What Are Ethical Violations in Healthcare?

Therapy is a vital aspect of the healthcare system in the United States. Therapists are held to a high professional standard of ethics and social services because they often help vulnerable individuals. This is why therapist ethical violations are a serious concern, especially if they involve a sexual relationship or abuse.

National organizations, such as the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), or the American Counseling Association (ACA), often set these professional ethics standards. 

The guidelines are supposed to protect patients from harm, but individuals may violate these standards. At Injury Lawyer Team, we will stand by your side as you pursue justice against the therapist who violated ethical principles.

In some cases, the affected client may have a legal right to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. Our attorneys will guide you through the claims process to hold the abuser accountable. 

What Are the Most Common Ethical Violations by Mental Health Counselors?

Mental health counselors play an important role in the lives of their clients, but professional standards are violated far more often than they should be. Let’s discuss some of the most common ethical violations that can lead to disciplinary actions. 

Boundary Violations and Dual Relationships

Boundaries are essential to maintain a professional relationship between the therapist and their client. When boundary violations occur, they can cause confusion, harm, and emotional manipulation. 

Some examples of ethical standards being violated via boundary-crossing include:

• Dual relationships – When the psychologist is also a friend, employer, or business partner of the client, this is a conflict of interest.
• Sexual or romantic relationships with clients – These are always unethical, even if the relationship begins after the therapist is terminated. The outcome of this scenario could easily be a therapist sexual abuse lawsuit.
• Social media boundary breaches – This could include friending clients on Facebook, sending DMs, or engaging in online commentary.
• A psychologist sharing personal problems with clients – This is not an appropriate environment for sharing because it can cause emotional enmeshment. 

Confidentiality and Disclosure Violations

One of the therapist’s top priorities is to maintain client confidentiality. Confidential information cannot be shared with anyone, unless the disclosure is mandated by law (such as complaints of sexual abuse). However, even in those cases, the psychologist must explain the boundaries to the client and minimize what is shared.

Here are some examples of someone violating a client’s confidentiality:

• Releasing information without client consent (with spouses, schools, courts, etc.)
• Disclosing more information than is legally required
• Failing to explain confidentiality limits or required reporting exceptions
• Insecure storage or digital privacy issues (unlocked files, unencrypted records, etc.)

Informed Consent and Role Clarity

A therapist must obtain informed consent before they begin working with a client. This requires upfront communication about the services that will be provided, including:

• The nature and scope of treatment
• Fees, record keeping, length, and method
• Their right to stop or refuse treatment
• When a trainee is involved and who’s supervising them
• Who the psychologist is serving when working with multiple relationships or parties (court vs. client)

For example, you have the right to know if your therapist is providing you with services or gathering testimony for a legal proceeding. If this occurs without your informed consent, it is an ethical issue. 

Practicing Beyond Competence

A therapist is only allowed to provide services for which they are qualified and licensed. Any advice or support beyond those certifications is a violation of ethical standards. 

Examples of practicing beyond competence include:

• Giving medical, legal, or financial advice
• Handling high-risk cases without supervision or training, such as court custody evaluations, trauma recovery, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
• A psychologist misrepresenting their qualifications or pretending to be licensed when they are not

Billing and Insurance Fraud

A counseling session occurs when a client pays a therapist for their services. However, mental health professionals may commit billing or insurance fraud, which is more than a financial issue. It can be linked to diagnosis fraud and client manipulation. 

Common forms of billing or insurance violations include:

• Upcoding specific sessions or therapy services
• Billing patients for time that wasn’t spent in sessions
• Exaggerating a patient’s diagnoses to justify more sessions and payments
• Charging clients for missed appointments without prior agreement
• Falsely billing a client under a licensed supervisor’s name

Discrimination and Cultural Incompetence

A therapist must treat all individuals equally, regardless of background. If the alleged conduct is discriminatory or culturally incompetent, the therapist may be guilty of violating an ACA code of ethics. 

Examples of this failure may include:

• Refusing to treat LGBTQIA+ clients or using potentially harmful language when doing so
• Making assumptions about a person based on their race, religion, disability, or ethnicity
• Failing to partake in training in a culturally sensitive area
• Allowing personal bias to affect how a client is treated

Client Abandonment and Improper Termination

There are two ways a current client’s relationship with a therapist can end ethically: the therapist can terminate the treatment, or the client can decide to stop employing their services. Unfortunately, there is a third way some therapists end their interactions with clients called abandonment. 

An ethical termination occurs when the psychologist ends the treatment appropriately and provides a transition plan to the client. Client abandonment is defined by the therapist quitting without warning, ghosting the client, or cutting off access without support.

Client abandonment can have serious consequences for the client, causing severe setbacks in their treatment and destabilizing them if they are vulnerable. 

What Legal Options Do Victims and Family Members Have Following Ethical Issues During Therapy?

Ethical violations in therapy often stem from inappropriate sexual relationships. If you suffer from abuse, an improper sexual relationship, or another ethical violation, you can pursue compensation from the at-fault party with a civil lawsuit. 

Sexual abuse lawsuits can hold the abusers accountable while providing fair compensation to the victims for legal damages. Legal damages from an unethical sexual relationship could include lost income, medical bills, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. 

Some family members can file a civil lawsuit on behalf of a child if the medical misconduct occurred when the child was less than 18 years old. Whether you were abused as a former client or are currently experiencing improper sexual contact, our lawyers believe in your case. 

How to File an Ethics Complaint Against a Therapist

It is crucial to take action swiftly if you have been the victim of ethical violations by a therapist. Here are the steps you should follow to file a complaint and consider legal action for professional negligence: 

• File a complaint with the state licensing board
• Report to a professional association (such as the ACA ethics committee)
• Contact your therapist’s employer (clinic, hospital, practice, etc.)
• In cases of criminal behavior, report to law enforcement

At Injury Lawyer Team, we can help you file a complaint while exploring legal options for a civil lawsuit. You pay no fees unless we win, and we will guide you through the entire claims process.

There is no need to decide everything right away. Contact us today at 866-757-6452 to schedule a free consultation.