S.C. Code Regs. § § 36-22

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 11, November 22, 2024

Section 36-22 - Code of Ethics for Professional Counselors

(A) General.

(1) Professional Counselors shall engage in continuous efforts to improve professional practices, services, and research and shall be guided in their work by evidence of the best professional practices.

(2) Professional Counselors shall recognize their responsibility to the clients they serve and the institutions in which the services are performed and shall strive to assist the respective agency, organization, or institution in providing competent and ethical professional services. The acceptance of employment in an institution shall mean that the Professional Counselor is in agreement with the general policies and principles of the institution and that the professional activities of the Professional Counselor are in accord with the objectives of the institution. If the Professional Counselor and the employer do not agree and cannot reach agreement on policies that are consistent with appropriate counselor ethical practice that is conducive to client growth and development, the Professional Counselor shall terminate his employment and strive to change the unethical practice through appropriate professional organizations.

(3) Professional Counselors shall engage in ethical behavior at all times and shall take immediate action to report unethical behavior by professional interns to the Board or other appropriate authority.

(4) Professional Counselors must refuse remuneration for consultation or counseling with persons who are entitled to these services through the counselor's employing institution or agency and shall not divert to their private practices, without the mutual consent of the institution and the client, legitimate clients in their primary agencies, or the institutions with which they are affiliated.

(5) In establishing fees, Professional Counselors shall consider the financial status of clients, and if the established fee is inappropriate, must provide assistance to the client in finding comparable services at an acceptable cost. Professional Counselors shall not enter into any agreement wherein counseling services are exchanged as barter.

(6) Professional Counselors shall offer only professional services for which they are trained or have supervised experience. No diagnosis, assessment, or treatment shall be performed without prior training or supervision. Professional Counselors shall correct any misrepresentation of their qualifications by others.

(7) Professional Counselors shall recognize their limitations and provide services or use techniques for which they are qualified by training and/or supervision. Professional Counselors shall recognize the need for and seek continuing education to assure competent services.

(8) Professional Counselors must be aware of the intimacy in the counseling relationship and maintain respect for the client and must not engage in activities that seek to meet their personal or professional needs at the expense of the client.

(9) Professional Counselors shall not engage in personal, social, organizational, financial, or political activities which might lead to a misuse of their influence.

(10) Professional Counselors shall not engage in sexual intimacy with clients and shall not be sexually, physically, or romantically intimate with clients, nor engage in sexual, physical, or romantic intimacy with clients within two (2) years after terminating the counseling relationship.

(11) Professional Counselors shall not engage in sexual harassment or other unwelcome comments, gestures, or physical contact of a sexual nature, nor shall they condone such conduct in others.

(12) Professional Counselors shall guard the individual rights and personal dignity of their clients in the counseling relationship through an awareness of the impact of stereotyping and unwarranted discrimination.

(13) Professional Counselors shall be accountable at all times for their behavior and must be aware that all actions and behaviors reflect on professional integrity and, when inappropriate, can damage the public trust in the counseling profession. To protect public confidence in the counseling profession, Professional Counselors shall avoid behavior that is clearly in violation of accepted moral and legal standards.

(14) Professional Counselors shall observe this Code of Ethics in all products and services offered, including but not limited to classroom instruction, public lectures, demonstrations, written articles, radio, and television programs.

(15) Professional Counselors must withdraw from the practice of counseling if the mental or physical condition of the Counselor renders it unlikely that a professional relationship can be maintained.

(B) Counseling Relationship.

(1) Professional Counselors shall respect the integrity and promote the welfare of clients, whether they are assisted individually, in family units, or in group counseling. In group settings, the Professional Counselor shall be responsible for taking reasonable precautions to protect individuals from physical and/or psychological trauma resulting from interaction within the group.

(2) Professional Counselors shall take into account the traditions and practices of other professional disciplines with whom they work and cooperate fully with them. If a person is receiving similar services from another professional, Professional Counselors shall not offer their own services directly to such a person. If a Professional Counselor is contacted by a person who is already receiving similar services from another professional, the Professional Counselor must carefully consider that professional relationship and the client's welfare and proceed with caution and sensitivity to the therapeutic needs of the client. When Professional Counselors learn that their clients are in a professional relationship with another mental health professional, the Professional Counselor must request release from the client to inform the other mental health professional of their relationship with the client and strive to establish positive and collaborative professional relationships that are in the best interest of the client. Professional Counselors shall discuss these issues with the client and the mental health professional so as to minimize the risk of confusion and conflict and encourage clients to inform other professionals of the new professional relationship.

