Arkansas Administrative Code

17 CAR § 390-102. Respecting diversity. (a) Nondiscrimination. (1) Counselors do not condone or engage in discrimination based on: (A) Age; (B) Color; (C) Culture; (D) Disability; (E) Ethnic group; (F) Gender; (G) Race; (H) Religion; (I) Sexual orientation; (J) Marital status; or…

17 CAR § 390-103. Client rights. (a) Disclosure to clients. (1) When counseling is initiated, and throughout the counseling process as necessary, counselors inform clients of: (A) The purposes, goals, techniques, procedures, limitations, potential risks, and benefits of service t…

17 CAR § 390-104. Clients served by others. (a) If a client is receiving services from another mental health professional, counselors, and with client consent, inform the professional persons already involved and develop clear agreements to avoid confusion and conflict for the cl…

17 CAR § 390-105. Personal needs and values. (a) Personal needs. In the counseling relationship, counselors: (1) Are aware of the intimacy and responsibilities inherent in the counseling relationship; (2) Maintain respect for clients; and (3) Avoid actions that seek to meet their…

17 CAR § 390-106. Dual relationships. (a) Avoid when possible. (1) Counselors are aware of their influential positions with respect to clients, and they avoid exploiting the trust and dependency of clients. (2)(A) Counselors make every effort to avoid dual relationships with clie…

17 CAR § 390-107. Sexual intimacies with clients. (a) Current clients. Counselors do not have any type of sexual intimacies with clients and do not counsel persons with whom they have had a sexual relationship. (b) Former clients. Counselors do not engage in sexual intimacies wit…

17 CAR § 390-108. Multiple clients. (a) When counselors agree to provide counseling services to two (2) or more persons who have a relationship (such as husband and wife, or parents and children), counselors clarify at the outset which person or persons are clients and the nature…

17 CAR § 390-109. Group work. (a) Screening. (1) Counselors screen prospective group counseling/therapy participants. (2) To the extent possible, counselors select members: (A) Whose needs and goals are compatible with goals of the group; (B) Who will not impede the group process…

17 CAR § 390-110. Fees and bartering. (a) See 17 CAR § 390-403(a) and 17 CAR § 390-403(b). (b) Advanced understanding. (1) Counselors clearly explain to clients, prior to entering the counseling relationship, all financial arrangements related to professional services, including …

17 CAR § 390-111. Termination and referral. (a) Abandonment prohibited. (1) Counselors do not abandon or neglect clients in counseling. (2) Counselors assist in making appropriate arrangements for the continuation of treatment, when necessary, during interruptions such as vacatio…

17 CAR § 390-112. Computer technology. (a) Use of computers. When computer applications are used in counseling services, counselors ensure that: (1) The client is intellectually, emotionally, and physically capable of using the computer application; (2) The computer application i…

17 CAR § 390-201. Right to privacy. (a) Respect for privacy. (1)(A) Counselors respect their clients’ right to privacy and avoid illegal and unwarranted disclosures of confidential information. (B) See 17 CAR § 390-103(a) and 17 CAR § 390-206(a). (2) Counselors will abide by the …

17 CAR § 390-202. Groups and families. (a) Group work. (1) In group work, counselors clearly define confidentiality and the parameters for the specific group being entered, explain its importance, and discuss the difficulties related to confidentiality involved in group work. (2)…

17 CAR § 390-203. Minor or incompetent clients. (a) When counseling clients who are minors or individuals who are unable to give voluntary, informed consent, parents or guardians may be included in the counseling process as appropriate. (b) Counselors act in the best interests of…

17 CAR § 390-204. Records. (a) Requirement of records. Counselors maintain records necessary for rendering professional services to their clients and as required by laws, regulations, or agency or institutional procedures. (b) Confidentiality of records. (1) Counselors are respon…

17 CAR § 390-205. Research and training. (a) Data disguise required. (1) Use of data derived from counseling relationships for purposes of training, research, or publication is confined to content that is disguised to ensure the anonymity of the individuals involved. (2) See 17 C…

17 CAR § 390-206. Consultation. (a) Respect for privacy. (1) Information obtained in a consulting relationship is discussed for professional purposes only with persons clearly concerned with the case. (2) Written and oral reports present data germane to the purposes of the consul…

17 CAR § 390-301. Standards knowledge. Counselors have a responsibility to read, understand, and follow this part and the Standards of Practice, 17 CAR pt. 391.

17 CAR § 390-302. Professional competence. (a) Boundaries of competence. (1) Counselors practice only within the boundaries of their competence based on their: (A) Education; (B) Training; (C) Supervised experience; (D) State and national professional credentials; and (E) Appropr…

17 CAR § 390-303. Advertising and social clients. (a) Accurate advertising. (1) There are no restrictions on advertising by counselors, except those that can be specifically justified to protect the public from deceptive practices. (2) Counselors advertise or represent their serv…

17 CAR § 390-304. Credentials. (a) Credentials claimed. Counselors claim or imply only professional credentials possessed and are responsible for correcting any known misrepresentations of their credentials by others. (b) Credential guidelines. Counselors follow guidelines for us…

17 CAR § 390-305. Public responsibility. (a) Nondiscrimination. (1) Counselors do not discriminate against clients, students, or supervisees in a manner that has a negative impact: (A) Based on their: (i) Age; (ii) Color; (iii) Culture; (iv) Disability; (v) Ethnic group; (vi) Gen…

17 CAR § 390-306. Responsibility to other professionals. (a) Different approaches. (1) Counselors are respectful of approaches to professional counseling that differ from their own. (2) Counselors know and take into account the traditions and practices of other professional group…

