Ethics Codes and Practice Guidelines for Assessment, Therapy, Counseling, and Forensic Practice

Ethics Codes and Practice Guidelines for Assessment, Therapy, Counseling, and Forensic Practice


This page presents links to therapy, counseling, forensic, and related ethics (and practice) codes developed by professional organizations (e.g., of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, marriage and family counselors). Codes are listed only if they appear online.

Links to related resources are listed at the end.

"Awareness of the ethics codes is crucial to competence in the area of ethics, but the formal standards are not a substitute for an active, deliberative, and creative approach to fulfilling our ethical responsibilities. They prompt, guide, and inform our ethical consideration; they do not preclude or serve as a substitute for it. There is no way that the codes and principles can be effectively followed or applied in a rote, thoughtless manner. Each new client, whatever his or her similarities to previous clients, is a unique individual. Each situation also is unique and is likely to change significantly over time. The explicit codes and principles may designate many possible approaches as clearly unethical. They may identify with greater or lesser degrees of clarity the types of ethical concerns that are likely to be especially significant, but they cannot tell us how these concerns will manifest themselves in a particular clinical situation. They may set forth essential tasks that we must fulfill, but they cannot tell us how we can accomplish these tasks with a unique client facing unique problems. . . . There is no legitimate way to avoid these struggles."--Ethics in Psychotherapy & Counseling, 3rd Edition

