AAMFT Code of Ethics and Grievance Procedure: Should Clients Be Informed?

Abstract

This study examined the beliefs, perceptions, actions, and congruency between beliefs and actions of participants completing an anonymous survey regarding if clients should be informed of the AAMFT organization, code of ethics, and grievance procedure. Two hundred thirty-one participants returned the survey, representing AAMFT clinical members, AAMFT state division officers, and the AAMFT national ethics committee board members. The findings include the respondents' beliefs, actions, and congruency between the two for informing clients about the organization, code of ethics, and grievance procedure. Most participants believe clients should be informed and the results indicate that the participants are mainly consistent with their actions, except for grievance procedures. The findings seem to indicate that as the perceived risk for the therapist increases, the amount of information shared decreases. The beliefs and actions regarding the grievance procedure seemed to be the most ambiguous.