17 CAR § 390-401. Relationships with employers and employees. (a) Role definition. Counselors define and describe for their employers and employees the parameters and levels of their professional roles. (b) Agreements. (1) Counselors establish working agreements with supervisors,…

17 CAR § 390-402. Consultation. (a) See 17 CAR § 390-206. (b) Consultation as an option. (1) Counselors may choose to consult with any other professionally competent person about their clients. (2) In choosing consultants, counselors avoid placing the consultant in a conflict of …

17 CAR § 390-403. Fees for referral. (a) Accepting fees from agency clients. (1) Counselors refuse a private fee or other remuneration for rendering services to persons who are entitled to such services through the counselor’s employing agency or institution. (2) The policies of …

17 CAR § 390-404. Subcontractor arrangements. (a) When counselors work as subcontractors for counseling services for a third party, they have a duty to inform clients of the limitations of confidentiality that the organization may place on counselors providing counseling services…

17 CAR § 390-501. General. (a) Appraisal techniques. (1) The primary purpose of educational and psychological assessment is to provide measures that are objective and interpretable in either comparative or absolute terms. (2) Counselors recognize the need to interpret the stateme…

17 CAR § 390-502. Competence to use and interpret tests. (a) Limits of competence. (1) Counselors recognize the limits of their competence and perform only those testing and assessment services for which they have been trained. (2) They are familiar with reliability, validity, re…

17 CAR § 390-503. Informed consent. (a) Explanation to clients. (1) Prior to assessment, counselors explain the nature and purposes of assessment and the specific use of results in language the client (or other legally authorized person on behalf of the client) can understand unl…

17 CAR § 390-504. Release of information to competent professionals. (a) Misuse of results. (1) Counselors do not misuse assessment results, including test results, and interpretations and take reasonable steps to prevent the misuse of such by others. (2) See 17 CAR § 390-305(c).…

17 CAR § 390-505. Proper diagnosis of mental disorders. (a) Proper diagnosis. (1) Counselors take special care to provide proper diagnosis of mental disorders. (2) Assessment techniques (including personal interview) used to determine client care (e.g., locus of treatment, type o…

17 CAR § 390-506. Test selection. (a) Appropriateness of instruments. Counselors carefully consider the validity, reliability, psychometric limitations, and appropriateness of instruments when selecting tests for use in a given situation or with a particular client. (b) Culturall…

17 CAR § 390-507. Conditions of test administration. (a) Administration conditions. (1) Counselors administer tests under the same conditions that were established in their standardization. (2) When tests are not administered under standard conditions or when unusual behavior or …

17 CAR § 390-508. Diversity in testing. (a) Counselors are cautious in using assessment techniques, making evaluations, and interpreting the performance of populations not represented in the norm group on which an instrument was standardized. (b) They recognize the effects of age…

17 CAR § 390-509. Test scoring and interpretation. (a) Reporting reservations. In reporting assessment results, counselors indicate any reservations that exist regarding validity or reliability because of the: (1) Circumstances of the assessment; or (2) Inappropriateness of the n…

17 CAR § 390-510. Test security. (a) Counselors maintain the integrity and security of tests and other assessment techniques consistent with legal and contractual obligations. (b) Counselors do not appropriate, reproduce, or modify published tests or parts thereof without acknowl…

17 CAR § 390-511. Obsolete tests and outdated test results. (a) Counselors do not use data or test results that are obsolete or outdated for the current purpose. (b) Counselors make every effort to prevent the misuse of obsolete measures and test data by others.

17 CAR § 390-512. Test construction. Counselors use established scientific procedures, relevant standards, and current professional knowledge for test design in the development, publication, and utilization of educational and psychological assessment techniques.

17 CAR § 390-601. Counselor educators and trainers. (a) Educators as teachers and practitioners. (1) Counselors who are responsible for developing, implementing, and supervising educational programs are skilled as teachers and practitioners. (2) They are knowledgeable regarding t…

17 CAR § 390-602. Counselor education and training programs. (a) Orientation. Prior to admission, counselors orient prospective students to the counselor education or training program’s expectations, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) The type and level of skill ac…

17 CAR § 390-603. Students and supervisees. (a) Limitations. (1) Counselors, through ongoing evaluation and appraisal, are aware of the academic and personal limitations of students and supervisees that might impede performance. (2) Counselors assist students and supervisees in s…

17 CAR § 390-604. Qualification for direct clinical supervision. (a) Who can provide direct clinical supervision. Direct clinical supervision is provided by a clinical supervisor as specified in subdivision (b)(2) of this section. (b) Clinical supervision and related terms define…

17 CAR § 390-701. Research responsibilities. (a) Use of human subjects. (1) Counselors plan, design, conduct, and report research in a manner consistent with pertinent ethical principles, federal and state laws, host institutional regulations, and scientific standards governing r…

17 CAR § 390-702. Informed consent. (a) Topics disclosed. (1) In obtaining informed consent for research, counselors use language that is understandable to research participants and that: (A) Accurately explains the purpose and procedures to be followed; (B) Identifies any proced…

17 CAR § 390-703. Reporting results. (a) Information affecting outcome. When reporting research results, counselors explicitly mention all variables and conditions known to the investigator that may have affected the outcome of a study or the interpretation of data. (b) Accurate …

17 CAR § 390-704. Publication. (a) Recognition of others. (1) When conducting and reporting research, counselors: (A) Are familiar with and give recognition to previous work on the topic; (B) Observe copyright laws; and (C) Give full credit to those to whom credit is due. (2) See…