Kansas Administrative Regulations › Agency 102 - BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES REGULATORY BOARD › Article 5 - LICENSING OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS › Section 102-5-12 - Unprofessional conduct

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 28, July 11, 2024
(a) Any license
					may be suspended, limited, conditioned, qualified, restricted, revoked, not
					issued, or not renewed upon a finding by the board that unprofessional conduct
					has occurred.
(b) Any of the
					following acts by either a marriage and family therapy licensee or a marriage
					and family therapy licensure applicant shall constitute unprofessional conduct:
(1) Obtaining or attempting to obtain a
					license or registration for oneself or another by engaging in fraud, bribery,
					deceit, misrepresentation, or by concealing a material fact;
(2) except when the information has been
					obtained in the context of confidentiality, failing to notify the board, within
					a reasonable period of time, that the licensee or applicant or any other person
					regulated by the board or applying for licensure or registration has met any of
					these conditions:
(A) Has had a professional
					license, certificate, permit, registration, certification, or professional
					membership granted by any jurisdiction, professional association, or
					professional organization that has been limited, conditioned, qualified,
					restricted, suspended, revoked, refused, voluntarily surrendered, or allowed to
					expire in lieu of or during investigatory or disciplinary proceedings;
(B) has been subject to any other
					disciplinary action by any credentialing board, professional association, or
					professional organization;
(C) has
					been demoted, terminated, suspended, reassigned, or asked to resign from
					employment, or has resigned from employment, for some form of misfeasance,
					malfeasance, or nonfeasance;
(D)
					has been convicted of a crime; or
(E) has practiced the licensee's or
					registrant's profession in violation of the laws or regulations that regulate
					the profession;
(3)
					knowingly allowing another person to use one's license or registration;
(4) impersonating another person
					holding a license or registration issued by this or any other board;
(5) having been convicted of a crime
					resulting from or relating to one's professional practice of marriage and
					family therapy;
(6) furthering the
					licensure or registration application of another person who is known or
					reasonably believed to be unqualified with respect to character, education, or
					other relevant eligibility requirements;
(7) knowingly aiding or abetting any
					individual who is not credentialed by the board to represent that individual as
					a person who was or is credentialed by the board;
(8) failing to recognize, seek intervention,
					and otherwise appropriately respond when one's own personal problems,
					psychosocial distress, or mental health difficulties interfere with or
					negatively impact professional judgment, professional performance and
					functioning, or the ability to act in the client's best interests;
(9) failing or refusing to cooperate in a
					timely manner with any request from the board for a response, information, or
					assistance with respect to the board's investigation of any report of an
					alleged violation filed against oneself or any other applicant or professional
					who is required to be licensed or registered by the board. Any person taking
					longer than 30 days to provide the requested response, information, or
					assistance shall have the burden of demonstrating that the person has acted in
					a timely manner;
(10) offering to
					perform or performing services clearly inconsistent or incommensurate with
					one's training, education, or experience or with accepted professional
					standards;
(11) treating any
					client, student, or supervisee in a cruel manner;
(12) discriminating against any client,
					student, or supervisee on the basis of color, race, gender, religion, national
					origin, or disability;
(13)
					failing to advise and explain to each client the respective rights,
					responsibilities, and duties involved in the marriage and family therapy
					relationship;
(14) failing to
					provide each client with a description of what the client can expect in the way
					of services, consultation, reports, fees, billing, therapeutic regimen, or
					schedule, or failing to reasonably comply with that description;
(15) failing to provide each client with a
					description of the possible effects of the proposed treatment when the
					treatment is experimental or when there are clear and known risks to the
					client;
(16) failing to inform
					each client, student, or supervisee of any financial interests that might
					accrue to the licensee or applicant if the licensee or applicant refers a
					client, student, or supervisee to any other service or if the licensee or
					applicant uses any tests, books, or apparatus;
(17) failing to inform each client that the
					client is entitled to the same services from a public agency if one is employed
					by that public agency and also offers services privately;
(18) failing to inform each client, student,
					or supervisee of the limits of client confidentiality, the purposes for which
					the information is obtained, and the manner in which the information may be
					used;
(19) revealing information,
					a confidence, or secret of any client, or failing to protect the confidences,
					secrets, or information contained in a client's records, except when at least
					one of these conditions is met:
(A)
					Disclosure is required or permitted by law;
(B) failure to disclose the information
					presents a clear and present danger to the health or safety of an individual or
					the public;
(C) the licensee or
					applicant is a party to a civil, criminal, or disciplinary investigation or
					action arising from the practice of marriage and family therapy, in which case
					disclosure is limited to that action; or
(D) the criteria provided by
					K.S.A.