American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology: Policy on the Use of Non-Doctoral-Level Personnel in Conducting Clinical Neuropsychological Evaluations
American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology: Policy statement on the presence of third party observers in neuropsychological assessment
American Academy of Forensic Psychology: Specialty Guidelines (pdf)
American Academy of Psychiatry & Law: Ethical Guidelines for the Practice of Forensic Psychiatry
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Code of Ethics
American Association of Christian Counselors: Code of Ethics
American Association of Pastoral Counselors: Code of Ethics
American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists: Code of Ethics
American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists & Social Workers: Standards for Psychologists & Social Workers in SCI Rehabilitation
American Bar Association & American Psychological Association: Assessment of Older Adults With Diminished Capacity- A Handbook for Lawyers
American Bar Association, American Psychological Association, & National College of Probate Judges: Judicial Determination of Capacity of Older Adults in Guardianship Proceedings
American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work: Clinical Social Work Standards for Delivery of Care and Guidelines for the Three-Party Model of Clinical Social Work Services
American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work: Professional Development & Practice Competencies in Clinical Social Work
American College Personnel Association: Statement of Ethical Principles and Standards
American Counseling Association: Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
American Counseling Association: Layperson's Guide to Counselor Ethics
American Group Psychotherapy Association: Guidelines for Ethics
American Group Psychotherapy Association: Practice Guidelines for Group Psychotherapy
American Hospital Association: Billing & Collection Practices (pdf)
American Medical Association: Principles of Medical Ethics
American Medical Informatics Association: Guidelines for the Clinical Use of Electronic Mail with Patients
American Mental Health Counselors Association: Code of Ethics
American Music Therapy Association: Code of Ethics
American Nursing Association: Code of Ethics for Nurses
American Psychiatric Association: The Principles of Medical Ethics With Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry
American Psychoanalytic Association: Principles & Standards of Ethics for Psychoanalysts
American Psychological Association: Disaster Response Network Member Guidelines
[prior] American Psychological Association: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct [prior code: December 1, 1992 - May 31, 2003]
[current] American Psychological Association: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct [current code: effective as of June 1, 2003]
American Psychological Association: Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Divorce Proceedings
American Psychological Association: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Animals
American Psychological Association: Guidelines for the Evaluation of Dementia and Age-Related Cognitive Decline
American Psychological Association: APA Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services to Ethnic, Linguistic, and Culturally Diverse Populations
American Psychological Association: Guidelines for Psychological Evaluations in Child Protection Matters
American Psychological Association: Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Girls and Women (pdf)
American Psychological Association: Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults (pdf)
American Psychological Association: Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Clients
American Psychological Association: Guidelines on Multicultural Education,Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists
American Psychological Association: Record Keeping Guidelines
American Psychological Association: Report from APA Working Group on Assisted Suicide and End-of-Life Decisions
American Psychological Association: Resolution on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation
American Psychological Association: Rights and Responsibilities of Test Takers: Guidelines and Expectations
American Psychological Association: Statement on Services by Telephone, Teleconferencing, & Internet
American School Counselor Association: Ethical Standards for School Counselors
American Society of Clinical Hypnosis: Code of Conduct
Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology: Code of Ethics
Association for Specialists in Group Work: Principles for Diversity-Competent Group Workers
Association for Specialists in Group Work: Professional Standards for the Training of Group Workers
Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers: Professional Code of Ethics
Association of Clinical Pastoral Education: Standards & Ethics Manual
Association of Professional Chaplains: Code of Ethics
Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards: Code of Conduct
Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards: Guidelines for Prescriptive Authority
Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards: Supervision Guidelines (pdf)
Australian Association of Social Workers: Code of Ethics (use Quicklinks)
Australian Psychological Society: Code of Ethics
Australian Psychological Society: Ethical Guidelines
British Columbia Association for Clinical Counsellors: Code of Ethical Conduct
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy: Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling & Psychotherapy
British Association of Social Workers: Code of Ethics for Social Work
British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors: Code of Ethical Conduct & Standards of Clinical Practice for Registered Clinical Counsellors
British Psychological Society: Ethics, Rules, Charter, Code of Conduct (pdf)
California Association for Counseling & Development: Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists: Ethical Standards
California Board of Behavioral Sciences: Notice to California Consumers Regarding Online Psychotherapy
California Society for Clinical Social Work: Ethical Standards of the Clinical Social Work Federation
Canadian Counselling Association: Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice
Canadian Medical Association: Code of Ethics
Canadian Psychiatric Association: The CMA Code of Ethics Annotated for Psychiatrists
Canadian Psychiatric Association: Clinical Practice Guidelines
Canadian Psychoanalytic Society: Principles of Ethics for Psychoanalysis
Canadian Psychological Association: Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (3rd edition)
Canadian Psychological Association: Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists Providing Psychological Services via Electronic Media
Canadian Psychological Association: Guidelines for Ethical Psychological Practice with Women (pdf)
Canadian Psychological Association: Guidelines for Professional Practice for School Psychologists
Canadian Psychological Association: Practice Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services
Canadian Traumatic Stress Network [Reseau Canadien du Stress Traumatique]: Ethical Principles
Catholic Church: Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services
Christian Association for Psychological Studies: Ethics Statement
Clinical Social Work Federation: Code of Ethics
Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification: Code of Professional Ethics
Employee Assistance Professionals Association: EAPA Code of Ethics (pdf)
European Association for Body-Psychotherapy: Ethical Guidelines & Code
European Federation of Psychologists' Associations: Charter of Professional Ethics for Psychologists
Federation of State Medical Boards: Addressing Sexual Boundaries - Guidelines for State Medical Boards
Feminist Therapy Institute: Code of Ethics
Harcourt Assessments HIPAA Guidelines
Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association: Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders
Health On The Net Foundation: Code of Conduct for Medical & Health Web Sites
International Federation of Social Workers: Ethics of Social Work -- Statement of Principles
International Society for Mental Health Online: Suggested Principles for the Online Provision of Mental Health Services
International Society for the Study of Dissociation:Treatment Guidelines: Adults With Dissociative Identity Disorder
International Society for the Study of Dissociation: Treatment Guidelines: Children With Dissociative Symptoms
Irish Association for Counseling & Therapy: Code of Ethics & Practice
Joint Committee on Testing Practices: Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education
Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners: Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations
Mental Health Patient's Bill of Rights
Multi-Health Systems (MHS) PIPEDA & HIPAA Test Disclosure Privacy Guidelines
National Academies of Practice: Ethical Guidelines for Professional Care and Services in a Managed Health Care Environment
National Association of School Psychologists: Professional Conduct Manual--Principles for Professional Ethics
National Association of Social Workers: Code of Ethics
National Board for Certified Counselors: Code of Ethics
National Board for Certified Counselors: The Practice of Internet Counseling
National Career Development Association: Ethical Standards
National Council for Hypnotherapy: Code of Ethics & Conduct
National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists: Guidelines for Ethics
National Student Nurses Association: Code of Professional Conduct (pdf)
New Zealand Association of Counsellors: Code of Ethics
New Zealand Psychological Society: Code of Ethics
Ohio Psychological Association: Telepsychology Guidelines
Pearson Assessments HIPAA Guidelines
Psychological Society of Ireland: Code of Professional Ethics
Sidran: Rights and Responsibilities in Psychotherapy (informed consent form to be used with therapy patients)
Society for Personality Assessment: Standards for Education and Training in Psychological
Society for Research in Child Development: Ethical Standards for Research with Children
Spiritual Directors International: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct [the Spiritual Directors have withdrawn their ethics code from the web and now charge a fee for an individual copy of their guidelines]
World Medical Association: Ethics Policies

Related Resources:
Ethics in Psychology: 7 Essentials
Informed Consent in Psychotherapy & Counseling: New Standards, Sample Forms, & References
Boundaries in Psychotherapy: Standards, Guidelines, Widely-Used Decision-Making Guides, & References
Links to psychology laws & licensing boards in Canada & the U.S.
Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide
A Practical Approach to Boundaries in Psychotherapy: Making Decisions, Bypassing Blunders, and Mending Fences (by Pope & Keith-Spiegel)
Nonsexual Multiple Relationships: A Practical Decision-Making Model For Clinicians (a guide by Janet L. Sonne)
Avoiding Exploitive Dual Relationships: A Decision-making Model (a guide by Michael C. Gottlieb)
Ethical Decision-making and Dual Relationships (an 8-step guide by Jeffrey N. Younggren)
Developing & Practicing Ethics for Psychologists
National study of the ethical dilemmas encountered by APA members (American Psychologist)
National study of the ethical beliefs & behaviors of psychologists as therapists (American Psychologist)
National study of the ethical beliefs & behaviors of psychologists as professors (American Psychologist)
Dr. Carolyn Payton's statement about the APA ethics code