The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) is a professional certification board which certifies counselors as having met standards for the general and specialty practice of professional counseling established by the Board. The counselors certified by NBCC may identify with different professional associations and are often licensed by jurisdictions which promulgate codes of ethics.

The NBCC code of ethics provides a minimal ethical standard for the professional behavior of all NBCC certificants. This code provides an expectation of and assurance for the ethical practice for all who use the professional services of an NBCC certificant. In addition, it serves the purpose of having an enforceable standard for all NBCC certificants and assures those served of some resource in case of a perceived ethical violation. This code is applicable to National Certified Counselors and those who are seeking certification from NBCC.

The NBCC Ethical Code applies to all those certified by NBCC regardless of any other professional affiliation. Persons who receive professional services from certified counselors may elect to use other ethical codes which apply to their counselor.

Although NBCC cooperates with professional associations and credentialing organizations, it can bring actions to discipline or sanction NBCC certificants only if the provisions of the NBCC Code are found to have been violated. The National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC) promotes counseling through certification. In pursuit of this mission, the NBCC:

• Promotes quality assurance in counseling practice
• Promotes the value of counseling
• Promotes public awareness of quality counseling practice
• Promotes professionalism in counseling
• Promotes leadership in credentialing

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the clinician will be able to:

• Upon completion of this course the clinician will be able to:
• Explain the reason and purpose of the National Board for Certified Counselors Code of Ethics
• Communicate the ethical standards of NBCC in regard to financial reimbursement and the limits of a professional relationship with clients
• Follow the ethical guidelines according to the ownership of clinical records and the minimal amount of time for maintaining clinical records
• Educate peers and clients on the basic tenants of �Informed Consent�
• Communicate the information that clients have the ethical right to know when choosing a mental health care provider

Syllabus / Course Instructions

• The Course consists of reading the manual NBCC Code of Ethics and successfully completing an online posttest and filling out a course evaluation.
• Purchasing your course will give you access to both a printable copy of the test and an online version. Print the test to use as a companion as you read the book and answer the questions.
• You cannot exit the online test once you begin, so have your answers available.

Additional Resources On This Site for CE

• The Gift of Therapy
  by Irvin Yalom: 10 CE Credits
• Getting Over OCD: A 10-Step Workbook for Taking Back Your Life
  Jonathan S. Abramowitz, PhD: 12 CE Credits
• Practicing Feminist Ethics in Psychology
  edited by Mary M. Brabeck, PhD: 9 CE Credits
• Authentic Happiness
  by Martin E. P. Seligman: 10 CE Credits
• What Therapists Don't Talk About and Why
  by Kenneth S. Pope, PhD, ABPP and Janet L. Sonne, PhD and Beverly Greene, PhD, ABPP: 6 CE Credits

Additional Resources Not On This Site

• National Board of Certified Counselors www.nbcc.org
• American Psychological Association www.apa.org
• Association of Social Work Boards www.aswb.org
• National Association of Addiction Professionals www.naadac.org

Bio: National Board for Certified Counselors

The National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates (NBCC), is an independent not-for-profit credentialing body for counselors, was incorporated in 1982 to establish and monitor a national certification system, to identify those counselors who have voluntarily sought and obtained certification, and to maintain a register of those counselors.
NBCC's certification program recognizes counselors who have met predetermined standards in their training, experience and performance on the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE), the most portable credentialing examination in counseling. NBCC has more than 44,000 certified counselors. These counselors live and work in the U.S. and more than 40 countries. Our examinations are used by 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam to credential counselors on a state level.
NBCC was initially created after the work of a committee of the American Counseling Association (ACA). The committee created NBCC to be an independent credentialing body. NBCC and ACA have strong historical ties and work together to further the profession of counseling. However, the two organizations are completely separate entities with different goals, and the NBCC focuses on promoting quality counseling through certification. In addition, NBCC promotes professional counseling to private and government organizations.