Consult your specific Code of Ethics to find out what it states regarding Duplication of Services
• If a potential client who is receiving services from another agency or colleague contacts you for services, you should carefully consider the client’s needs before agreeing to provide your services.
• To minimize possible conflict and confusion, you should discuss with the potential client
(a) the nature of his/her current relationship with the other service provider, and
(b) the implications, including possible risks or benefits, of entering into a professional relationship with you.
• If a new client has been served by another agency or colleague, you should discuss with the client whether consultation with the previous service provider is in the client’s best interests.
Although you are not prohibited from treating a client who is currently receiving services from another mental health professional, you would never want to duplicate the services of another provider for an extended period of time. In fact, the primary considerations when a prospective client is receiving services from another mental health professional are
(a) the client’s welfare and
(b) the reason why the client is seeking mental health services from more than one provider.
• If a prospective client is currently seeing another therapist for a different problem than the one he/she wants to work on with you, it is usually acceptable for you to provide services to the client. For example, if a client is seeing a behavioral therapist to resolve a tobacco use disorder and then contacts you to deal with marital problems, it would be acceptable for both you and the other therapist to see the client for therapy. The same would be true if the client were seeing the other therapist with his/her spouse for couples work and wanted to see you for individual therapy. Note, however, that if you treat a person currently receiving treatment from another mental health professional, you must get the client’s permission to consult and collaborate with the other professional so that you can coordinate treatment plans and clearly define your goals and contributions to treatment. In other words, you should not treat a person currently receiving treatment from another mental health professional without the other professional’s knowledge.
• If a prospective client is seeing another mental health professional for the same problem that he/she wants to work on with you, the best course of action is to explain your ethical responsibilities to the client and determine why the client is seeking the same services from two different providers. If you determine that there is no benefit for the client in seeing two providers, then you should decline to provide your services. Note that it is acceptable to see a client one time under these circumstances for evaluation and consultation. In fact, you often do not know before the first session that a client is seeing another therapist. This is one reason why it’s a good practice to have a question on your intake form about previous experience with mental health services as well as to conduct a careful intake interview.