Mental Health Care Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics of the American Mental Health Counselors Association is lengthy, and covers extensive points. The main focus is on recognizing the dignity and worth of the individual. Counselors are to protect the welfare of people who come to them for help. They are to behave in a professional and ethical manner, and always consider the best interests of clients, colleagues and society as a whole. The Code is periodically revised, and was last updated in 2000.

Principles

• The Code of Ethics has 15 principles to address these ideals, and each principle has numerous subtopics. The two main sections are clinical and professional. Clinical issues include client welfare and rights, confidentiality issues, proper usage of testing and ethical research. Professional issues include competency, professional relationships, relationships with employees and students, ethical and legal standards, online counseling and resolution of ethical problems.

Clinical Issues

• The clinical section mandates particular behaviors to maintain the Code of Ethics. These include anti-discrimination policies, specific ways of handling multiple clients in the same family, restricting intimate relationships with former clients in certain time frames and prohibiting this type of relationship with current clients, pro bono work (providing services with low or no fees), and reasons for terminating a counseling relationship. This section also addresses psychological test selection, administration and interpretation.

Professional Issues

• The professional section addresses how to maintain the highest standards through continued education and training, building professional relationships based on dignity and respect, prohibiting intimate relationships with students and employees under direct supervision, and not using an institutional affiliation to recruit clients for a private practice.

Welfare of the Client

• The most attention in the mental health care Code of Ethics is devoted to the welfare of the client. The Code states that the main responsibility of counselors is respecting each client's dignity and integrity. Counselors and clients should work together to create integrated, individual counseling plans. Counselors must never discriminate in their practice against any groups of people, and should make an effort to understand any relevant cultural diversity. They must not accept clients with whom they already have relationships. Sexual relationships with current clients are strictly prohibited, and counselors are not to provide counseling services for anyone with whom they have previously had an intimate relationship.

Online Counseling

• In the professional issues, the Code devotes much attention to the newest form of counseling--online counseling--partly because official training standards have not yet been created. Mental health counselors must carefully assess the competence of their work in this area. They must make sure clients understand the limitations of this type of service, and that online counseling may not be beneficial in all situations.