ACA Code of Conduct

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Section A. The Counseling Relationship

A.1. Client Welfare

A.2. Informed Consent in the Counseling Relationship

A.3. Clients Served by Others

A.4. Avoiding Harm and Imposing Values

A.5. Prohibited Noncounseling Roles and Relationships

A.6. Managing and Maintaining Boundaries and Professional Relationships

A.7. Roles and Relationships at Individual, Group, Institutional, and Societal Levels

A.8. Multiple Clients

A.9. Group Work

A.10. Fees and Business Practices

A.11. Termination and Referral

A.12. Abandonment and Client Neglect

Section B. Confidentiality and Privacy

B.1. Respecting Client Rights

B.2. Exceptions

B.3. Information Shared With Others

B.4. Groups and Families

B.5. Clients Lacking Capacity to Give Informed Consent

B.6. Records and Documentation

B.7. Case Consultation

Section C. Professional Responsibility

C.1. Knowledge of and Compliance With Standards

C.2. Professional Competence

C.3. Advertising and Soliciting Clients

C.4. Professional Qualifications

C.5. Nondiscrimination

C.6. Public Responsibility

C.7. Treatment Modalities

C.8. Responsibility to Other Professionals

Section D. Relationships With Other Professionals

D.1. Relationships With Colleagues, Employers, and Employees

D.2. Provision of Consultation Services

Section E. Evaluation, Assessment, and Interpretation

E.1. General

E.2. Competence to Use and Interpret Assessment Instruments

E.3. Informed Consent in Assessment

E.4. Release of Data to Qualified Personnel

E.5. Diagnosis of Mental Disorders

E.6. Instrument Selection

E.7. Conditions of Assessment Administration

E.8. Multicultural Issues/ Diversity in Assessment

E.9. Scoring and Interpretation of Assessments

E.10. Assessment Security

E.11. Obsolete Assessment and Outdated Results

E.12. Assessment Construction

E.13. Forensic Evaluation: Evaluation for Legal Proceedings

Section F. Supervision, Training, and Teaching

F.1. Counselor Supervision and Client Welfare

F.2. Counselor Supervision Competence

F.3. Supervisory Relationship

F.4. Supervisor Responsibilities

F.5. Student and Supervisee Responsibilities

F.6. Counseling Supervision Evaluation, Remediation, and Endorsement

F.7. Responsibilities of Counselor Educators

F.8. Student Welfare

F.9. Evaluation and Remediation

F.10. Roles and Relationships Between Counselor Educators and Students

E.11. Multicultural/Diversity Competence in Counselor Education and Training Programs

Section G. Research and Publication

G.1. Research Responsibilities

G.2. Rights of Research Participants

G.3. Managing and Maintaining Boundaries

G.4. Reporting Results

G.5. Publications and Presentations

Section H. Distance Counseling, Technology, and Social Media

H.1. Knowledge and Legal Considerations

H.2. Informed Consent and Security

H.3. Client Verifcation

H.4. Distance Counseling Relationship

H.5. Records and Web Maintenance

H.6. Social Media

Section I. Resolving Ethical Issues

I.1. Standards and the Law

I.2. Suspected Violations

I.3. Cooperation With Ethics Committees