Every order is original, expert-done, and screened for AI — full report on request.See how it works

Assignment questions
PsychologyDiscussion postProfessional ethics

Counseling scope-of-practice complaint case study

Decide whether Janet's licensing board complaint about untrained addiction treatment is valid, say how you would respond to the board and prevent a recurrence, then examine liability precautions for private practice and the benefits of ACA or state association membership.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 13, 2026

01

Competence, referral, and what the board will ask

The first question has a real answer and it turns on the boundaries of competence provision in the counselling code of ethics, which limits practice to areas covered by education, training and supervised experience. Janet presented in AA with six months of sobriety, which is co-occurring substance use disclosed at intake, and you have no addictions training. The complaint's validity therefore depends on whether your treatment addressed the substance use or whether you recognised the limit and referred. Answering with a flat yes or no misses the mark; the defensible answer identifies the facts a board would weigh — what the intake recorded, whether competence was assessed, whether referral or consultation was sought, and what the notes show. The second and third questions follow from that: a response to the board is a documented factual account, and prevention is a screening and referral protocol rather than a resolution to be more careful next time.

The second part shifts from this case to private practice generally, and it asks two different things. Precautions to minimise professional liability are concrete: informed consent that states scope, intake screening for co-occurring conditions, documented consultation, a referral network established before you need it, professional liability insurance, and records that would survive review. The association question is a research task, not an opinion — choose the American Counseling Association or your state body, and report its actual member benefits, activities, services and a current issue it is working on, then say why those matter specifically to a solo practitioner. The prompt names a CACREP standard, so ground the ethical reasoning in the published code rather than in general professionalism. Quoting the relevant provision and then applying it to Janet's facts is more persuasive than describing what an ethical counsellor would do, and it is also what the standard is testing: applications of ethical and legal considerations, not familiarity with them.

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

  • 01
    Apply the boundaries of competence provision to a disclosed co-occurring condition.
  • 02
    Distinguish treating a condition from recognising it and referring.
  • 03
    Construct a factual, documented response to a regulatory complaint.
  • 04
    Identify concrete liability controls available to a private practitioner.
  • 05
    Evaluate a professional association's services against a practitioner's actual needs.
Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Assignment Depression Treatment Case Study Depression Treatment Case Study 1. Janet has been seen by you for treatment of depression. On intake, she disclosed that she was in AA and had been sober for 6 months. Janet seems to be happy with her progress, but after a few sessions, she seems to be no communicative and upset. After six sessions, she discontinues therapy with you. You learn that she has engaged another counselor who treats alcohol use and co-occurring disorders. This morning you received notice from your licensing board that Janet filed a complaint against you alleging that you attempted to treat Janet’s addiction to alcohol and that you did not have the expertise necessary to do so. You are a licensed professional counselor but you have not obtained training in addictions. Based on this information, answer the following questions: 1. Does Janet have a valid complaint? Why or why not? 2. How would you respond to the Licensing board complaint? 3. How would you avoid this type of complaint in the future? This discussion question meets the following CACREP Standard: 2.F.1.i. Â Ethical standards of professional counseling organizations and credentialing bodies, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling. Depression Treatment Case Study. 2. What special precautions or practices should a private practitioner adopt in order to minimize professional liability and ensure that their treatment of clients remains soundly within the boundaries of professional practice standards? The American Counseling Association as well as individual state counseling associations (i.e., ICA, AzCA) provide a variety of resources to clinicians. Choose either the ACA or your state’s counseling association. What are its member benefits, activities, services to members, and current issue? How could membership be especially helpful to the private practitioner? Summarize what the ACA Code of Ethics says about the following: report writing, record keeping, and service reimbursement. This discussion question meets the following CACREP Standard: 5.C.2.m. Record keeping, third party reimbursement, and other practice and management issues in clinical mental health counseling. 3. What special precautions or practices should a private practitioner adopt in order to minimize professional liability and ensure that their treatment of clients remains soundly within the boundaries of professional practice standards? The American Counseling Association as well as individual state counseling associations (i.e., ICA, AzCA) provide a variety of resources to clinicians. Choose either the ACA or your state’s counseling association. What are its member benefits, activities, services to members, and current issue? How could membership be especially helpful to the private practitioner? Summarize what the ACA Code of Ethics says about the following: report writing, record keeping, and service reimbursement. This discussion question meets the following CACREP Standard: 5.C.2.m. Record keeping, third party reimbursement, and other practice and management issues in clinical mental health counseling. Depression Treatment Case Study. 4. Describe in detail situations in which referring your client to a different counselor and/or agency should be considered. If referral is not an option, what ethical alternatives could you identify to continue to work with this client? Include references to the ACA and/or NAADAC code of ethics to support your response. 5. Sheila came to your office about 8 months ago seeking counseling. She stated that she, “hoped to save her marriage.” After a few sessions with Sheila, you suggested that couples counseling might be helpful, but her husband, Roy, refused to participate. Three months ago, Sheila and Roy went through a very nasty breakup of their marriage, and now you have been subpoenaed to produce all of your records pertaining to Sheila’s treatment. Sheila has told you not to comply with the subpoena. Assignment Depression Treatment Case Study What should you do? Why? Describe the specific steps you would take in responding to the subpoena. 6. Marcie is a new client and a 22-year-old female who works as a receptionist in a doctor’s office. She has just revealed to you during the intake session that she has recently lost interest in most activities, has been sleeping a great deal yet feels tired all the time, and sometimes wishes she could cease to exist. She mentioned feeling as though she has been “on an emotional roller coaster” during the past year, throughout her on-again/off-again relationship with a 35-year-old married man. The last breakup with him seemed final, and Marcie has felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into depression ever since. When probed further about suicidal ideations, Marcie admitted that she has considered killing herself, although she is uncertain whether or not she would actually do it. She said that she is currently in possession of a gun that her friend allowed her to keep in her home following a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood, but she does not know whether she would actually use it. You have consulted with your supervisor, who has agreed that Marcie should be referred immediately for a psychiatric evaluation and has instructed you to arrange for Marcie to go directly from your office to a nearby hospital. Marcie told you that her mother accompanied her and is in the waiting room, but she has emphatically stated that she does not want her mother to know what is going on with her. How should this delicate situation be handled? Why? What are three ethical and/or legal concerns about this case? This discussion question meets the following CACREP Standards: 2.F.1.l. Self-care strategies appropriate to the counselor role. 5.C.2.a. Roles and settings of clinical mental health counselors. Each question has to be answered by it-self and with 150-200 words. Each one also must have a quote in it and be cited in the APA form-mate. Â They need to be answered by their self and not together. Depression Treatment Case Study.
02

