Code of Ethics for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists __________________________________
The major goal of the Privacy Rule is to ensure that health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of information to promote quality healthcare and protect the public’s health. The HIPAA Privacy Rule and the codes of ethics for mental health practitioners complement each other and were developed to ensure privacy, confidentiality, and the well-being of individuals and society. This course reviews the codes of ethics and guidelines from several different organizations, including: • The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) • The American Counselors Association (ACA) • The American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) • The Association of Marital Therapy Regulatory Board (AMFTRB) The codes and guidelines for each of these associations will be summarized. Some codes have been recently revised, and all should be reviewed in their entirety on their respective websites included in the resource section at the end of this course. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES Standards of practice and the idea of accountability can be traced back to ancient Egypt. The code of Hammurabi was established as far back as 2000 B.C.E. It contained a descrip- tion of physicians’ responsibilities and the consequences and punishments if a patient’s health did not improve. The Hippocratic Oath, written in 400 B.C.E., can be viewed as an early example of a code of ethics to guide the practice of medical professionals and define obligations to their profes- sion, practice, and patients. This ancient oath is the founda- tion for the values and ethical principles in our current codes of ethics. The writings of Aristotle concluded that ethics provided guidelines for virtuous and moral action. In his rule, the “Gold Mean,” Aristotle defined an ethical choice as one that falls in the middle of two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency [2]. After World War II, the American Psychological Association (APA) saw the need to develop a code of ethics due to a change in the type of professional activity requested of its members. Psychologists were called to address the mental health needs of soldiers returning home from the war and were responsible for developing psychological assessments to determine eligibility for the draft. A committee was formed to identify ethical issues to effectively guide psychologists’ practice. It covered concepts that included the psychologists’ responsibilities when treating clients, training students, and consulting colleagues as well as ethical research practices [3].
Throughout the years, other mental health organizations developed codes of ethics and enacted subsequent revisions to address the continuing changes in society and the needs of their clients. The ACA can trace its roots to 1952 when independent member associations held a joint convention. These associa- tions included the National Vocational Guidance Association (NVGA); the National Association of Guidance and Coun- selor Trainers (NAGCT); the Student Personnel Association for Teacher Education (SPATE); and the American College Personnel Association. They established the American Personnel and Guidance Asso- ciation (APGA) to form a professional group that united all counselors. A Code of Ethics was first developed and adopted in 1963. In 1983, the association adopted the name American Association of Counseling and Development. It was changed again on July 1, 1992, to the American Counseling Association (ACA). This new membership association unified the various counseling professions into one entity that reflected shared goals, purpose, and commitment to ethical practice. The ACA developed a professional Code of Ethics that has been adopted by licensing boards who use the code as the basis in counseling decision-making on ethical issues. The ACA Code has been revised every 7 to 10 years: The recent revision adopted in 2014 replaces the 2005 edition. The American Counseling Association now services professional counselors in the United States and in 50 other countries in Europe and Latin America, as well as the Philippines and the Virgin Islands. In addition, the ACA is associated with a comprehensive network of 19 divisions and 56 branches [4]. The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) was founded in 1942 to address the needs and changing demands of couples and family relationships. This membership association supports research and provides educa- tion, tools, and resources to provide effective services in the field of marriage and family therapy. The AAMFT’s goal is to ensure that trained, ethical professionals meet the needs of clients and society. This association is now the professional membership association for the field of marriage and family therapy, with more than 50,000 marriage and family therapists throughout the United States, Canada, and around the world. The National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates (NBCC) is a not-for-profit, independent certification organization that was established in 1982 [5]. The organization was founded to create a voluntary national certification system and to identify certified counselors by maintaining a registry of membership. Since then, NBCC divisions and affiliates have expanded their commitment to include advancement of the profession with the goal of improving mental health around the world.
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