ACA Code of Ethics 2026 Updates: What Counselors Need to Know - 5 hours

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• CE Hours Included: 5 (please see below for details)
• Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”, Non-Interactive) ~ At your leisure this recorded video is to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint and references. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
  • NOTE: Your certificate will be dated when you complete the course - Click here for more detailed information on the best way to do this: https://www.theknowledgetree.org/p/help
• Investment: $120 (provides lifetime access!)
• Presented by: Nicole Thaxton, PhD, LPC, CPCS (see bio below)
• Date of Recording: December 3, 2026
• Instruction Level: Introductory
• Target Audience: Counselors
• This workshop is not yet available; by pre-registering, you will receive immediate access when it becomes available in December.

Learning Objectives:

After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will be able to:

1. Identify at least five significant additions, revisions, or areas of expanded ethical responsibility within the 2026 ACA Code of Ethics compared with the 2014 Code.
2. Contrast existing ethical responsibilities and newly revised or expanded expectations affecting counseling relationships, professional responsibility, confidentiality, technology, supervision, and other areas of professional practice.
3. Describe ethical risks associated with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), digital tools, telehealth, privacy, data security, and technology-assisted clinical practice, including the Counseling Compact.
4. Explain at least three clinical-level changes to policies, informed consent, documentation, technology use, supervision, or clinical procedures based upon the revised ethical standards.
5. Demonstrate provisions of the 2026 ACA Code of Ethics through complex clinical scenarios involving informed consent, confidentiality, boundaries, competence, technology, supervision, and ethical decision-making.

Workshop Description:

*Note: Until the 2026 ACA Code of Ethics is formally adopted by the ACA Board of Directors, the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics remains the current governing code. Course content will be reviewed and updated to reflect the final adopted 2026 Code prior to presentation and after September 2026.

The counseling profession is changing, and our ethical standards are changing with it.

The American Counseling Association’s first major revision of its Code of Ethics since 2014 arrives during a period of significant change in counseling practice. Telehealth, artificial intelligence (AI), digital communication, interstate practice, evolving professional roles, and increasingly complex questions surrounding privacy, technology, competence, boundaries, and client welfare have transformed the ethical landscape counselors navigate every day.

This 5-hour continuing education workshop provides professional counselors with a practical overview of the 2026 ACA Code of Ethics, with particular attention to significant additions, revisions, and areas of emerging ethical responsibility. Participants will compare key provisions of the 2014 and 2026 Codes and examine how updated standards affect everyday clinical practice, supervision, documentation, technology use, informed consent, confidentiality, professional competence, and ethical decision-making.

Rather than simply reviewing changes line by line, this workshop emphasizes practical application. Participants will work through diverse clinical scenarios to explore how revised ethical expectations translate into policies, informed-consent practices, documentation, consultation, supervision, and clinical decision-making. Special attention will be given to emerging areas of ethical practice, including AI and technology, client privacy and data security, telehealth and digital practice, counselor competence and accountability, and the increasing complexity of practicing across technological and jurisdictional boundaries, including 2026 Counseling Compact updates. Participants will leave the training with a clearer understanding of what has changed, why those changes matter, and what they may need to review or modify in their own practice to remain ethically informed and prepared for the evolving counseling profession.

Workshop Agenda:

Additions and Revisions to the 2026 ACA Code of Ethics (60 minutes)

• Overview of the evolution of the ACA Code of Ethics and factors shaping the 2026 revision, including changes in technology, telehealth, interstate practice, and professional roles.
• Comparison of the 2014 and 2026 Codes, highlighting significant additions, revisions, and areas of expanded ethical responsibility.
• Review of standards that remain substantially unchanged versus those that have been clarified, expanded, or newly introduced.
• Identification of at least five significant changes and their implications for contemporary counseling practice.

Existing vs. Revised Ethical Responsibilities (60 minutes)

• Comparison of existing and revised expectations related to counseling relationships, informed consent, client autonomy, competence, scope of practice, referral, termination, and continuity of care.
• Review of revised or expanded considerations involving boundaries, multiple relationships, social media, counselor self-disclosure, and conflicts of interest.
• Comparison of confidentiality and privacy responsibilities involving individual clients, minors, couples/families, groups, mandated reporting, client records, subpoenas, and court orders.
• Examination of revised expectations involving professional responsibility, counselor competence and impairment, supervision, consultation, documentation, and professional accountability.

Emerging Technologies, Telehealth & the Counseling Compact (60 minutes)

• Examination of AI and digital tools in counseling, including AI-assisted documentation, treatment planning, assessment support, psychoeducation, and clinical decision-making.
• Identification of ethical risks involving AI and technology, including inaccurate or biased outputs, automation bias, confidentiality, data storage, third-party access, privacy, security, and counselor accountability.
• Review of telehealth considerations, including informed consent, client location, emergency planning, privacy, technology failures, electronic communication, and digital boundaries.
• Overview of interstate practice and the Counseling Compact, including home-state licensure, privilege to practice, jurisdictional requirements, client location, documentation, and regulatory accountability.

Clinical-Level Changes Based on the Revised Ethical Standards (60 minutes)

• Review of informed consent and policy changes related to technology, AI, telehealth, electronic communication, privacy, confidentiality, and interstate practice.
• Examination of documentation changes related to ethical decision-making, technology use, client location, consultation, confidentiality, and clinical rationale.
• Practice audit identifying at least three clinical-level changes counselors may need to implement or further evaluate in response to the 2026 Code.

Application of the 2026 ACA Code of Ethics to Complex Clinical Scenarios (60 minutes)

• Describe ethical, legal, clinical, and risk-management considerations (The 4 Bin Approach), including appropriate use of consultation, supervision, and documentation.
• Application of the 2026 Code to complex scenarios involving informed consent, confidentiality, boundaries, competence, AI and technology, supervision, telehealth, interstate practice, and the Counseling Compact.
• Participant demonstration of ethical reasoning by identifying applicable standards, evaluating alternative responses, selecting an appropriate course of action, and documenting the rationale.

Presented by: Nicole Thaxton, PhD, LPC, CPCS

5 "Asynchronous" CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

• COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
  • GA: Counselors in GA will receive 5 Core Hours for completing this course. Please click here for more detailed information.

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Attendance Policy: 100% attendance, completion of a course evaluation and passing a post-test with a score of 70% or higher (you will have 2 retake opportunities) is required at any asynchronous CE program in order to receive credit for that CE program. No partial credit is given. Certificates of completion will be available in each attendee’s account once these completion requirements have been met.

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