Key terms on this page (6)
- Code of ethics
- A profession’s written standards of conduct. Associations enforce them on members; state boards enforce them on licensees when their rules adopt them.
- Boundary crossing
- A departure from the usual therapy frame that may be neutral or helpful, such as brief self-disclosure or accepting a small gift.
- Boundary violation
- A departure that harms or exploits the client, such as a business deal or romantic contact.
- Multiple (dual) relationship
- Being in more than one role with a client at once or in sequence: therapist and landlord, coach, friend or employer.
- Informed consent
- The client’s agreement to treatment after you have explained what it involves, its limits (including confidentiality) and their rights.
- Scope of competence
- The work your training, supervision and experience prepare you to do. Practicing outside it is an ethics violation in every code.
The four codes, and where they agree
Each profession writes its own code, and each one is longer than you will want to read in one sitting. Read yours anyway, once, start to finish, before your first practicum client. You will be surprised how much of it is plain common sense, and how much of it covers situations you would not have thought of.
- Counselors
- ACA, 2014
The American Counseling Association’s code. A revision is under way, and ACA says the final version will be published in fall 2026; until then the 2014 code is current.
- MFTs
- AAMFT, 2026
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy’s revised code, effective 1 January 2026. It replaced the 2015 code.
- Social workers
- NASW, amended 2021
The National Association of Social Workers’ code. The 2021 amendments added self-care and strengthened cultural competence.
- Psychologists
- APA, amended 2016
The American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct (2002, amended 2010 and 2016). A full revision is in progress.
Under the different wording, all four rest on the same principles: act for the client’s good and avoid harm, respect their right to decide, be honest, be fair, and keep your promises, including the promise of confidentiality. All four require informed consent, competence and honest records, and all four prohibit sexual contact with current clients.
Your state board matters as much as your association. Many boards write a code into their regulations, which means a violation can cost you your license, not just your membership. Some states add their own rules on top. Check your state’s requirements and read the board’s unprofessional conduct section; it is usually short.
Crossing or violation? Try sorting these
Boundaries are the frame that makes therapy safe: the time, the place, the fee, the roles. Not every step outside that frame is wrong. The useful question is whether a step serves the client or serves you, and whether it risks harm or exploitation.
Choose an answer for each situation. Nothing is saved or sent.
1. At your last session, a client gives you a handmade card and a small jar of jam.
2. A client you are seeing for anxiety asks you to invest in the bakery she is opening.
3. A grieving client asks whether you have ever lost someone. You say briefly that you have, then return to her.
4. A current client sends a friend request to your personal social media account, and you accept.
5. A teenage client you have seen for two years invites you to his high school graduation.
6. You and a current client realize you are attracted to each other, and you agree to meet for dinner.
7. A client who has lost his job offers to fix your fence in exchange for sessions.
Dual relationships, and the small-town problem
A multiple relationship is any second role alongside therapy: friend, employer, landlord, business partner, teacher, fellow volunteer. The codes don’t ban all of them; they ban the ones that could cloud your judgment or let you take advantage of the client. The power is uneven, and the client may not feel free to say no to you.
Some overlap can’t be avoided. In a rural town, a small faith community, the military or a close cultural community, you will run into clients at the grocery store, the school play and the clinic. The codes expect that. What they ask is that you talk about it with the client ahead of time, agree on what you will do if you meet in public (many clinicians let the client decide whether to say hello), and write down the precautions you took.
Before you take on any second role with a client, ask yourself:
- Whose needs does this serve?
- Could it make it harder for the client to disagree with me, complain or leave therapy?
- If it goes badly, who pays the price?
- Would I be comfortable telling my supervisor, and the board, exactly what I did?
A decision model, applied to a real-feeling case
When something feels off, a model slows you down long enough to think. Most programs teach a version of the same steps. Here is one, applied to an invented case.
The case (invented)
Nadia is a counselor associate in a rural town of about 3,000 people. One of her clients, a man she sees for depression, owns the only auto repair shop in town. Her car breaks down on a Tuesday. The next nearest garage is 40 minutes away, and she has no way to get there.
Step 1: Name the problem
What exactly is the ethical question, in one sentence?
Nadia: Can I let my client repair my car without harming our therapy?
Step 2: Check the codes and the law
What do your profession’s code, your state’s rules and your site’s policy say?
Nadia: The ACA code allows some boundary extensions if they benefit the client, are discussed, and are documented. The state board rules say nothing specific.
Step 3: Weigh whose welfare is at stake
Who could be helped or harmed, and how much power do you hold?
Nadia: Her client could feel unable to charge a fair price, or awkward if the repair goes wrong. Their therapy is the thing to protect.
Step 4: Consult
Talk it through with your supervisor (always, as a trainee) and note the advice.
Nadia: Her supervisor asks what other options exist and what she would say to the client if the repair went badly.
