Marketing Ethics: Soliciting Clients For Reviews

Who Cannot Solicit Reviews?

1. Professional Counselors (ACA) cannot solicit testimonials from 'current' & 'former' clients.

2. Social Workers (NASW) & Psychologist (APA) cannot solicit from 'current' clients. However, I could not find anything that prevents them from soliciting testimonials of 'former' clients.

3. Substance Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) code of ethics explicitly says they are allowed to solicit testimonials.

4. Christian counselors (AACC) cannot solicit reviews from 'current' clients but are able to ask 'former' clients.

5. Marriage & Family Therapists (MFT) from California that abide by the CAMFT have a code that says they cannot solicit from clients who are vulnerable to undue influence. However, the CAMFT legal department did publish an article that says that MFT's generally can ask/solicit reviews from clients so long as they are not vulnerable to undue influence, which is a legal term that says that the person must have independent free will to make their own decision as to whether they would leave a provider with a review or not.

Who Can Solicit Reviews?

1. For prescribing mental health providers such as Psychiatrist (AMA + American Psychiatric Association [APA]), Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (ANA) & Physician Assistants, none of their code of ethics restricts them from soliciting client/patient testimonials.

2. Mental Health Counselors (AMHCA) + Marriage & Family Therapists (AAMFT) do not have any existing code of ethics that restricts them from soliciting testimonials.

Questions and Statements to Reflect and Consider:

• Does the ethical code reflect soliciting from current and/or former clients?

• Are clients writing a review based on their own volition?

• Are clients being solicited by the therapist? Are they being compensated in any manner?

• If a therapist is soliciting a current client for a review, consider the power differential/dynamic and how this might impact treatment. This can include: feeling pressured to say yes, wanting to please the therapist, difficulty saying no, etc.

• How are therapists soliciting clients for reviews? What are they informing the client?

• Does the therapist have the client sign any sort of disclosure form indicating how they plan on using and distributing their review/testimonial?

• How will the reviews be presented on the website? Will it be de-identified?