Ethical Complaints and Violations in Rehabilitation Counseling

Abstract

This is a descriptive study of Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification data related to ethical complaints and violations from 1993 to 2006. The authors reviewed complaints filed against certified rehabilitation counselors involving rules from the pre-2001 Code of Ethics and standards in the current code and analyzed the ensuing actions or sanctions. Of the 113 complaints received during this period, 71 were accepted by the commission's Ethics Committee for further review. Of these, violations were found in 36 cases-that is, only 31.9% of cases in which complaints were filed ultimately resulted in actions or sanctions being imposed. Beyond researching the complaints and violations, this study also considers the demographics of the counselors against whom complaints were filed and of the counselors who were found to be in violation of the code.

Analysis of the Reported Ethical Complaints and Violations to the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, 2006–2013

“…While the low number of complaints and violations to CRCC is good news, the following trends are the most noteworthy with respect to ongoing discussion toward ameliorating common violations, as well as defining and promoting the ethical behavior of all CRCs. Although there were minor ebbs and flows from year to year, the annual number of ethical complaints was similar to the previous CRCC data (Saunders et al, 2007;Tarvydas & Cottone, 2000). The percentage of complaints to the American Counseling Association (ACA; 2013) between FYs 2010 and 2013 was slightly lower at 0.011%, based on a mean of 6.3 complaints and membership of approximately 55,000 members (ACA, 2013).…”

“…The previous analysis of trends in the nature of the ethical violations included advocacy and accessibility (Tarvydas & Cottone, 2000), as well as teaching, training, and supervision (Saunders et al, 2007). However, in the present study, there were no violations to either of these sections of the Code.…”

“…A total of 37 (52.1%) complaints progressed to full adjudication, which was slightly lower than the percentage from FY 1993-2006 (62.8%; Saunders et al, 2007). After a process of review, the Ethics Committee determined that 22 (56.4%) of the 37 cases involved violations to 1 or more ethical standards, which was similar to the percentage from FY 1993FY -2006.…”

“…Clients were responsible for submitting half of the complaints, which was almost double the percentage from FY 1993-2006(Saunders et al, 2007. Although unethical behavior is never excusable, a trend toward more complaints by clients may represent an important step in selfadvocacy for clients to regain control over their lives.…”

“…The most frequent complainants were clients who filed a total of 39 (54.9%) complaints, including Saunders et al, 2007). Of these, 18 (75.0%) of the 24 colleagues who initiated complaints held the CRC credential themselves.…”