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How to File an
Ethical Complaint
If you
are seeing a therapist and you feel that the person is acting unethically, you may be able
to file complaint against that person with the American Association for Marriage and
Family Therapy. The first step is to verify if the therapist is a member of
AAMFT. You can
do this by calling our main number (703-838-9808) and asking the receptionist or by
speaking with someone in the Ethics Department. You may also send an E-mail to
Ethics@aamft.org.
Once you have determined that the person is a member of our Association, you will need
to obtain a complaint packet. These packets are available by contacting the Ethics
Department at
Ethics@aamft.org. You may also call
our main number, 703-838-9808 and ask to speak with someone in our Ethics Department.
It is important that you realize that our complaint process is a peer review process
that is not like a civil proceeding. You will be required to sign a waiver allowing the
Ethics Committee to use your name when notifying the member of your allegations. The
investigation process is unlike a civil proceeding, in that you will not be provided with
the member's response to the Committee's charges.
Once we receive your complaint materials, the Chair of the Ethics Committee reviews the
materials and determines if the allegations, if proven factual, rise to the level of a
violation of the Code of Ethics. If the complaint meets this requirement, an investigation
is opened and you will be notified. If more information is needed, an Ethics Case Manager
will contact you.
Our investigations are handled through correspondence and telephone contact. The Ethics
Committee has one annual meeting per year, plus two-three conference calls to deliberate cases. Members and complainants are not a part
of the Ethics Committee meetings. You will be notified of the outcome of your case as soon
as possible. Sometimes it takes up to three months to notify complainants of the results
due to time constraints in the Procedures for Handling Ethical Matters.
Only cases that result in termination of membership are publicized. The publication
includes only the Principle(s) of the Code that were violated. All other case information
is confidential.
For information on the Ethics process, please review the Decision Tree.
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