Virginia Administrative Code › Title 18 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING › Agency 125 - BOARD OF PSYCHOLOGY › Chapter 30 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE CERTIFICATION OF SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT PROVIDERS › Part IV - Standards of Practice; Disciplinary Action; Reinstatement › Section 18VAC125-30-101 - Standards of practice

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The
				  protection of the public health, safety, and welfare and the best interest of
				  the public shall be the primary guide in determining the appropriate
				  professional conduct of all certified practitioners who provide services to sex
				  offenders. Sex offender treatment providers respect the rights, dignity, and
				  worth of all people, regardless of the nature of one's crimes or offenses, and
				  are mindful of individual differences. Regardless of the delivery method,
				  whether in-person or by use of technology, these standards shall apply to the
				  practice of sex offender treatment.
B. Persons certified by the board and
				  applicants under supervision shall:
1.
				  Practice in a manner that ensures community protection and safety;
2. Provide or supervise only services and use
				  only techniques for which they are qualified by education, training, and
				  experience;
3. Accurately represent
				  their areas of competence, education, training, experience, professional
				  affiliations, credentials, and published findings to ensure that such
				  statements are neither fraudulent nor misleading;
4. Accurately inform sex offender clients of
				  (i) the purposes of an interview, testing, or evaluation session; (ii) the ways
				  in which information obtained in such sessions will be used before asking the
				  sex offender client to reveal personal information or allowing such information
				  to be divulged; (iii) the methods of interventions, including any experimental
				  methods of treatment; and (iv) the risks and benefits of any
				  treatment;
5. Clearly document at
				  the outset of service delivery what party the sex offender treatment provider
				  considers to be the client and what, if any, responsibilities the provider has
				  to all related parties. Explain to juvenile sex offender clients the rights of
				  their parents, legal guardians, or both to obtain information relating to the
				  sex offender client;
6. Maintain
				  current competency in the areas of practice through continuing education,
				  consultation, or other procedures consistent with current standards of
				  scientific and professional knowledge;
7. Be able to justify all services rendered
				  to clients as necessary for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes;
8. Avoid harming, exploiting, misusing
				  influence, or misleading patients or clients, research participants, students,
				  and others for whom they provide professional services and minimize harm when
				  it is foreseeable and unavoidable;
9. Maintain cooperative and collaborative
				  relationships with corrections, probation, or parole officers or any
				  responsible agency for purposes of the effective supervision and monitoring of
				  a sex offender client's behavior in order to assure public safety;
10. Construct, maintain, administer,
				  interpret, and report testing and diagnostic services in a manner and for
				  purposes that are current and appropriate. Sex offender treatment providers
				  shall consider the validity, reliability, appropriateness, and limitations of
				  assessments and data selected for use with sex offender clients, including to
				  the plethysmograph and polygraph. Where questions exist about the
				  appropriateness of utilizing a particular assessment with a sex offender
				  client, expert guidance from a knowledgeable, certified sex offender treatment
				  provider shall be sought;
11.
				  Safeguard the use of sexual arousal assessment testing and treatment materials,
				  due to the sensitivity of such materials in compliance with §
											18.2-374.1:1
				  of the Code of Virginia and use them only for the purpose for which they are
				  intended in a controlled penile plethysmographic laboratory
				  assessment;
12. Not engage in
				  conversion therapy with any person younger than 18 years of age;
13. Withdraw from, avoid, adjust, or clarify
				  conflicting roles with due regard for the best interest of the affected party
				  and maximal compliance with these standards;
14. Neither accept nor give commissions,
				  rebates, or other forms of remuneration for referral of clients for
				  professional services. Make appropriate consultations and referrals consistent
				  with the law based on the interest of the patients or clients;
15. Make arrangements for another
				  professional to deal with emergency needs of clients during periods of
				  foreseeable absences from professional availability and provide for continuity
				  of care when services must be terminated;
16. Conduct financial responsibilities to
				  clients in an ethical and honest manner by:
a. Informing clients of fees for professional
				  services and billing arrangements as soon as is feasible;
b. Informing clients prior to the use of
				  collection agencies or legal measures to collect fees and provide opportunity
				  for prompt payment;
c. Obtaining
				  written consent for fees that deviate from the practitioner's usual and
				  customary fees for services; and
d.
				  Not obtaining, attempting to obtain, or cooperating with others in obtaining
				  payment for services by misrepresenting services provided, dates of services,
				  or status of treatment;
17. Design, conduct, and report research in
				  accordance with recognized standards of scientific competence and research
				  ethics. Practitioners shall adhere to requirements of §
											32.1-162.18 of
				  the Code of Virginia for obtaining informed consent from patients prior to
				  involving them as participants in human research, with the exception of
				  retrospective chart reviews;
18.
				  Report to the board known or suspected violations of the laws and regulations
				  governing the practice of sex offender treatment providers, as well as any
				  information that a sex offender treatment provider is unable to practice with
				  reasonable skill and safety because of physical or mental impairment or
				  substance misuse or otherwise poses a danger to the provider, the public, or
				  clients;
19. Document the reasons
				  for and steps taken if it becomes necessary to terminate a therapeutic
				  relationship (e.g., when it becomes clear that the client is not benefiting
				  from the relationship or when the sex offender treatment provider feels
				  endangered). Document assistance provided in making arrangements for the
				  continuation of treatment for clients, if necessary, following termination of a
				  therapeutic relationship; and
20.
				  Comply with laws of the Code of Virginia and regulations of the board
				  applicable to the practice of sex offender treatment
				  providers.