(3) Professional Counselors may consult with any other professionally competent person about a client and shall inform the client of this possibility. Professional Counselors must avoid placing a consultant in a conflict-of-interest situation that would preclude the consultant serving as a proper party to the efforts to assist the client.

(4) Professional Counselors may share confidential information when there is a clear and imminent danger to the client and others, as provided by law.

(5) Professional Counselors shall maintain records of the counseling relationship which may include interview notes, test data, correspondence, audio or visual tape recordings, electronic data storage, and other documents. Records shall contain accurate factual data, and the physical record are the property of the Professional Counselor or their employers. Professional Counselors shall maintain records in accordance with the policy of the Board.

(6) Professional Counselors shall ensure that all data maintained in electronic storage are secure. Stored data shall be limited to information that is appropriate and necessary for the services provided and accessible only to appropriate staff members involved in the provision of services. Professional Counselors shall ensure that the electronically stored data are destroyed when the information is no longer of value in providing services or required as part of the client's record.

(7) Professional Counselors shall disguise identifying information derived from a client relationship when that information is used in training or research. Any data which cannot be disguised may be used only as expressly authorized by the client's informed consent.

(8) Professional Counselors shall inform clients of the purposes, goals, techniques, procedures, limitations, potential risks, and benefits of services to be performed, and clearly indicate limitations that may affect the relationship as well as any other pertinent information. Professional Counselors must take reasonable steps to ensure that clients understand the implications of any diagnosis, the intended use of tests and reports, methods of treatment, and safety precautions that must be taken in their use, fees, and billing arrangements.

(9) Professional Counselors who have an administrative, supervisory, and/or evaluative relationship with individuals seeking counseling services shall not serve as the counselor and shall refer the individual to other professionals. Exceptions may be made only in instances where an individual's situation warrants counseling intervention and another alternative is not available. Dual relationships that might impair the counselor's objectivity and professional judgment must be avoided and/or the counseling relationship terminated through referral to a competent professional.

(10) When a Professional Counselor determines an inability to be of professional assistance to a potential or existing client, the counselor must, respectively, not initiate the counseling relationship or immediately terminate the relationship. In either event, the counselor must suggest appropriate alternatives and be knowledgeable about referral resources so that a satisfactory referral can be initiated. If the client declines the referral, the counselor shall not be obligated to continue the relationship.

(11) When engaging in intensive, short-term counseling, a Professional Counselor shall ensure that professional assistance is available at normal costs to clients during and following the short-term counseling.

(12) Professional Counselors who employ electronic means in which the counselor and client are not in immediate proximity must present clients with local sources of care before establishing a continued short or long-term relationship.

(13) Professional Counselors shall obtain legal authorization to practice in any jurisdiction in which they maintain an electronic presence via the internet or other electronic means.

(14) Professional Counselors shall ensure that clients are intellectually, emotionally, and physically compatible with computer applications used by the counselor and understand their purpose and operation.

(15) Professional Counselors shall maintain client confidentiality as provided by law.

(16) Professional Counselors shall screen prospective group counseling participants to ensure compatibility with group objectives.

(C) Measurement and Evaluation.

(1) Professional Counselors shall recognize the limits of their competence and perform only those assessment functions for which they have received appropriate training or supervision.

(2) Professional Counselors who utilize assessment instruments to assist them with diagnoses must have appropriate training and skills in educational and mental measurement, validation criteria, test research, and guidelines for test development and use.

(3) Professional Counselors shall provide instrument specific orientation or information to an examinee prior to and following the administration of assessment instruments or techniques so that the results may be placed in proper perspective with other relevant factors. The purpose of testing and the explicit use of the results must be disclosed to an examinee prior to testing.

(4) Professional Counselors shall carefully evaluate the specific theoretical bases and characteristics, validity, reliability, and appropriateness of an instrument in selecting the instrument or techniques for use in a given situation or with a particular client.

(5) Professional Counselors must provide accurate information and avoid false claims or misconceptions concerning the meaning of an instrument's reliability and validity terms when making statements to the public about assessment instruments or techniques.

(6) Professional Counselors shall follow the directions and researched procedures for selection, administration, and interpretation of all evaluation instruments and use them only within proper contexts.

(7) Professional Counselors shall be cautious when interpreting the results of instruments that possess insufficient technical data, and must explicitly state to examinees the specific limitations and purposes for the use of such instruments.

