Ethics
Requirements
The ethics codes of most U.S. mental health organizations (including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and the California and American Associations of Marriage and Family Therapists) all require therapists to provide for continuity of care and a plan for the disposition of their practice.
Most professional wills address key ethical and some practical requirements, but do not address essential clinical issues. Since most clinicians do not complete their professional will, it often falls to colleagues to do a salvage job of contacting patients and closing the practice without knowing the therapist’s wishes.
The ethics codes and guidelines vary from state to state and country to country. It is important to check with your professional organizations, as well as state, country, or local laws, for current guidelines, especially regarding patient record retention.
Helpful Ethics Reference Sites
Explore the Ethics Codes and Ethical Frameworks of some of the major mental health organizations in the US and other countries.
Note: The links listed were last verified April 2, 2026.
- The American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
- The American Psychiatric Association Principles and Guidelines
- National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (NASW)
- Code of Ethics from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT): (2015)
- California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) Ethics Code
- The American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics
- The National Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC)
- American Mental Health Counselor Association Code of Ethics (Revised 2020)
- Counseling & Psychotherapy in Scotland’s Statement of Ethics and Code of Practice
- EMDR Europe Association Code of Ethics
For a deeper dive, see Dr. Ken Pope’s extensive list of links to all the relevant US ethics codes, as well as Ethical Standards and Practice Guidelines for Assessment, Therapy, Counseling and Forensic Practice, and much more: https://kspope.com/ethcodes/index.php.