Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 24 - Mental Health › Part 6 - Rules, Regulations and Application Guidelines for the Mental Health Therapist Program › Chapter 7 - Professional Responsibilities › Section 24-6-7-2 - Principles of Ethical and Professional Conduct

Current through June 25, 2024
A. All
				applicants, Provisionally Certified Mental Health Therapists, Certified Mental
				Health Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Mental Health Therapists shall comply
				with ethical standards/principles as established by the Review Board and the
				Department of Mental Health.
B.
				Introduction
The State Legislature granted Statutory Authority for
				  Mississippi Department of Mental Health certification/licensure programs in
				  1996. As a result, the Division of Professional Licensure and Certification was
				  created to develop and implement the programs. Having been amended by the State
				  Legislature in1997, Section
				  41-4-7
				  of the Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated currently includes a provision
				  authorizing the State Board of Mental Health to certify/license case managers,
				  mental health therapists, mental retardation therapists, mental health/mental
				  retardation administrators, addiction counselors and others as deemed
				  appropriate by the State Board of Mental Health.
The Mississippi Department of Mental Health Division of
				  Professional Licensure and Certification Review Board is designed to serve as
				  the governing body to the everyday professional conduct of Mississippi
				  Department of Mental Health credentialed individuals. The individuals
				  credentialed through the Mississippi Department of Mental Health may identify
				  with different professional associations and are often certified by other
				  groups that promulgate codes of ethics. The Mississippi Department of Mental
				  Health Principles of Ethical and Professional Conduct (Chapter 7, Section 2,
				  pp. 39-42), herein referred to as "the principles," provides a minimal ethical
				  standard for the professional behavior of all individuals credentialed through
				  the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. The principles provide a level of
				  expectation for ethical practice from all who hold a Mississippi Department of
				  Mental Health credential. In addition, the principles serve the purpose of
				  having an enforceable standard for all Mississippi Department of Mental Health
				  credentialed individuals and facilitates an avenue for recourse in case of a
				  perceived ethical violation.
Applicable federal and state laws, the principles, program
				  policies and any other pertinent rules must be observed when conducting
				  business as a Mississippi Department of Mental Health credentialed
				  professional. Alleged violations of the principles may be subject to
				  disciplinary action if the Review Board finds that a person is guilty of any
				  violation of the principles. For more information on disciplinary action see
				  the Rules, Regulations and Application Guidelines for each individual
				  discipline.
While the principles cannot guarantee ethical practice by all
				  Mississippi Department of Mental Health credentialed individuals or resolve all
				  issues, the intent of the principles is to provide guidelines for individuals
				  who, in good faith, seek to make reliable ethical judgments. Six general
				  principles of ethical and professional conduct follow. For more specific
				  information on professional responsibility see the Rules, Regulations and
				  Application Guidelines document for each individual discipline.
C. Principle I: Competence
(1) Individuals holding a current credential
				from the Mississippi Department of Mental Health must be employed by a program
				that receives funding from or is certified /licensed or administered by the
				Mississippi Department of Mental Health.
(2) Individuals who hold a credential through
				the Mississippi Department of Mental Health must notify the Division of
				Professional Licensure and Certification upon any change affecting credential
				status, especially a change in employment.
(3) Individuals holding a credential from the
				Mississippi Department of Mental Health must provide services and represent
				themselves as competent within the boundaries of their education, training,
				license, certification, supervised experience or other relevant professional
				experience. Services provided must be based on the most current information and
				knowledge available within the scope of the services of the Mississippi
				Department of Mental Health.
(4)
				Individuals who hold another professional credential shall abide by all
				principles contained herein.
(5)
				The principles do not alleviate the individual responsibility to ethical,
				programmatic, or professional guidelines.
(6) The principles must be adhered to in
				addition to applicable ethical, programmatic and professional
				criteria.