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The Ethics of Principle of Respect in Mental Health Practice: Aspirations and Limits of Person-Centered Practice

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1.  In behavioral health practice, the principle of “respect” means:
  1. maintaining detailed and thorough client records.
  2. shaking the hands of all clients upon meeting them.
  3. avoiding dual relationships with clients, particularly when licensing laws prohibit such relationships.
  4. recognizing and honoring the inherent dignity, worth, autonomy, and individuality of all people.
2.  A “person-centered approach” to respect for clients suggests that behavioral health professionals should:
  1. treat clients as the professional would like to be treated.
  2. treat clients as each client would like to be treated.
  3. treat clients as the policies of their practice setting suggest that clients should be treated.
  4. treat clients as their licensing laws require clients to be treated (to avoid negative legal consequences)
3.  Behavioral health professionals should determine what types of professional interactions with clients are respectful by:
  1. focusing on what the client perceives as respectful.
  2. following the norms of the majority of the community in which they live.
  3. identifying behaviors that are deemed unhealthy or dysfunctional by the evidence-based research.
  4. asking AI programs to define what is respectful from a purely objective perspective.
4.  “Respect” as a universal principle suggests that the duty to show respect:
  1. depends on the situation.
  2. applies in all situations.
  3. means clients are owed respect only if they deserve it.
  4. applies only when clients are obeying the law.
5.  Utilitarian ethics suggests that we should honor a client’s right to autonomy. Which of the following is the best example of a statement from a mental health professional showing “respect for client autonomy”?
  1. “I trust you to make the best decision for yourself about how to deal with your anxiety.”
  2. “Given your diagnosis of social anxiety, you should follow the psychiatrist’s suggestion about taking anti-anxiety medications.”
  3. “If you’d only work harder, you would have already overcome your anxiety.”
  4. “As a mental health expert, my job is to tell you the best way to manage your anxiety.”
6.  Which of the following is the best example of a mental health professional’s statement that fits with the notion of “respect as avoiding harm:?
  1. “I’d like to ask you some questions about your childhood. However, please know that we can skip this topic if you’d prefer not to discuss it.”
  2. “Why are you so defensive?”
  3. “My role is to respect your wishes, even if I don’t agree with your goals.”
  4. “As a helping professional, my primary concern is the greatest good of the community.”
7.  Which of the following is the best example of a mental health professional’s statement that fits with the notion of “respect as empathy, kindness, and compassion”?
  1. “You need to stand up for yourself and be more assertive with your boss.”
  2. “Why are you putting up with all that garbage at work?”
  3. “Everything that you tell me is private and confidential.”
  4. “It sounds like you’re feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated at work.”
8.  Question 8
  1. Answer A
  2. Answer B
  3. Answer C
  4. Answer D
9.  You are facilitating a bereavement group. Some group members would like to start each meeting with a prayer. Others say that they do not want any religious practices imposed on them during the group. You want to respect the self-determination of the entire group, but recognize that different members have different wishes. From an ethics perspective, which of the following processes should you use to deal with this conflict?
  1. Make a unilateral decision for the group to determine whether group meetings will start with prayers.
  2. Convince the group that prayers are inappropriate because this is a therapeutic group not a religious group.
  3. Encourage members to listen to one another’s views about having or not having prayers, and discuss the issue respectfully to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.
  4. Facilitate a competitive debate where each side presents their strongest arguments for and against including prayers, and then base your decision on the best arguments presented.
10.  A client shares that he felt disrespected during your previous meeting because it ended abruptly at the one-hour mark, leaving him unable to finish processing the issues he was discussing. At this point, which of the following responses would best demonstrate respect for the client?
  1. Inform the client that he should not bring up issues if there is not sufficient time to deal with them within the scheduled hour.
  2. Validate the client’s concern, apologize to the client, and ask what the two of you could do differently to avoid this problem.
  3. Let the client know that it is unreasonable to expect you to meet with him past the scheduled time because you have to meet with other clients.
  4. Ask the client, “Why are you really so upset?”

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