Ethics: Filing a Complaint
If you wish to file a complaint against a National Certified Counselor (NCC), you may do so by completing an Ethics Complaint Statement, including all information required by the form, and submitting it to the NBCC Department of Ethics. The Ethics Complaint Statement is a formal written communication from a complainant describing in detail the concerns regarding an NBCC certificant or candidate and is the only form of complaint submission accepted.
Overview of Complaint Procedures
The complainant (person filing the complaint) must complete an Ethics Complaint Statement, including all information required by the form, and email it to the NBCC Department of Ethics at ethics@nbcc.org.
When a completed Ethics Complaint Statement is received by NBCC, the NBCC Director of Ethics will (a) review the material received and assign a case number to the matter; (b) review the complaint(s) made; (c) determine whether the complaint(s) is presented in sufficient detail to permit NBCC to conduct a preliminary inquiry; and, if necessary, (d) contact the complainant and request additional factual material.
The NBCC Director of Ethics will send a letter to the complainant and respondent stating whether the complaint(s) submitted is accepted or rejected for a formal ethics review.
If an ethics complaint is accepted for a formal inquiry, the NBCC Director of Ethics will issue an Ethics Complaint Summary identifying each term that may have been violated and the basis for each. This notification will be delivered to the respondent and the complainant at the last known address(es) by regular mail, email, or other verifiable delivery service.
Within 30 days of the mailing date of an Ethics Complaint Summary, the respondent must submit an Ethics Complaint Response according to the instructions in the Summary. The Ethics Complaint Response must include the following: (a) a full answer to each item identified in the Ethics Complaint Summary, (b) the identification and a copy of each document that the respondent believes to be relevant to the resolution of the ethics complaint, and (c) any other information that the respondent believes will assist NBCC in considering the ethics complaint fairly.
The NBCC Director of Ethics will forward a copy of the submitted Ethics Complaint Response to the complainant within approximately 10 days following its receipt by NBCC. The complainant may submit a Reply to the Response by letter or similar document within 14 days of the complainant’s receipt of the Response. If submitted, this Reply must fully explain any additional information that the complainant wishes to present to the Director of Ethics concerning the Ethics Complaint Response. The optional Reply will be provided to the respondent, who may submit a Final Response to NBCC within 14 days of the respondent’s receipt of the Reply.
For questions about the complaint process and to submit a completed Ethics Complaint Statement, please email us at ethics@nbcc.org.
