Last updated: September 8, 2026
Author: L. Nicole Thaxton, PhD, LPC (GA), CPCS

For the first time in more than a decade, the American Counseling Association is preparing to release a substantially revised ACA Code of Ethics.

And if you’re a professional counselor, supervisor, counselor educator, or practice owner, this is an update worth paying attention to.

The current ACA Code of Ethics was adopted in 2014. Think about how much has changed in counseling practice and our world since then.

Telehealth has become commonplace. Artificial intelligence (AI) has entered our documentation systems, workplaces, and clinical conversations. Counselors are practicing across state lines. The Counseling Compact is becoming operational. Social media and digital communication are embedded in our lives. Technology has created ethical questions that simply did not exist, or did not exist at their current scale, when the 2014 Code was written.

The ACA has spent the past several years reviewing and revising the Code to respond to the realities of counseling practice today. So, what is changing in the 2026 ACA Code of Ethics?

Here is what counselors need to know so far.

First: The 2026 ACA Code of Ethics Is Not Final Yet

This distinction is important.

Earlier in 2026, ACA released a draft of the revised Code for public comment on their website. That comment period has now closed.

As of this September 2026 update, the ACA Code of Ethics Revision Task Force is reviewing the comments it received and preparing the final revised Code. ACA has temporarily removed public access to the draft during this process and states that it will publish the final version in Fall 2026.

That means the draft language counselors may have reviewed earlier this year should not be treated as the final ethical standard.

Until the revised Code is formally adopted and published, counselors should continue referring to the current 2014 ACA Code of Ethics and the applicable laws, regulations, licensing board rules, organizational policies, and other professional standards governing their work.

I will continue updating this article as ACA releases additional information and once the final 2026 ACA Code of Ethics becomes available.

My goal is for this post to become an ongoing resource for counselors trying to understand not only what changed, but what those changes may mean for actual clinical and supervisory practice.

Why Is ACA Revising the Code of Ethics?

Ethics codes are designed to provide a framework for responsible professional practice, but the environments in which counselors practice continue to evolve.

According to information shared by ACA leadership during the revision process, the review of the Code began during 2023–2024. The review committee examined stakeholder feedback, reviewed ethics codes from comparable professional organizations, evaluated gaps in the existing 2014 Code, and considered emerging ethical issues affecting counselors. The formal revision phase began in 2025.

One of the clearest themes emerging from ACA's discussion of the revision is the need for ethical guidance that can better respond to a profession increasingly shaped by technology, AI, telehealth, interstate practice, changing documentation practices, and other emerging issues. And that makes sense.

Ethical counseling practice in 2026 looks different from ethical counseling practice in 2014.

One of the Biggest Changes May Be How the Code Itself Works

One particularly interesting development is that ACA has discussed moving toward a more succinct core Code of Ethics accompanied by supplemental ethical guidelines. That distinction could be significant. Technology evolves much faster than an ethics code that may remain in effect for a decade.

Consider what has happened with artificial intelligence alone over the past several years. Ethical questions surrounding AI-assisted documentation, generative AI, privacy, informed consent, data security, clinical decision-making, and counselor competence are changing rapidly.

Instead of attempting to anticipate every future development within the Code itself, ACA has indicated that supplemental guidelines may address areas requiring more frequent updates.

Areas identified in discussions of these guidelines have included:

AI
Emerging technologies
Record keeping
Gatekeeping

For counselors, this could mean that ethical competence increasingly requires more than periodically reviewing the Code itself. We may also need to stay current with accompanying professional guidelines as technology and clinical practice continue to change.

What Topics Should Counselors Be Watching?

Because the final Code has not yet been released, we need to be careful about declaring that a particular proposed standard will appear in the final document. However, ACA and others involved in the revision process have identified several areas influencing the update.

Here are some of the areas I am watching most closely.

1. Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology

AI may be one of the most consequential developments affecting ethical counseling practice since the 2014 Code was adopted.

