Virginia Administrative Code › Title 18 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING › Agency 115 - BOARD OF COUNSELING › Chapter 50 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE PRACTICE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY › Section 18VAC115-50-110 - Standards of practice

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The
				protection of the public's health, safety, and welfare and the best interest of
				the public shall be the primary guide in determining the appropriate
				professional conduct of all persons whose activities are regulated by the
				board. Regardless of the delivery method, whether in person, by phone or
				electronically, these standards shall apply to the practice of marriage and
				family therapy.
B. Persons licensed
				or registered by the board shall:
1. Practice
				in a manner that is in the best interest of the public and does not endanger
				the public health, safety, or welfare;
2. Practice only within the boundaries of
				their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience,
				and appropriate professional experience and represent their education,
				training, and experience accurately to clients;
3. Stay abreast of new marriage and family
				therapy information, concepts, applications, and practices that are necessary
				to providing appropriate, effective professional services;
4. Be able to justify all services rendered
				to clients as necessary and appropriate for diagnostic or therapeutic
				purposes;
5. Document the need for
				and steps taken to terminate a counseling relationship when it becomes clear
				that the client is not benefiting from the relationship. Document the
				assistance provided in making appropriate arrangements for the continuation of
				treatment for clients, when necessary, following termination of a counseling
				relationship;
6. Make appropriate
				arrangements for continuation of services, when necessary, during interruptions
				such as vacations, unavailability, relocation, illness, and
				disability;
7. Disclose to clients
				all experimental methods of treatment and inform client of the risks and
				benefits of any such treatment. Ensure that the welfare of the client is not
				compromised in any experimentation or research involving those
				clients;
8. Neither accept nor give
				commissions, rebates or other forms of remuneration for referral of clients for
				professional services;
9. Inform
				clients of the purposes, goals, techniques, procedures, limitations, potential
				risks, and benefits of services to be performed; the limitations of
				confidentiality; and other pertinent information when counseling is initiated
				and throughout the counseling process as necessary. Provide clients with
				accurate information regarding the implications of diagnosis, the intended use
				of tests and reports, fees, and billing arrangements;
10. Select tests for use with clients that
				are valid, reliable, and appropriate and carefully interpret the performance of
				individuals not represented in standardized norms;
11. Determine whether a client is receiving
				services from another mental health service provider, and if so, refrain from
				providing services to the client without having an informed consent discussion
				with the client and having been granted communication privileges with the other
				professional;
12. Use only in
				connection with one's practice as a mental health professional those
				educational and professional degrees or titles that have been earned at a
				college or university accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the
				U.S. Department of Education, or credentials granted by a national certifying
				agency, and that are counseling in nature;
13. Advertise professional services fairly
				and accurately in a manner that is not false, misleading or deceptive;
				and
14. Not engage in conversion
				therapy with any person younger than 18 years of age.