Professional Standards & Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real CLC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Standards & Ethics flashcards as text
A coach posts a client success story on their website without identifying the client by name but includes enough detail that colleagues could identify them. This action is:
Answer: A confidentiality breach because the client could still be identified
Confidentiality is breached whenever a client can be identified from shared information, even if no name is explicitly stated.
Which of the following best describes the ethical principle of 'non-maleficence' as applied to coaching?
Answer: Avoiding actions that could harm the client physically, emotionally, or professionally
Non-maleficence in coaching means actively avoiding interventions or behaviors that could cause harm to the client.
A corporate sponsor pays for coaching services for their employees. Who is the coach's primary ethical obligation to?
Answer: The individual client being coached
Even when a third party funds coaching, the coach's primary ethical duty is to the individual client being coached.
A coach notices they feel strong personal attraction to a client and it is affecting their objectivity. The ethically appropriate first step is to:
Answer: Seek supervision or consultation to address the countertransference
When personal feelings threaten professional objectivity, seeking supervision is the ethical response to protect the client's interests.
Under what circumstance is it ethically permissible for a CLC coach to break client confidentiality?
Answer: When there is a credible risk of imminent harm to the client or others
Confidentiality may be broken when there is imminent risk of serious harm, as duty to protect overrides confidentiality in such cases.
A client asks their coach to provide a character reference letter for a legal proceeding. What is the most ethical response?
Answer: Decline, as this role conflicts with the coaching relationship and could compromise both parties
Taking on dual roles such as coach and character witness creates role confusion and conflicts of interest that ethical coaches must avoid.
Ethical use of psychometric or assessment tools in coaching requires that a coach:
Answer: Only use tools they are trained to administer and interpret accurately
Ethical use of assessments requires that coaches only use tools they are properly trained and qualified to administer and interpret.