report the threat only if violence occurs
Correct answer: Take reasonable steps to protect the potential victim
Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California established a duty to protect identifiable potential victims from serious, credible threats.
MFT Professional Ethics 2
A client discloses they are having an affair and asks the therapist to keep it secret from their spouse, who is also a client.
What is the therapist's most appropriate response?