Counselors are already encountering AI in:

Clinical documentation and AI-assisted notes
Electronic health record systems
Administrative workflows
Client use of AI for mental health information
Educational and training environments
Research and writing
Supervision
Clinical decision support
Marketing and content creation

The ethical questions are substantial.

What happens to client information entered into an AI system? Where is that information stored? Is it used to train a model? What does informed consent require? How do counselors evaluate the accuracy of AI-generated information? Where does efficiency end and inappropriate delegation of professional judgment begin?

The revised ethical framework will exist in a counseling environment where these questions are no longer hypothetical.

Want to Go Deeper on AI + Telemental Health?

If you’re wondering how to use AI responsibly while navigating confidentiality, informed consent, documentation, privacy, and the rapidly changing ethical and legal landscape, join me on Friday, November 13, 2026 for Telemental Health with AI: Ethical & Legal Considerations, a live 6-hour continuing education training hosted by The Knowledge Tree. We’ll move beyond the conversation about whether counselors should use AI and focus on what ethical, thoughtful, and legally informed use can actually look like in clinical practice.

Learn More + Register →

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2. Telehealth and Technology

Telehealth was addressed in the 2014 Code, but the scale of virtual counseling today is dramatically different. For many counselors, telehealth is now simply part of everyday practice.

At the same time, virtual care creates ongoing ethical considerations involving:

Counselor competence
Client identity and location
Emergency procedures
Privacy and confidentiality
Technology failures
Electronic communication
Data security
Appropriate platforms
Documentation
Jurisdiction and interstate practice

Technology competence is increasingly becoming inseparable from clinical competence.

3. The Counseling Compact and Interstate Practice

Another major difference between 2014 and 2026 is the development of the Counseling Compact.

Interstate practice creates exciting opportunities for continuity of care and greater access to counseling, but it also introduces important questions about jurisdiction, counselor responsibilities, state law, professional regulation, and what happens when requirements differ across states.

Counselors practicing through Compact privileges will need to understand that ethical obligations do not exist in isolation from state laws and licensing regulations.

4. Record Keeping and Documentation

Documentation is one of those areas counselors encounter every single day, and one where seemingly small decisions can create significant ethical and legal implications. The revision process has specifically identified record keeping as an area requiring continued professional guidance.

Counselors should be thinking about questions such as:

What constitutes appropriate documentation?
How do new technologies affect the creation and storage of records?
Who has access to those records?
How should electronic communication be documented?
What happens when third-party technology interacts with protected client information?
And how do we balance thorough documentation with client privacy?

5. Supervision, Gatekeeping, and Counselor Education

For supervisors and counselor educators, I am particularly interested in the implications of the revised Code. Ethical supervision extends far beyond simply discussing clinical cases. Supervisors carry responsibilities related to competence, documentation, informed consent, boundaries, evaluation, technology, gatekeeping, and protection of clients.

ACA has specifically identified gatekeeping as an area that may benefit from supplemental ethical guidance. As a counselor supervisor and someone who trains supervisors, this is an area I will be watching closely when the final Code is released.

Supervisors should be prepared to evaluate their:

Supervision contracts
Technology policies
Documentation procedures
Informed consent processes
Evaluation procedures
Remediation practices
Gatekeeping procedures
Policies surrounding AI and technology use in supervision

A revised ethics code should prompt more than a conversation in supervision. It should prompt supervisors to ask whether their actual systems and documents reflect current ethical expectations.

The Structure of the Code Is Also Worth Watching

ACA's current online page for the 2026 Code lists the following sections:

Section A: The Counseling Relationship
Section B: Confidentiality and Privacy
Section C: Professional Responsibility
Section D: Relationships With Other Professionals
Section E: Evaluation, Assessment, and Interpretation
Section F: Supervision, Training, and Teaching
Section G: Research and Publication
Section H: Telehealth and Technology
Section I: Forensic Practice
Section J: Resolving Ethical Issues

The appearance of Forensic Practice as its own Section I is particularly notable in comparison with the structure of the 2014 Code. However, because ACA is still completing its final review, I recommend waiting for the formally adopted Code before treating any draft structural or substantive change as final.

