Complaint Guidelines and Process
If you wish to file a complaint against a North Carolina Fee-Based Practicing Pastoral Counselor, you may do so by placing that complaint in writing and sending it to the North Carolina Board of Fee-Based Practicing Pastoral Counselors. The NC Fee-Based Practicing Pastoral Counselors Board endorses the Code of Ethics established and published by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. You may cite the ethical code(s) you believe is/are applicable. To view the Code of Ethics click on this link: http://www.ncpastoralcounseling.org/laws-and-codes.html. The board will assign your complaint a number so that no names will be known to anyone but the board attorney, administrative assistant, and ethics chair. Once the complaint has been received, notification is sent to the counselor against whom the complaint was filed allowing him or her to respond to the alleged charges. If necessary, the board will investigate the complaint and issue a ruling after gathering all necessary information. Investigations will not be made unless complaints are in writing and signed by the complainant.
Submit the complaint on the Board’s Complaint Form available for download below. Additional documents needed to complete the complaint form are: the AAPC Code of Ethics, Article 26, and Title 21 Chapter 45. These documents are available on the website under Laws and Codes. Specific breaches of the Code of Ethics or law (Article 26 and Title 21 Chapter 45) need to be listed on the complaint form or on additional pages, and any additional evidence deemed as essential should also be included with the complaint form.
Once the completed complaint form is received in the Board’s office, the following will occur:
Submit the complaint on the Board’s Complaint Form available for download below. Additional documents needed to complete the complaint form are: the AAPC Code of Ethics, Article 26, and Title 21 Chapter 45. These documents are available on the website under Laws and Codes. Specific breaches of the Code of Ethics or law (Article 26 and Title 21 Chapter 45) need to be listed on the complaint form or on additional pages, and any additional evidence deemed as essential should also be included with the complaint form.
Once the completed complaint form is received in the Board’s office, the following will occur:
- The complaint is logged into a database and assigned a complaint number.
- A letter will also be sent to the person filing the complaint acknowledging the receipt of the complaint and informing the person of the complaint number.
- The certified pastoral counselor is sent a letter and a copy of the complaint and is given an opportunity to respond in writing to the complaint.
- After receiving the complaint number any additional information forwarded to the Board’s office should include the complaint number so it can be easily identified as additional information to the complaint.
- Copies of the complaint are also forwarded to the Board’s Ethics Chair for review.
- When the pastoral counselor’s response is received, this is also forwarded to the Ethics Chair.
- The Ethics Chair will review with the Board, at its next scheduled meeting, details of the complaint received and the response from the pastoral counselor.
- The Board makes a decision as to what the next step should be.
- The Board meets approximately twice a year.
- All complaints must follow due process and are not immediately resolved
| Formal Complaint Form.docx |
| Formal Complaint Form.pdf |