Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics Flashcards
Sections include: - Professional Values & Ethical Issues - Confidentiality - Professional Development & Use of Self
A social worker who retired more than a year ago from private practice runs into a former client whom she has not seen in years. The former client received grief counseling from the social worker for several years after her mother died. The former client also recently retired and suggests that the social worker join a local group for retirees to which she belongs. The social worker, who has been looking for ways to stay active, agrees to attend the next meeting. The social worker’s actions are:
A) Justified as she has not served the client for years.
B) Unprofessional because the social worker is used the former client for her own gain.
C) Problematic as she is knowingly creating a conflict of interest or dual relationship.
D) Acceptable because the interaction will be in a group context and not intimate in nature.
C) Problematic as she is knowingly creating a conflict of interest or dual relationship.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Development and Use of Self –> Ethical Issues Related to Dual Relationships
Absent client consent to release records or a recognized legal exception, what ethical duty do social workers have with regard to releasing client information?
A) Social workers must release information only if subpoenaed to do so.
B) Social workers must provide only material that they feel will directly benefit clients.
C) Social workers must keep all records confidential while clients are living.
D) Social workers must claim privilege on behalf of clients.
D) Social workers must claim privilege on behalf of clients.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Confidentiality –> Legal and/or Ethical Issues Regarding Confidentiality, Including Electronic Information Security
When children are not emancipated, their ability to legally consent to treatment may depend on all of the following EXCEPT:
A) Their age.
B) The services requested.
C) Their service utilization history.
D) The state in which they are seeking assistance.
C) Their service utilization history.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Confidentiality –> The Principles & Processes of Obtaining Informed Consent
Which criterion does NOT need to be met for social workers to be able to terminate clients for nonpayment of fees?
A) The clinical and other consequences of the nonpayment have been discussed with clients.
B) The financial contractual arrangements have been made clear to clients, preferably in writing.
C) Social workers have used sliding scales to make fees affordable for clients.
D) Clients do not pose imminent danger to self or others.
C) Social workers have used sliding scales to make fees affordable for clients.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Values & Ethical Issues –> Legal and/or Ethical Issues Regarding Termination
A social worker receives a request for “all mental health records” of a client. The social worker maintains psychotherapy notes of sessions in a separate locked location. After reviewing all of the records and notes, the client signs a single authorization releasing all mental health information. Based on this consent, the social worker should:
A) Provide copies of both the record and psychotherapy notes.
B) Advise the client that the decision is poor and no information should be sent.
C) Send a summary of diagnoses, treatment dates, and fees collected.
D) Release only the information in the record and not the psychotherapy notes.
D) Release only the information in the record and not the psychotherapy notes.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Confidentiality –> The Elements of Client/Client System Reports
A social worker has just implemented a new agency practice to resolve an existing ethical issue. According to the principles of ethical problem solving, the social worker should NEXT:
A) Ensure that the new practice is formally incorporated in agency documents and trainings.
B) Examine the key social work values and principles that support the new procedure.
C) Explore if other practices need to be updated to incorporate new trends in the field.
D) Monitor the procedure to see if the problem is resolved and any new concerns emerge.
D) Monitor the procedure to see if the problem is resolved and any new concerns emerge.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Values & Ethical Issues –> Techniques to Identify & Resolve Ethical Dilemmas
A social worker has just implemented a new agency practice to resolve an existing ethical issue. According to the principles of ethical problem solving, the social worker should NEXT:
A) Ensure that the new practice is formally incorporated in agency documents and trainings.
B) Examine the key social work values and principles that support the new procedure.
C) Explore if other practices need to be updated to incorporate new trends in the field.
D) Monitor the procedure to see if the problem is resolved and any new concerns emerge.
D) Monitor the procedure to see if the problem is resolved and any new concerns emerge.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Values & Ethical Issues –> Techniques to Identify & Resolve Ethical Dilemmas
A client is very concerned about information that has been shared with a social worker over the years being “used against her.” The client is trying to be appointed guardian of her elderly father by the court despite the objections of her siblings. In this situation, the social worker should:
A) Advise the client to work out the disagreement with her siblings amiably so they can provide mutual support to one another during this difficult time.
B) Suggest that the client speak to a lawyer to better understand what is admissible in such proceedings.
C) Ask the client what has been revealed that causes her concern so that the social worker can better understand why she is fearful.
D) Review confidentiality procedures and their limits in order to alleviate the client’s concerns.