Turn the brief into deliverables

  1. 01
    A reasoned decision on whether Janet's complaint is valid, with the facts that decide it.
  2. 02
    How you would respond to the licensing board complaint.
  3. 03
    How you would avoid this type of complaint in future.
  4. 04
    Special precautions a private practitioner should adopt to minimise professional liability.
  5. 05
    The chosen association's member benefits, activities, services and a current issue.
  6. 06
    An explanation of how membership would help a private practitioner specifically.
03

Validity, response, prevention, then liability

01

Is the complaint valid?

The boundaries of competence provision applied to the disclosed AA history.

02

Responding to the board

A factual, documented account of intake, assessment, treatment and referral.

03

Preventing a recurrence

Intake screening, competence assessment, consultation and a referral network.

04

Liability precautions in private practice

Informed consent scope, screening, documentation, consultation and insurance.

05

The professional association

Named body, its benefits, activities, services and a current issue.

06

Why membership matters to a solo practitioner

The specific gaps membership fills for someone practising without colleagues.

04

The code of ethics and the association's own materials

Recommended databases

  • American Counseling Association
  • CACREP
  • NBCC
  • Your state licensing board
  • Your state counseling association

Search sequence

  1. 1.
    Read the boundaries of competence provisions in the ACA Code of Ethics.
  2. 2.
    Check the referral and termination provisions that apply when a need falls outside competence.
  3. 3.
    Read the CACREP standard the prompt names to see what is being assessed.
  4. 4.
    Check the NBCC ethics material for the credentialing body's parallel requirements.
  5. 5.
    Open the ACA or your state association site and record actual benefits, services and a current issue.
05

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

  1. 01

    Counseling Ethics and ACA Code of Ethics Resources

    American Counseling Association · 2025

    The boundaries of competence and referral provisions the validity question turns on, plus association services.

  2. 02

    2024 CACREP Standards

    Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs · 2024

    The standard the prompt names, which defines what this question is assessing.

  3. 03

    Ethics

    National Board for Certified Counselors · 2025

    The credentialing body's parallel competence requirements, relevant to the board response.

06

Review before submission

Common mistakes

  • Answering the validity question yes or no without naming the facts a board would weigh.
  • Treating the ethical issue as intent rather than as competence and referral.
  • Responding to the board defensively rather than with a documented factual account.
  • Offering prevention as an intention to be careful instead of a screening protocol.
  • Describing the association generically without reporting its actual current issue.
  • Ignoring the named CACREP standard the prompt anchors the question to.

Submission checklist

  • The validity answer identifies the specific ethical provision at issue.
  • The board response is framed as documentation, not justification.
  • Prevention is a protocol with steps, not a resolution.
  • Liability precautions include informed consent, screening, consultation and records.
  • The association is named with real benefits, services and a current issue.
  • The ethical reasoning cites the published code of ethics.

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.

Written by

Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines

Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.

Reviewed by

Dr. Nathan Cole

PhD, Rhetoric & Composition

Argumentation and thesis development

Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.

Want feedback on your plan before you draft?

Get help interpreting the brief, checking your evidence strategy, and strengthening your outline while keeping the work your own.

Get assignment guidance
Start your order