Step 5: List options and consequences
Write down at least three options and what each could lead to.
Nadia: Tow the car to a town 40 minutes away; use his shop after discussing it with him; ask a friend to take it in for her.
Step 6: Choose and test it
Would you be comfortable if your choice were public? Would you advise a colleague to do the same?
Nadia: She decides to raise it in session first, so that he can say no, and to pay the posted rate.
Step 7: Act, document, review
Do it, write down your reasoning, and check later how it went.
Nadia: She notes the discussion, his choice and her supervisor’s input, and checks in about it at the next session.
Notice what the model did not do: it didn’t give a single right answer. Another clinician could reasonably choose the garage 40 minutes away. What makes either choice ethical is the process: the client’s welfare came first, the code was checked, the supervisor was consulted, and the reasoning is on paper.
Myths worth dropping
Myth
“Good therapists never cross a boundary.”
Actually
Rigid boundaries can harm too. A refused gift or a cold response to grief can rupture trust. The skill is judging which crossings help.
Myth
“If the client consents, it’s fine.”
Actually
Consent doesn’t cure exploitation. The power gap means a client may agree to something that harms them.
Myth
“Ethics is just following the law.”
Actually
The law sets the floor. The codes often ask more of you, and sometimes the right thing is not spelled out in either.
Ethics and confidentiality are bound together. The next step covers what you keep private, and the specific times the law makes you speak. You can also read ahead to risk and crisis.
Next · Step 13
Confidentiality and its limits
What you keep private, what HIPAA and your state add, and the three moments the law makes you speak: abuse, threats of violence and a court order.
Questions people ask
Which code of ethics do I follow?
The code of your profession: the ACA code for counselors, the AAMFT code for marriage and family therapists, the NASW code for social workers and the APA code for psychologists. Many state boards adopt or reference one of these codes in their rules, which makes it enforceable against your license. As a trainee you also follow your program’s and your site’s policies.
What is the difference between a boundary crossing and a boundary violation?
A boundary crossing is a step outside the usual therapy frame, such as accepting a small gift or attending a client’s graduation, that may be harmless or even helpful. A boundary violation harms or exploits the client, such as a business deal or any romantic or sexual contact. The same act can be either, depending on context, so the codes ask you to think it through, consult and document.
Are dual relationships always unethical?
No. The codes prohibit multiple relationships that risk impairing your judgment or exploiting the client, and every code prohibits sexual relationships with current clients. Some overlap is unavoidable, especially in small towns and close-knit communities. When you can’t avoid it, talk about it openly with the client, consult your supervisor and document the precautions you took.
How long after therapy ends can a therapist date a former client?
It depends on the code. The ACA code prohibits romantic or sexual relationships with former clients for five years, and after that the counselor must show it is not exploitative. The APA code sets at least two years and then only in the most unusual circumstances. The AAMFT code prohibits sexual intimacy with former clients outright, and the NASW code says social workers should not, and puts the full burden on any social worker who claims an exception to show there was no exploitation. State law may be stricter.
Is ethics on the licensing exam?
Yes. Every national licensing exam for therapists tests ethics and professional conduct, and many states add a separate law and ethics exam or jurisprudence exam. In California, for example, registered associates must pass a law and ethics exam before they can get a subsequent registration or take the clinical exam.
Sources
Checked 28 October 2026. The ACA and APA codes are being revised (ACA expects to publish its new code in fall 2026), and AAMFT’s revised code took effect on 1 January 2026; check your association’s site for the current edition before you rely on a standard number.
- American Counseling Association, ACA Code of Ethics (2014) — Boundary extensions (A.6), personal virtual relationships with current clients (A.5.e), five years for former clients (A.5.c), bartering (A.10.e); revision under way, 2014 code still current.
- AAMFT, Code of Ethics (revised, 2026) — Multiple relationships (1.3), sexual behavior with current and former clients prohibited (1.4), bartering (8.5); effective 1 January 2026.
- NASW, Code of Ethics (amended 2021) — Conflicts of interest and dual relationships (1.06), sexual relationships (1.09), including former clients (1.09(c)); 2021 amendments on self-care and cultural competence.
- NASW, 2021 amendments to the Code of Ethics — What the 2021 amendments changed: self-care and standard 1.05, Cultural Competence.
- American Psychological Association, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct — Multiple relationships (3.05), barter (6.05), former clients (10.08); 2002 with 2010 and 2016 amendments.
- APA Ethics Code Task Force — Status of the full revision of the APA code.
- Forester-Miller and Davis, A Practitioner’s Guide to Ethical Decision Making (ACA) — The step-by-step model the decision steps above are adapted from.
- California Board of Behavioral Sciences — The California law and ethics exam for registered associates (Business and Professions Code 4980.397 and 4980.399 for MFTs).
- NBCC, AMFTRB, ASWB and ASPPB — The national licensing exams, each with ethics in its content outline.