Lola, I have been saying, and said in my first post that therapists as a profession have the responsibility to look out for client interests rather than only their personal/business interests. Client interest is part of business decision making. I've mentioned before that it's up to therapists how they want to carry out their responsibilities, and I talk about this more at the macro level.

This was in response to those who said things like as long as a therapist gets the clients they need...and if working 9-4 is what they want to do, then they have no obligation, etc. This is not true for those who joined organizations by committing to ethics codes that state it's not all about the therapist's needs. There is expected to be some balance.

These professional organizations have a lot of clout with government regulators, Congress, etc. That 'clout' is because their members support the codes and contribute to social good. The codes are not mere pieces of paper. But they are losing their credibility when members ignore the standards. They are also making it worse for themselves, because when they have no credibility, which is what happens to people/organizations who say one thing and do another, those policymakers who once took their side of things into account end up making rules forcing them to do things that they themselves chose not to do. It's happening now with the new Medicare programs, currently a topic in Trump policy.

When therapists get their affiliation with these organizations, it does not means they commit to following through with responsiblities they committed to. If they don't, they have no business being a member of these organizations, per the organizations. And that's fine if they want to make their business decisions based on their own well-being and preferences and nothing else, but not if they want to be an APA or other member.

I think like Stopdog said, however, other organizations' standards are eroding. I do see a trend in that.

Probably don't have much more to say about the subject.