CSL6770 – Advanced Ethics

Mid-Term Exam

1. Only a tiny proportion of unethical practice is reported. Why do you think this occurs?
Does this low level of reporting hurt or benefit the profession?

2. What competing values may be operating when professionals decide to do less than
they know they ought to do?

3. The reports of practitioners about the ethical dilemmas they most commonly face in
their work do not match the ethical violations reported to ethics boards or used in civil
suits. What do you think accounts for this discrepancy?

4. When ethics codes conflict with laws, the codes indicate4 that the professional may
follow the law. Do you agree with that position? Why or why not?

5. How do you think the professions should deal with professionals who violate codes and
laws because they have a different personal morality?

6. Do you agree with the view that nonmaleficence should be the primary ethical principle
governing the human service professions? Why or why not?

7. Are there other virtues you think important for a counselor to demonstrate?

8. Which aspect of the codes of ethics seem most definitive to you? Why?

9. How would you determine which colleagues to consult about an ethical problem?

10. How would you define your own implicit theory of morality? What fundamental
assumptions do you make?
11. Do you see any potential conflicts between your personal moral or religious values and
the ethical values of the profession? If so, how do you think you should address them?

12. What competencies are sufficient to equip mental health professionals to work with
clients from different backgrounds?

13. Racism, sexism, and other forms of stereotyping are certainly not extinguished.
Sometimes they even seem to be getting worse. What is the responsibility of a
professional in the face of such eruptions of prejudice?

14. Some scholars suggest that all therapeutic services should be seen as cross-cultural.
Does this view make sense to you? Why or why not?

15. Racist, ageist, sexist, and homophobic professionals still practice, and otherwise well-
intentioned professionals still act in prejudicial ways sometimes. How do you think a
professional should react when he or she encounters such behaviors in colleagues?

16. Do Asian, African American, and Latino professionals need to be as vigilant about self-
monitoring for unconscious racism as European American counselors? Why or why not?

17. Owen, Woong, and Rodolfa (2009) suggest that the mental health professions have
operated on the good-hearted assumption that professionals can counsel either gender.
They propose that perhaps gender competence should be analyzed more carefully. What
do you think?

18. There is a debate in the mental health profession about the value of professional
credentials, such as licenses and certifications. Some argue that such credentials do
more to protect the professions than to protect the public. What is your view on this
issue?

19. A number of people enter the mental health profession because of their own histories of
recovery from emotional pain. They want to help others live full lives, as they have
learned to do. How might this history affect their risk for distress and dysfunction? Is
such a history an advantage or a disadvantage in this regard?
20. Sometimes professionals find it very difficult to confront a colleague who is practicing
outside the boundaries of his or her competence. What suggestions would you have for
these professionals?