Areas of expertise & ethical specializations (clinic standard)
Audience: Associates
Goal: Keep “specialties/areas of focus” accurate and ethical for client matching and clinic representation.
Associates are independent professionals and determine their scope of practice and preferred populations. The clinic asks that associates describe their areas of expertise in a way that is accurate, respectful, and consistent with professional ethical standards.
What this is for (and what it is not)
- For: client matching, internal referrals, directory/website bios, and clear expectations for clients.
- Not for: marketing “promises” or guaranteed outcomes.
How to describe your areas of focus
Please use language like:
- “Areas of focus include…”
- “I work with…”
- “I have experience supporting clients with…”
- “My approach includes…”
Please align claims with:
- your training and competence
- supervision/consultation where relevant
- your actual recent clinical experience
Clinic standard: “expertise” vs “specialization” vs “area of interest”
To keep language clear for clients and matching, please use these tiers consistently:
- Area of expertise: you may claim an area/population as an area of expertise when you have specific postgraduate training and experience in it.
- Specialization: you may list an area as a specialization when you have underway training and experience in it (i.e., you are actively building formal competence).
- Area of interest: you may list an area as an area of interest when you are gaining experience in it (without positioning it as an established expertise).
What to avoid
Please avoid:
- guaranteed outcomes (“I will fix…”, “results guaranteed”)
- “cure” language
- overstating specialization without clear training/competence
- stigmatizing or judgmental descriptors about clients
When you add a new specialization
If you want to add/remove a session type or update the way your specialties are listed publicly:
- please discuss it with admin (clinic coordination), and
- please provide a short, accurate description of your focus/training so the clinic can keep profiles consistent.