South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 36 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR LICENSURE OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS, ADDICTION COUNSELORS, AND PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL SPECIALISTS › Article 7 - CODES OF ETHICS › Section 36-22 - Code of Ethics for Professional Counselors

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
(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.