Indiana Administrative Code › Title 839 - DIVISION OF FAMILY RESOURCES › Article 1 - TANF ASSISTANCE PROGRAM › Rule 5 - Mental Health Counselors › Section 5-5 - Standards for the competent practice of mental health counseling

Current through July 10, 2024
Authority: IC
				  25-23.6-2-8
Affected: IC 25-23.6
Sec. 5.
The licensed mental health counselor must comply with IC
				  25-23.6 governing the practice of mental health counseling and shall abide by
				  the following standards:
(1) A mental
				health counselor's primary professional responsibility is to the client. The
				mental health counselor shall make every reasonable effort to advance the
				welfare and best interests of the client, including respecting the rights of
				those persons seeking assistance and making reasonable efforts to ensure that
				the mental health counselor's services are used appropriately.
(2) The mental health counselor shall act in
				accordance with the highest standards of professional integrity and competence.
				The mental health counselor is honest in dealing with clients, students,
				trainees, colleagues, and the public. The mental health counselor seeks to
				eliminate incompetence or dishonesty from the profession.
(3) The mental health counselor holds in
				confidence information obtained in the course of professional service; the
				mental health counselor safeguards client confidences as permitted by
				law.
(4) The mental health
				counselor respects the rights and responsibilities of professional colleagues
				and, as the employee of an organization, remains accountable as an individual
				to the ethical principles of the profession. The mental health counselor treats
				colleagues with respect and good faith and relates to the clients of colleagues
				with full professional consideration.
(5) When using assessment instruments or
				techniques, the mental health counselor shall make every effort to promote the
				welfare and best interests of the client. The mental health counselor guards
				against the misuse of assessment results, and respects the client's right to
				know the results, the interpretations, and the basis for any conclusions or
				recommendations.
(6) The mental
				health counselor recognizes that research activities must be conducted with
				full respect for the rights and dignity of participants and with full concern
				for their welfare. Participation in research must be voluntary unless it can be
				demonstrated that involuntary participation will have no harmful effects on the
				subjects and is essential to the investigation.
(7) The mental health counselor adheres to
				professional rather than commercial standards when making known his or her
				availability for professional services. The mental health counselor shall
				provide information that accurately informs the public of the professional
				services, expertise, and techniques available.
(8) The mental health counselor shall not
				abandon or neglect clients in treatment without making reasonable arrangements
				for the continuation of such treatment.
(9) The mental health counselor is aware of
				anything that might interfere with the counselor's effectiveness and shall
				refrain from any activity that might lead to inadequate performance or harm to
				anyone, including himself or herself and the client.