Provider Ethics

All mental health professionals subscribe to a demanding code of ethics

which—in part--requires them to respect the dignity and worth of the

individual and strive for the preservation and protection of fundamental

human rights. We take these principles seriously, and believe it is in the

public interest to know about these requirements.

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NWPR providers come from various training traditions and degrees. The

three main professional organizations represented at NWPR and links to

their respective ethical codes include:

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Licensed Mental Health Counselors

Licensed Clinical Social Workers

Licensed Psychologists

Allow us to summarize a few main points of these principles: You should

expect that your provider will not:

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• Claim false credentials

• Have any form of sexual contact with you

• Reveal your confidences (except under specific circumstances)

• Practice outside their areas of competency

• Continue seeing you when it is obvious that you are not benefiting

• Take advantage of you or exploit you in any way

• Carry on business or personal relationships with you during treatment

• Charge fees for services not given, misrepresent services given, or

• charge excessive fees

• Mislead you through exaggerated claims or other misrepresentation

• Misuse testing results or other information about you​

• Practice while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or serious mental illness

• Abandon you during therapy

If you are concerned your provider may be in violation of any of these

principles, we first encourage you to address this with your clinician and/or

with our clinic manager. You may also contact the Washington State Board

of Health to learn how to report a concern to the agency overseeing your

provider’s license.