Virginia Administrative Code › Title 18 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING › Agency 115 - BOARD OF COUNSELING › Chapter 20 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE PRACTICE OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING › Part V - Standards of Practice; Unprofessional Conduct; Disciplinary Actions; Reinstatement › Section 18VAC115-20-130 - 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 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
				  counseling.
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 counseling
				  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 clients of the risks and
				  benefits of any such treatment. Ensure that the welfare of the clients is in no
				  way 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.