Professional Orientation & Ethics

Accreditation

The recognition and acceptance of the standards for professional preparation of a formal academic or training program through the approval of a professional organization on a national, regional, or state level.

American Counselors Association (ACA)

An association of professional counselors. Its goal is to enhance the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of the clients served by its members. All members are bound by its ethical code. The ACA used to be known as the AACD.

American Psychiatric Association

An association of psychiatrists with the general objective of promoting the best interests of psychiatric patients.

American Psychological Association (APA)

An association of psychologists concerned with the advancement of psychology as a science and the professional and clinical applications of psychology.

Certification

The process by which a professional organization (e.g., the NBCC) grants recognition to an individual who has met the professional standards it has specified.

Code of Ethics

A detailed code of professional conduct provided by the National Board for Certified Counselors; the latest revision was approved in 2002.

Confidentiality

A professional's promise or contract not to reveal anything disclosed to him or her in confidence by a client or research subject, except under previously agreed upon conditions; the 'right to privacy.'

Council For Accreditation Of Counseling And Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

An independent council created by the ACA to implement ACA standards in counselor education and related programs.

Credentialing

The formal endorsement of the professional standards of accreditation, certification, and licensure.

Duty to Warn

As established by the Tarasoff decision, a counseling/psychotherapy professional's legal obligation to warn the intended victim(s) of a client when a client has threatened harm. The duty to warn represents a legally-defined exception to psychotherapist-client privilege.

Holder of the Privilege

The person who decides what confidential information is to be released, particularly in the context of a legal proceeding. Generally, the client (or the parent/guardian) is the holder of the privilege.

Informed Consent

The consent of a client to treatment or release of confidential information, or the consent of a research subject to participation in the particular project. Occurs only when the individual is competent, free from pressure, knowledgeable about the treatment/research, and aware of alternatives.

Licensure

The process by which a governmental agency grants permission to an individual to engage in a given occupation upon finding that the individual has met predetermined standards designed to ensure the protection of public health, welfare, and safety.

Malpractice

Injurious or unprofessional treatment of a client.

National Academy Of Certified Mental Health Counselors

An association of certified clinical mental health counselors dedicated to increasing the knowledge of human behavior.

National Board For Certified Counselors (NBCC)

A national association of counseling professionals established in 1982 to provide a national certification process for counselors. Its duties include establishing standards by way of a Code of Ethics; identifying certified counselors for the public and other professionals; and maintaining a register of certified counselors.

Privacy

An individual's general legal right to have information about him or herself withheld from others.

Privilege

A client's legal right not to have confidential information disclosed without his or her permission, primarily in court/legal settings. Generally, the client is the 'holder of the privilege.' Privilege can be breached only under certain legally defined conditions.

Standards For The Ethical Practice Of Internet Counseling

In 2001, the NBCC established these standards, which, according to its preamble, 'govern the practice of Internet counseling and … are intended to address practices that are unique to Internet counseling and Internet counselors and do not duplicate principles found in traditional codes of ethics.'

Subpoena

A written legal order requiring a person to appear in court to testify and/or produce certain written records.

Tarasoff

A ruling of the California Supreme Court that established the legal responsibility of a counseling/psychotherapy professional to warn the intended victim(s) when a client is determined to pose a danger to another person.