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 36-24 - Code of Ethics for Marriage and Family Therapists

(1) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not discriminate against or refuse professional service to anyone on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation.

(2) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not exploit the trust and dependency of clients and shall avoid dual relationships with clients that could impair professional judgment or increase the risk of exploitation. When a dual relationship cannot be avoided, therapists shall take appropriate professional precautions to ensure judgment is not impaired and no exploitation occurs. Marriage and Family Therapists shall not engage in sexual relationships with clients and shall not engage in sexual relationships with former clients for at least two (2) years following the termination of therapy.

(3) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not use their professional relationships with clients to further their own interests.

(4) Marriage and Family Therapists shall respect the right of clients to make decisions and help them to understand the consequences of their decisions. Therapists shall clearly advise clients that a decision as to marital status is the responsibility of the client.

(5) Marriage and Family Therapists shall continue therapeutic relationships so long as is reasonably clear that clients are benefitting from the relationship.

(6) Marriage and Family Therapists shall assist persons in obtaining other therapeutic services if the therapist is unable or unwilling, for appropriate reasons, to provide professional help.

(7) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not abandon or neglect clients in treatment without making reasonable arrangements for the continuation of such treatment.

(8) Marriage and Family Therapists shall obtain written informed consent from clients before videotaping, audio recording, or permitting third party observation.

(1) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not disclose client confidences except as mandated by law or described in this chapter.

(2) Marriage and Family Therapists may use client and/or clinical materials in teaching, writing, and public presentations only if the client has executed a written waiver or when appropriate steps have been taken to protect the identity of the client.

(3) Marriage and Family Therapists shall store or dispose of all client records in a manner that will protect confidentiality.

(1) Marriage and Family Therapists shall immediately notify all appropriate agencies, including, but not limited to the Board, of any criminal conviction; of any conduct which may lead to a conviction; any actions disciplining or expelling them from any professional organization; suspension, revocation, or other discipline by any regulatory body; of incompetency due to physical or mental causes or the abuse of alcohol or other substances.

(2) Marriage and Family Therapists shall seek appropriate professional assistance for their personal problems or conflicts that may impair work performance or clinical judgment.

(3) Marriage and Family Therapists who function as teachers, supervisors, or researchers shall maintain the highest standards of scholarship and present accurate information.

(4) Marriage and Family Therapists shall remain abreast of new developments in knowledge and practice through educational activities.

(5) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not engage in sexual or other harassment or exploitation of clients, students, trainees, supervisees, employees, colleagues, research subjects, or actual or potential witnesses or complainants in investigations and ethical proceedings.

(6) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not diagnose, treat, or advise on problems outside the recognized boundaries of their competence, as established by the Board.

(7) Marriage and Family Therapists shall make every effort to prevent the distortion or misuse of their clinical and research findings.

(8) Marriage and Family Therapists shall exercise special care when making public their professional recommendations and opinions through testimony or other public statements.

(1) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not exploit the trust and dependency of students, employees, and supervisees and shall avoid dual relationships that could impair professional judgment or increase the risk of exploitation. When a dual relationship cannot be avoided, therapists shall take appropriate professional precautions to ensure judgment is not impaired and no exploitation occurs. A Marriage and Family Therapist shall not provide therapy to an employee, student or supervisee. Sexual intimacy with students, or supervisees is prohibited.

(2) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not permit students, employees, or supervisees to perform or hold themselves out as competent to perform professional services beyond their training, level of experience, and competence.

(3) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not disclose supervisee confidences except as mandated by law and described in this chapter.

(1) Marriage and Family Therapists functioning as investigators shall make careful examinations of ethical acceptability in planning studies. To the extent that services to research participants may be compromised by participation in research, Marriage and Family Therapists shall seek the ethical advice of qualified professionals not directly involved in the investigation and observe safeguards to protect the rights of the research participants.

(2) Marriage and Family Therapists functioning as investigators shall inform research participants of all aspects of the research that might reasonably be expected to influence willingness to participate. Marriage and Family Therapists shall be sensitive to the possibility of diminished consent when participants are receiving clinical services, have impairments which limit understanding and/or communication, or when participants are children.

(3) Marriage and Family Therapists functioning as investigators shall respect participants' freedom to decline participation in or to withdraw from a research study at any time. This obligation requires special thought and consideration when Marriage and Family Therapists or other members of the research team are in positions of authority or influence over participants. Therapists shall make every effort to avoid dual relationships with research participants that could impair professional judgment or increase the risk of exploitation.

(4) Marriage and Family Therapists shall maintain confidentiality during any investigation unless there is a waiver obtained in writing. When the possibility exists that others, including family members, may obtain access to such information, this possibility, together with the plan for protecting confidentiality, is explained as part of the procedure for obtaining informed consent.

(1) Marriage and Family Therapists shall maintain the standards of the profession when acting as members or employees of organizations.

(2) Marriage and Family Therapists shall assign publication credit to those who have contributed to a publication in proportion to their contributions and in accordance with customary professional publication practices.

(3) Marriage and Family Therapists who are the authors of books shall cite persons to whom credit for original ideas is due.

(4) Marriage and Family Therapists who are the authors of books or other materials published or distributed by an organization shall take reasonable precautions to ensure that the organization promotes and advertises the materials accurately and factually.

(5) Marriage and Family Therapists should participate in activities that contribute to a better community and society, including devoting a portion of their professional activity to services for which there is little or no financial return.

(6) Marriage and Family Therapists should be concerned with developing laws and regulations pertaining to the practice of marriage and family therapy that serve the public interest, and with altering such laws and regulations that are not in the public interest.

(7) Marriage and Family Therapists should encourage public participation in the design and delivery of professional services and in the regulation of practitioners.

(1) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not offer or accept payment for referrals.

(2) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not charge excessive fees for services and shall not barter therapy services.

(3) Marriage and Family Therapists shall disclose their fees to clients and supervisees at the initiation of services.

(4) Marriage and Family Therapists shall represent facts truthfully to clients, third party payors, and supervisees regarding the services rendered.

(1) Marriage and Family Therapists shall accurately represent their competence, education, training, and experience relevant to their practice of marriage and family therapy.

(2) Marriage and Family Therapists shall assure that advertisements and publications in any media conveys information that is necessary for the public to make an appropriate selection of professional services.

(3) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not use a name which could mislead the public concerning the identity, responsibility, source, and status of those practicing under that name and shall not hold themselves out as being partners or associates of a firm when they are not.

(4) Marriage and Family Therapists shall not use any professional identification if it includes any statement or claim that is false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive. A statement is false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive if it:

(5) Marriage and Family Therapists shall correct, wherever possible, false, misleading, or inaccurate information and representations made by others concerning the therapist's qualifications, services, or products.

(6) Marriage and Family Therapists shall insure that the qualifications of persons in their employ are represented in a manner that is not false, misleading, or deceptive.

(7) Marriage and Family Therapists may represent themselves as specializing within a limited area of marriage and family therapy, but shall not advertise specialization in any area unless they have the education and supervised experience in settings which meet recognized professional standards to practice in that specialty area.