D) Review confidentiality procedures and their limits in order to alleviate the client’s concerns.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Confidentiality –> Legal and/or Ethical Issues Regarding Confidentiality, Including Electronic Information Security
A decision about whether a social worker must disclose privileged information without a client’s consent is NOT legally influenced by:
A) Relevant statues.
B) Professional experience.
C) Judicial opinion.
D) State and federal regulations.
B) Professional experience.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Confidentiality –> Legal and/or Ethical Issues Regarding Confidentiality, Including Electronic Information Security
A social worker is supervising a student intern and would like to ensure that the intern considers the social work core values in all agency decision making. The BEST method for the student to learn about these values is to:
A) Read the agency policies and procedures manual.
B) Speak to employees of the agency about their experiences.
C) Review the professional code of ethics.
D) Receive regular supervision to discuss client issues and progress.
C) Review the professional code of ethics.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Values & Ethical Issues –> Professional Values & Principles (e.g., Competence, Social Justice, Integrity, & Dignity and Worth of the Person)
A social worker observes a steady decline in a client’s mobility as he refused to get a needed hip replacement. The doctor has assured the client that the surgery is low risk and will greatly enhance his quality of life. In order to BEST assist the client, the social worker should:
A) Urge the client to get the surgery based upon the doctor’s advice.
B) Speak to the client’s family so that they can assist in helping the client change his mind.
C) Provide the client with materials that clearly articulate the benefits of having the procedure.
D) Assist the client to prioritize his concerns about having the surgery.
D) Assist the client to prioritize his concerns about having the surgery.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Values & Ethical Issues –> Client/Client System Competence & Self-Determination (e.g., Financial Decisions, Treatment Decisions, Emancipation, Age of Consent, Permanency Planning)
What is the MOST important factor in the development of an effective helping relationship?
A) Social worker’s training and experience in working with similar client problems.
B) Client’s willingness to view a social worker as a resource for change.
C) Nonverbal and verbal communication between a social worker and client.
D) Agency policies that clearly articular the roles of both a social worker and client.
C) Nonverbal and verbal communication between a social worker and client.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Development & Use of Self –> The Principles & Techniques for Building & Maintaining a Helping Relationship
A social worker is a field supervisor for a student in an agency. As her internship ends, the student confides to the social worker that she thinks that she could benefit from counseling to assist with some unresolved issues. The student would like to receive those services at the agency, preferably from the social worker. In this situation, the social worker should:
A) Explore the reasons for the request as a method of professional development for the student.
B) Make an appointment for the student to see another social worker in the agency.
C) Inform the student that her request would violate professional boundaries and provide contact information for several other counseling agencies.
D) Agree to see the student for counseling after she completes all the requirements for the internship.
C) Inform the student that her request would violate professional boundaries and provide contact information for several other counseling agencies.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Development & Use of Self –> Ethical Issues Related to Dual Relationships
A client uses racist language when describing an incident that occurred at work, resulting in his termination. The social worker is helping the client locate another job as outlined in his service plan. While the comments are not related to the reasons why he was fired, they are deeply troubling and offensive to the social worker. The social worker feels that the client is ethnocentric and discriminates against others. In this situation, the social worker should:
A) Modify the client’s service plan to include increasing his knowledge about other cultures.
B) Process feelings with a supervisor while continuing to work with the client on locating employment.
C) Ask that the client be transferred to another social worker in the agency as it is impossible for the social worker to be objective in assisting this client.
D) Explore the underlying basis for the client’s discriminatory attitudes.
B) Process feelings with a supervisor while continuing to work with the client on locating employment.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Development & Use of Self –> Professional Objectivity in the Social Worker-Client/Client System Relationship
A social worker learns that his daughter’s boyfriend has made an appointment to see him at his agency to discuss problems that the youth is having at home. The social worker contacts the boyfriend by phone and learns that fighting with his parents has become destructive. The boyfriend states that he trusts the social worker who has interacted with the boy and his parents for several months. In this situation, the social worker should:
A) Arrange to see the boy at the agency immediately to assess whether he is in danger.
B) Offer suggestions that may be helpful before telling him that being served by the agency would pose a conflict.
C) Explain prohibitions about meeting with the boy while providing names and contact information of other clinicians who can help.
D) Recommend that the boy meet with the social worker’s supervisor so that a determination can be made about how to best assist.
C) Explain prohibitions about meeting with the boy while providing names and contact information of other clinicians who can help.
Unit 4: Professional Relationships, Values, & Ethics –> Professional Development & Use of Self –> Ethical Issues Related to Dual Relationships