(8) Professional Counselors shall proceed cautiously when attempting to evaluate and interpret performance of any person who cannot be appropriately compared to the norms for the instruments.

(9) Professional Counselors shall maintain test security.

(10) Professional Counselors shall consider psychometric limitations when selecting and using an instrument, and must be cognizant of the limitations when interpreting the results.

(11) Professional Counselors shall ensure that appropriate interpretation accompanies any release of individual or group test data and shall obtain explicit prior understanding and consent when releasing results.

(12) Professional Counselors shall ensure that computer-generated test administration and scoring programs function properly thereby providing clients with accurate test results.

(13) Professional Counselors who develop computer-based test interpretations to support the assessment process shall ensure that the validity of the interpretations is established prior to the commercial distribution of the computer application.

(14) Professional Counselors shall recognize that test results may become obsolete and avoid the misuse of obsolete data.

(D) Research and Publication.

(1) Professional Counselors shall adhere to applicable legal and professional guidelines on research with human subjects.

(2) In planning research activities involving human subjects, Professional Counselors shall be aware of and responsive to all pertinent ethical principles and ensure that the research problem, design, and execution are in full compliance with any pertinent institutional or governmental regulations.

(3) The ultimate responsibility for ethical research lies with the principal researcher, although others involved in the research activities are ethically obligated and responsible for their own actions.

(4) Professional Counselors who conduct research with human subjects are responsible for the welfare of the subjects throughout the experiment and must take all reasonable precautions to avoid causing injurious psychological, physical, or social effects on their subjects.

(5) Professional Counselors who conduct research shall abide by the basic elements of informed consent:

(a) a fair explanation of the procedures to be followed, including an identification of those which are experimental; and

(b) a description of the attendant discomforts and risks; and

(c) a description of the benefits to be expected; and

(d) disclosure of appropriate alternative procedures that would be advantageous for subjects with an offer to answer any inquiries concerning the procedures; and

(e) an instruction that subjects are free to withdraw their consent and to discontinue participation in the project or activity at any time.

(6) When reporting research results, explicit mention shall be made of all the variables and conditions known to the investigator that may have affected the outcome of the study or the interpretation of the data.

(7) Professional Counselors who conduct and report research investigations shall do so in a manner that minimizes the possibility that the results will be misleading.

(8) Professional Counselors shall give credit through joint authorship, acknowledgment, footnote statements, or other appropriate means to those who have contributed to the research and/or publication, in accordance with such contributions.

(9) Professional Counselors shall communicate to other counselors the results of any research judged to be of professional value.

(E) Consulting.

(1) Professional Counselors, acting as consultants, must have a high degree of self awareness of their own values, knowledge, skills, limitations, and needs in entering a helping relationship that involves human and/or organizational change. The focus of the consulting relationship must be on the issues to be resolved and not on the persons presenting the problem.

(2) In the consulting relationship, the Professional Counselor and the client must understand and agree upon the problem definition, subsequent goals, and predicted consequences of interventions selected.

(3) Professional Counselors acting as consultants must be reasonably certain that they, or the organization represented, have the necessary competencies and resources for giving the kind of help that is needed or that may develop later, and that appropriate referral resources are available.

(4) Professional Counselors in a consulting relationship must encourage and cultivate client adaptability and growth toward self-direction. Professional Counselors must maintain this role consistently and not become a decision maker for clients or create a future dependency on the consultant.

(F) Private Practice.

(1) In advertising services as a private practitioner, Professional Counselors must advertise in a manner that accurately informs the public of the professional services, expertise, and techniques of counseling available.

(2) Professional Counselors who assume an executive leadership role in a private practice organization shall not permit their names to be used in professional notices during periods of time when they are not actively engaged in the private practice of counseling unless their executive roles are clearly stated.

(3) Professional Counselors shall make available their highest degree (described by discipline), type and level of certification, and/or license, address, telephone number, office hours, type and/or description of services, and other relevant information. Listed information must not contain false, inaccurate, misleading, partial, out-of-context, or otherwise deceptive material or statements.

(4) Professional Counselors who are involved in a partnership/corporation with other certified counselors and/or other professionals, must clearly specify all relevant specialties of each member of the partnership or corporation.

S.C. Code Regs. § 36-22

Added by State Register Volume 30, Issue No. 5, eff May 26, 2006; State Register Volume 42, Issue No. 05, eff. 5/25/2018; State Register Volume 43, Issue No. 05, eff. 5/24/2019; State Register Volume 46, Issue No. 05, eff. 5/27/2022.