Standard VIII Financial Arrangements
9.4 Professional Identification. Marriage and family therapists do not use any professional identification (such as a business card, office sign, letterhead, Internet, or telephone or association directory listing) if it includes a statement or claim that is false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive. 9.5 Educational Credentials. Marriage and family therapists claim degrees for their clinical services only if those degrees demonstrate training and education in marriage and family therapy or related fields. 9.6 Employee or Supervisee Qualifications. Marriage and family therapists make certain that the qualifications of their employees and supervisees are represented in a manner that is true, accurate, and in accordance Marriage and family therapists represent themselves as providing specialized services only after taking reasonable steps to ensure the competence of their work and to protect clients, supervisees, and others from harm. 9.8 Correction of Misinformation. Marriage and family therapists correct, wherever possible, false, misleading, or inaccurate information and representations made by others concerning the therapist’s qualifications, services, or products. h. Ensure there is not a conflict of interest in providing referral resources. School counselors do not refer or accept a referral to counsel students from their school if they also work in a private counseling practice. B. Responsibilities to Parents/Guardians, School, and Self B. 3. Responsibilities to Self l. Have an awareness of and make clear distinctions between actions and statements (verbal or written) made as a private individual versus those made as a representative of the school counseling profession and of the school district/school entity. Respect the intellectual property of others and adhere to copyright laws and correctly cite others’ work when using it. with applicable law. 9.7 Specialization. Misrepresentation, fraud, and deception in practice and business can have devastating effects on the mental health and well-being of the client and community members. 4. Justice, or treating individuals equitably and fostering fairness and equality. Justice, fairness, and equality are based on honest communication and practice to address client needs and desired outcomes. Deception, fraud, and misrepresentation are the root causes of inequality and injustice counselors are committed to fight against. 5. Fidelity, or honoring commitments and keeping promises, including fulfilling one’s responsibilities of trust in professional relationships. Fraud, misrepresentation, and deception not only destroy trust and dishonor the profession, they may cause irreparable damage to clients. 6. Veracity, or dealing truthfully with individuals with whom counselors come into professional contact. Professional contact may occur face-to-face, through technology, word of mouth, advertising, advocacy, community memberships and affiliations, or any contact with clients, community, and the society at large. The counselor has the responsibility to interact truthfully as a representative of the profession in all areas of contact.
Marriage and family therapists make financial arrangements with clients, third-party payors, and supervisees that are reasonably understandable and conform to accepted professional practices. 8.4 Truthful Representation of Services. Marriage and family therapists represent facts truthfully to clients, third-party payors, and supervisees regarding services rendered. Standard IX Advertising Marriage and family therapists engage in appropriate informational activities, including those that enable the public, referral sources, or others to choose professional services on an informed basis. 9.1 Accurate Professional Representation. Marriage and family therapists accurately represent their competencies, education, training, and experience relevant to their practice of marriage and family therapy in accordance with applicable law. 9.2 Promotional Materials. Marriage and family therapists ensure that advertisements and publications in any media are true, accurate, and in accordance with applicable law. 9.3 Professional Affiliations. Marriage and family therapists do not hold themselves out as being partners or associates of a firm if they are not. ASCA Standards: Unethical Representations A. Responsibility to Students A. 5. Sustaining Healthy Relationships and Managing Boundaries School counselors: j. Strive to avoid a conflict of interest through self-promotion that would benefit the school counselor personally and/or financially (e.g., advertising their products and/or services). A. 6. Appropriate Collaboration, Advocacy and Referrals for Counseling g. Provide internal and external service providers with accurate and meaningful data necessary to adequately assess, counsel and assist students. Discussion This topic obviously is important to AAMFT because it appears in five of the nine standards in their Code of Ethics document and is found throughout the ACA and ASCA codes as well. The issues of misrepresentation and misleading, deceptive, and fraudulent statements are part every common ethical mistake to some degree because they violate all the core values and principles that establish the framework of counseling and therapy. The principles in the ACA Code of Ethics, for example, illustrate the importance of truthful, accurate, honest communication as the foundation of ethical practice (ACA, 2014). Examples of the effects of unethical representations are given to illustrate how they undermine these ethical principles. 1. Autonomy, or fostering the right to control the direction of one’s life. How can a client acquire strategies for control, develop self-esteem, or change the direction of their life if they do not have honest communication to build trust with the counselor? 2. Nonmaleficence, or avoiding actions that cause harm. Fraud, misrepresentation, and deception are the definition of harm to the client. 3. Beneficence, or working for the good of the individual and society by promoting mental health and well-being.
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