					65-6410, and amendments thereto, are met;
(20) failing to obtain
					written, informed consent from each client, or the client's legal
					representative or representatives, before performing any of these actions:
(A) Electronically recording sessions with
					that client;
(B) permitting a
					third-party observation of their activities; or
(C) releasing information concerning a client
					to a third person, except as required or permitted by law;
(21) failing to protect the
					confidences of, secrets of, or information concerning other persons when
					providing a client with access to that client's records;
(22) failing to exercise due diligence in
					protecting the information regarding and the confidences and secrets of the
					client from disclosure by other persons in one's work or practice setting;
(23) engaging in professional
					activities, including billing practices and advertising, involving dishonesty,
					fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation;
(24) using alcohol or illegally using any
					controlled substance while performing the duties or services of a marriage and
					family therapist;
(25) making
					sexual advances toward or engaging in physical intimacies or sexual activities
					with one's client, student, or supervisee;
(26) making sexual advances toward, engaging
					in physical intimacies or sexual activities with, or exercising undue influence
					over any person who, within the past 24 months, has been one's client;
(27) exercising undue influence
					over any client, student, or supervisee, including promoting sales of services
					or goods, in a manner that will exploit the client, student, or supervisee for
					the financial gain, personal gratification, or advantage of oneself or a third
					party;
(28) directly or indirectly
					offering or giving to a third party or soliciting, receiving, or agreeing to
					receive from a third party any fee or other consideration for referring the
					client or in connection with performing professional services;
(29) permitting any person to share in the
					fees for professional services, other than a partner, an employee, an associate
					in a professional firm, or a consultant authorized to practice marriage and
					family therapy;
(30) soliciting or
					assuming professional responsibility for clients of another agency or colleague
					without attempting to coordinate the continued provision of client services by
					that agency or colleague;
(31)
					making claims of professional superiority that one cannot substantiate;
(32) guaranteeing that
					satisfaction or a cure will result from performing or providing any
					professional service;
(33)
					claiming or using any secret or special method of treatment or techniques that
					one refuses to disclose to the board;
(34) continuing or ordering tests,
					procedures, or treatments or using treatment facilities or services not
					warranted by the client's condition, best interests, or preferences;
(35) taking credit for work not personally
					performed, whether by giving inaccurate or misleading information or by failing
					to disclose accurate or material information;
(36) if engaged in research, failing to
					fulfill these requirements:
(A) Consider
					carefully the possible consequences for human beings participating in the
					research;
(B) protect each
					participant from unwarranted physical and mental harm;
(C) ascertain that each participant's consent
					is voluntary and informed; and
(D)
					preserve the privacy and protect the anonymity of each subject of the research
					within the terms of informed consent;
(37) making or filing a report that one knows
					to be false, distorted, erroneous, incomplete, or misleading;
(38) failing to notify the client promptly
					when one anticipates terminating or interrupting service to the client;
(39) failing to seek continuation
					of service, or abandoning or neglecting a client under or in need of
					professional care, without making reasonable arrangements for that care;
(40) abandoning employment under
					circumstances that seriously impair the delivery of professional care to
					clients and without providing reasonable notice to the employer;
(41) failing to terminate marriage and family
					therapy services when it is apparent that the relationship no longer serves the
					client's needs or best interests;
(42) supervising in a negligent manner anyone
					for whom one has supervisory responsibility;
(43) when applicable, failing to inform a
					client that marriage and family therapy services are provided or delivered
					under supervision;
(44) engaging
					in a dual relationship with a client, student, or supervisee;
(45) failing to inform the proper authorities
					as required by
					K.S.A.
					38-2223, and amendments thereto, that one
					knows or has reason to believe that a client has been involved in harming or
					has harmed a child, whether by physical, mental, or emotional abuse or neglect
					or by sexual abuse;
(46) failing
					to inform the proper authorities as required by
					K.S.A.
					39-1402, and amendments thereto, that one
					knows or has reason to believe that any of the following circumstances apply to
					a resident, as defined by
					K.S.A.
					39-1401(a) and amendments
					thereto:
(A) Has been or is being abused,
					neglected, or exploited;
(B) is in
					a condition that resulted from abuse, neglect, or exploitation; or
(C) needs protective services;
(47) failing to inform the proper
					authorities as required by
					K.S.A.
					39-1431, and amendments thereto, that one
					knows or has reason to believe that any of the following circumstances apply to
					an adult, as defined in
					K.S.A.
					39-1430 and amendments thereto:
(A) Is being or has been abused, neglected,
					or exploited;
(B) is in a
					condition that is the result of abuse, neglect, or exploitation; or
(C) needs protective services;
(48) intentionally or negligently
					failing to file a report or record required by state or federal law, willfully
					impeding or obstructing another person from filing a report or record that is
					required by state or federal law, or inducing another person to take any of
					these actions;
(49) offering to
					perform or performing any service, procedure, or therapy that, by the accepted
					standards of marriage and family therapy practice in the community, would
					constitute experimentation on human subjects without first obtaining the full,
					informed, and voluntary written consent of the client or the client's legal
					representative or representatives;
(50) practicing marriage and family therapy
					in an incompetent manner;
(51)
					practicing marriage and family therapy after one's license expires;
(52) using without a license or continuing to
					use after a license has expired any title or abbreviation prescribed by law to
					be used solely by persons who currently hold that type or class of license; or
(53) violating any provision of
					this act or any regulation adopted under the act.