North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 111 - Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure Board › Article 111-02 - Licensure and Fees › Chapter 111-02-01 - General Provisions › Section 111-02-01-05 - Code of ethics

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
1. The code of
				ethics applies to all licensees and applicants who practice marriage and family
				therapy and applies to their conduct during the period of education and
				training required for licensure.
2.
				The code of ethics constitutes the standards by which the professional conduct
				of a marriage and family therapist is measured.
3. A violation of the code of ethics is
				unprofessional or unethical conduct and is a sufficient reason for disciplinary
				action or denial of licensure or revocation of license.
4. A marriage and family therapist must act
				in accordance with the highest standards of professional integrity and
				competence. A marriage and family therapist must be honest in dealing with
				clients, students, trainees, colleagues, and the public.
a. A therapist must not perform, nor pretend
				to be able to perform, professional services beyond the therapist's field or
				fields of competence.
b. A
				therapist must not permit a trainee or intern under the therapist's supervision
				to perform, nor pretend to be competent to perform, professional services
				beyond the trainee's or intern's level of training.
c. A therapist must recognize the potentially
				influential position the therapist may have with respect to students, interns,
				employees, and supervisees, and must avoid exploiting the trust and dependency
				of these persons. A therapist must make every effort to avoid dual
				relationships that could impair the therapist's professional judgment or
				increase the risk of exploitation. Sexual contact between the therapist and
				students, employees, independent contractors, colleagues, or supervisees is
				prohibited for two years after the date that the relationship is terminated,
				whether or not the party is informed that the relationship is terminated.
				Sexual contact after two years with a former student, intern, employee, or
				supervisee is prohibited:
(1) If the former
				student, intern, employee, or supervisee was emotionally dependent upon the
				therapist; or
(2) If the sexual
				contact occurred by means of therapeutic deception.
d. A therapist must not engage in sexual
				contact or other harassment, therapeutic deception, or exploitation of
				students, trainees, interns, employees, independent contractors, colleagues,
				research subjects, or actual or potential witnesses or complainants in ethical
				proceedings.
e. A therapist must
				not use or exploit the professional relationship with a student, trainee,
				intern, employee, independent contractor, colleague, research subject, or
				actual or potential witness or complainant in ethical proceedings in any manner
				for the therapist's emotional, financial, sexual, religious, political, or
				personal advantage or benefit.
f. A
				therapist must recognize that there are other professional, technical, and
				administrative resources available to clients. The therapist must make
				referrals to those resources when it is in the best interest of clients to be
				provided with alternative or complementary services. The therapist must make a
				reasonably prompt referral when requested to do so by the client, without
				consideration of limitation of third-party payers.
g. A therapist must not offer, nor accept,
				payment for referrals.
h. A
				therapist must not knowingly offer services to a client who is in treatment
				with another professional without consultation among the parties involved. If a
				client refuses to allow consultation, the therapist should delay the
				administration of service until the client gives written consent to
				consultation. The exception to the consultation requirement would be if the
				client reports ethical violations by the other professional.
i. A therapist must understand the areas of
				competence of related professions and act with due regard for the need, special
				competencies, and obligations of their colleagues in other allied professions,
				and must not disparage the qualifications of any colleague.
j. A therapist must seek appropriate
				professional assistance for the therapist's own personal problems or conflicts
				that are likely to impair the therapist's work performance and clinical
				judgment.
k. A therapist must not
				practice under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance not
				lawfully prescribed.
l. A therapist
				must not allow an individual or agency that is paying for the professional
				services of a client to exert undue influence over the therapist's evaluation
				or treatment of the client.
m. A
				therapist must file a complaint with the board when the therapist has reason to
				believe that another therapist is or has been engaged in conduct which violates
				this section, North Dakota criminal statutes, or which is grounds for
				disciplinary proceedings in North Dakota Century Code section
				43-53-10.
n. A therapist must not
				engage in any conduct likely to deceive or defraud the public or the
				board.
o. A therapist must not
				advertise in a way that is false, fraudulent, or misleading to the
				public.
p. A therapist shall use
				only academic degrees from regionally accredited institutions that are related
				to the practice of marriage and family therapy in any situation or circumstance
				related to the practice of marriage and family therapy. Those therapists
				holding current North Dakota mental health professional licenses issued by
				other North Dakota licensing boards may also use degrees and titles directly
				related to these licenses as permitted by the other boards when the other
				licensure is cited with the marriage and family licensure.
q. A therapist must correct, wherever
				possible, false, misleading, or inaccurate information and representations made
				by others concerning the therapist's qualifications, services, or
				products.
r. A therapist must make
				certain that the qualifications of a person in a therapist's employ as a
				student, independent contractor, or an intern are represented in a manner that
				is not false, misleading, or deceptive.
s. A therapist must not engage in any
				unprofessional conduct. Unprofessional conduct is any conduct violating this
				section or violating those standards of professional behavior that have become
				established by consensus of the expert opinion of marriage and family
				therapists as reasonably necessary for the protection of the public
				interest.