Dual Relationships and Boundaries Flashcards

An Oklahoma LPC's personal attorney is referred to them for counseling. The counselor should:

Answer: Carefully evaluate the dual relationship and likely decline or refer

Providing counseling to one's personal attorney creates a significant dual relationship with potential for exploitation, conflicts of interest, and boundary issues. The counselor should likely decline and provide a referral.

A student in Oklahoma who is enrolled in an LPC training program is also a client at the training clinic. Their supervisor realizes the student-client is a neighbor. The supervisor should:

Answer: Reassign the case to a different supervisor to avoid the dual relationship

A supervisor who has a preexisting relationship with a supervisee's client has a dual relationship that compromises the supervisor's objectivity. The appropriate response is to reassign the case to another supervisor.

An Oklahoma counselor is facilitating a therapy group when they recognize that one group member knows another member's employer and coworkers. The counselor should:

Answer: Address the potential confidentiality issue with both members privately and discuss whether group continuation is appropriate

When group members have preexisting relationships outside the group, confidentiality is compromised. The counselor should address this with the affected members privately and work with them to determine whether both can continue safely in the group.

Which of the following boundary crossings by an Oklahoma counselor is most likely to transition into a harmful boundary violation?

Answer: Gradually accepting more expensive gifts from a client over several months

Gradually accepting increasingly expensive gifts represents a pattern of boundary erosion that is more likely to lead to significant violations. This slippery slope pattern is more concerning than isolated minor crossings.

An Oklahoma counselor's supervisee develops a close personal friendship with a client outside of sessions. When the counselor learns of this situation, the supervisor's obligation is to:

Answer: Address the dual relationship immediately through supervision and require the supervisee to take corrective action

Supervisors have a responsibility to address ethical violations by supervisees. The immediate response is to address the dual relationship in supervision, require corrective action, and document the supervision discussion.

A client gives their Oklahoma counselor a small, handmade gift at the end of a meaningful year of therapy. The counselor's ethically appropriate response is to:

Answer: Consider the cultural context, the value of the gift, and the therapeutic meaning before deciding how to respond

The ACA Code of Ethics advises a careful, context-sensitive approach to gifts rather than a blanket acceptance or refusal policy. The counselor should consider the gift's value, cultural context, and what refusing or accepting might mean therapeutically.