What Should Counselors Do Right Now?

You do not need to rewrite every policy in your practice based on a draft document.

You do need to pay attention.

This is a good time to begin identifying the areas of your practice that may deserve review once the final Code is released. Take inventory of your informed consent documents, technology policies, telehealth procedures, documentation practices, AI use, supervision agreements, emergency procedures, social media policies, and confidentiality practices.

If you own a group practice, consider the systems your clinicians are using, not just the policies sitting in your handbook. If you supervise counselors, start thinking about where the revised Code needs to become part of your supervision conversations. And when the final Code is published, resist the temptation to simply skim the changes and move on.

The more useful question is: What does this change require me to do differently?

That is where ethics becomes practice.

Ethics Is More Than Knowing the Code

One of the mistakes we can make with ethics education is reducing ethical competence to memorizing standards. Knowing the Code matters. But ethical practice requires us to apply those standards when the answer is complicated.

What happens when ethical standards, state law, employer expectations, clinical judgment, technology, and client welfare seem to pull in different directions?

What happens when there isn't a perfectly clean answer?

What happens when the technology we're using evolves faster than the policies governing it?

Those are the conversations I believe continuing education should help counselors navigate. And that is exactly what we will be doing together this December.

Join Me December 3: 5-Hour Ethics CE on the Revised ACA Code of Ethics

On December 3, 2026, I will be teaching a live 5-hour Ethics Continuing Education training focused on the revised ACA Code of Ethics and what the changes mean for counselors in practice.

Once ACA releases the final Code, I will be incorporating the finalized standards directly into this training. We will go beyond simply identifying what changed from 2014. We will talk about what those changes mean for the work you are actually doing with clients, supervisees, technology, documentation, informed consent, policies, boundaries, and ethical decision-making.

Topics will include areas such as:

Major changes from the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics
Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies
Telehealth and technology-assisted counseling
Confidentiality and privacy
Documentation and record-keeping
Informed consent
Professional boundaries and responsibilities
Supervision and gatekeeping
Ethical decision-making
Practical policy and documentation considerations
Steps counselors, supervisors, and practice owners may need to take in response to the new standards

My goal is for you to leave understanding both: “What changed?” and “What do I need to do about it?”

If you are a professional counselor, supervisor, counselor educator, or practice owner, this is an important year to refresh your understanding of our profession's ethical standards.

Register for the December 3, 2026 live 5-Hour ACA Code of Ethics CE Training →

REGISTER

Bookmark This Page: I'll Keep Updating It

The 2026 ACA Code of Ethics is still moving through the final revision and approval process. Because of that, this is a living article. I will continue updating this post as ACA releases additional information. Once the final 2026 ACA Code of Ethics is published, I will return to this article with a more detailed breakdown of the finalized changes, including practical implications for counselors and supervisors.

So bookmark this page, share it with another counselor, and check back as we get closer to the final release. And if you'd rather walk through the changes together, join me December 3 for the 5-hour Ethics CE training.

Ethics should never be something we revisit only because we need continuing education hours. Our profession is changing. Our tools are changing. The ways we practice are changing. And staying ethically competent means being willing to change with them.

Current Sources & Further Reading

American Counseling Association. ACA Code of Ethics. ACA currently states that the Ethics Revision Task Force is reviewing public comments and preparing the final revised Code, which is expected to be published in Fall 2026.

National Board for Certified Counselors. Understanding the Upcoming Changes to the ACA Code of Ethics. January 30, 2026. Includes an interview with Lynn E. Linde, EdD, ACA Fellow and Chief of Professional Practice at ACA, discussing the revision process and emerging areas including AI, technology, record keeping, gatekeeping, telehealth, and the Counseling Compact.

This article is intended for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Counselors should consult the applicable ethics codes, licensing board rules, laws and regulations governing their jurisdiction and seek appropriate consultation when navigating ethical or legal concerns.

This blog is not intended to substitute professional therapeutic advice. Talk with your healthcare provider about your health concerns and before starting or stopping therapies. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct professional advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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