NAC641A.247. Responsibilities to clients and others.

     1. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall serve his or her clients with professional skill and competence.

     2. If a marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern must act on behalf of a client who has been declared to be incompetent or if a client is otherwise found by the Board to be incapable of acting in his or her own best interest, the marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall safeguard the interests and rights of that client.

     3. If another person has been legally authorized to act on behalf of an incompetent client, a marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall deal with the legal representative of the client in accordance with the best interest of the client.

     4. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall not practice, condone, facilitate or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, social, economic, health or marital status, political belief, diagnosis or physical disability, or on the basis of any preference or personal characteristic, condition or status of a person.

     5. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall not misrepresent to a client the efficacy of his or her service or the results to be achieved.

     6. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall apprise each of his or her clients of the risks, rights, opportunities and obligations, financial or otherwise, associated with the provision of marriage and family therapy or clinical professional counseling, as applicable, to the client.

     7. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall seek the advice and counsel of his or her colleagues and supervisors when such a consultation is in the best interest of the client.

     8. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall terminate service to a client and a professional relationship with a client when the service and relationship are no longer required or no longer serve the needs of the client.

     9. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall not withdraw his or her counseling services precipitously, except under unusual circumstances and after giving careful consideration to all factors in the situation and taking care to minimize possible adverse effects to the client.

     10. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern who anticipates the termination or interruption of service to a client shall notify the client as promptly as possible and seek the transfer, referral or continuation of service in relation to the needs and preferences of the client.

     11. A marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall not influence or attempt to influence a client in any manner which could be reasonably anticipated in his or her deriving benefits of an unprofessional nature from the client during the time that the client is receiving marriage and family therapy from the marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counseling from the clinical professional counselor, or marriage and family therapy or clinical professional counseling, as applicable, from an intern, and for 2 years after the termination of those services.

     12. Throughout the period of treatment of a client and for the 2 years immediately following the termination of the professional relationship between the client and the marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern treating the client, the marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern shall not:

     (a) Enter into a close personal relationship with the client, including, without limitation, sponsorship of the client in a group for self-help, or a romantic or sexual relationship;

     (b) Enter into, or attempt to enter into, a financial relationship with the client that is unrelated to the practice of marriage and family therapy or the practice of clinical professional counseling, as applicable; or

     (c) Enter into a romantic or sexual relationship with any person who was in a romantic or sexual relationship with the client during the time that the marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor or intern was providing marriage and family therapy or clinical professional counseling to the client.

     13. Within the 2 years immediately following the termination of a professional relationship with, internship for or supervision of a client, intern or other person, a marriage and family therapist or clinical professional counselor shall not solicit or enter into a dual relationship with the client, intern or other person if it is foreseeable that such a relationship would harm or exploit the client, intern or other person.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Exam’rs for Marriage & Fam. Therapists by R173-03, eff. 8-20-2004; A by Bd. of Exam’rs for Marriage & Fam. Therapists & Clinical Prof. Counselors by R060-08, 9-18-2008)