Essential Psychotherapy Institute Therapist Code of Ethics
1. Definition of Terms
In this document, “EPI persons” means all full-time and part-time Faculty members, Staff and Administration members of the Institute, and any other person who teaches or works at or under the auspices of the Institute (including but not limited to students, temporary faculty and facilitators).
In this document the word “Therapist” refers to any EPI person that assumes the position of the Therapist, in an individual therapy session, in a group therapy session, in an assisting or facilitating role in any EPI course, training or activity.
In this document, the term “Student” refers to all individuals who are presently enrolled at the Institute in a credit course or who are monitoring a course as well as individuals under the academic supervision of Faculty within the Institute.
In this document the term “Client” refers to any student or any person in the position of receiving therapy from the Therapist, in an individual or group setting.
2. Preamble
This document serves as Code of Conduct for the Essential Therapist and any EPI person who assumes the Therapist position in any activity of the Institute or in any activity in which he/she represents the Institute.
Our Institute is simultaneously an academic program and a psychotherapeutic training, involving processes whereby students engage in self-exploration and therapy under the supervision and guidance of Faculty, Staff, Trainees and other Students. Those relationships and processes are unanimously governed by the Therapist–Client code of conduct as stated in this document. The below ethical principles also serve as guideline for our graduated students that become Essential Therapists.
True ethics serve to safeguard the Essence in each and every one of us and also function as a support for embodying our True Self and actualizing it in the world. This Code of Conduct is reflective of this principle and is made up of standards which aim to the preserve the integrity of our program and of each individual, providing a safe and supportive environment for both to flourish. Our basic motivation and what we like to impart to our students is the love for the spirit and a benevolent attitude toward the individual that wants to walk the path of growth and evolution. An ethical attitude is also one of meditation, which includes the ability for self-reflection, introspection and to act from a conscious place. Every academic, therapeutic and professional relationship in our field is based on meditation and a desire to relate in a conscious way. This requires a safe base, an environment in which the individuals can feel some basic trust. This Code of Conduct provides a structure for that safe base, upon which our therapeutic community can continue to grow and thrive.
The Therapist assumes the role of the adult and strives to embody the healthy parent that creates the corrective and healing experience in the client. He/she achieves this by having appropriate containment, providing true mirroring capacity (ability to see and tune in to the client) and being able to be there for the client in an appropriate, compassionate, protective and empowering way. In this lies a gift for the Therapist. While trying to embody the healthy, responsible, accountable parent for someone else, we teach ourselves to become that in our own life.
The below code of ethics draws elements from the ethics of the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy, the European Association of Body Psychotherapy and the American Psychological Association.
3. Competence
a. The Therapist strives to perform his/her duties at the highest level of competence. He/she undergoes sufficient training and utilizes appropriate consultation.
b. The Therapist refers clients to appropriate professionals in his/her own as well as other fields of expertise as needed.
c. The Therapist does not diagnose, treat or advise outside the recognized boundaries of his/her competence. He/She recognizes the limitations of his/her knowledge and skill; he/she only provides those services and uses those techniques for which he/she is qualified by education, training and experience.
d. The Therapist obtains professional or peer supervision/consultation as a standard part of his/her practice.
e. The Therapist always seeks appropriate professional assistance for personal problems or conflicts that may impair his/her performance of their duties or judgment.
4. Integrity
a. The Therapist seeks to promote integrity in the teaching and practice of psychotherapy. In these activities, the Therapist strives to be honest, fair and respectful of others and to be aware of their own belief systems, values, needs, and limitations and the effect of these on their work.
b. The Therapist communicates honestly and truthfully concerning his/her training, experience, and competence. Likewise he/she makes truthful and accurate statements regarding his/her credentials, academic degrees, institutional or association affiliations, services, fees or publications
c. Where payment for services rendered is involved, the Therapist accurately states the nature of the service provided and the fees, charges, or payments.
5. Safety
a. The Therapist will not engage willingly in any activities which are harmful or exploitative or which could reasonably be expected to be harmful or exploitative. The Therapist is sensitive to issues of possible harm, solicits discussion of such situations, as appropriate, even when they are not directly raised by the client, and take appropriate action to prevent and minimize harm that might occur.
b. The Therapist is professional in attitude and conduct, reliable about agreements and appointments.
c. Sexual relationships between the Therapist and his/her Clients are prohibited both during the therapeutic relationship and after the termination of that therapeutic relationship.
d. The Therapist does not engage in sexual intimacies with individuals they know to be the parents, guardians, spouses, partners, offspring, or siblings of current clients.
e. The Therapist does not accept as therapy clients persons with whom they have engaged in any kind of sexual relationship.
f. The Therapist does not engage in any behavior which could reasonably be interpreted as harassment, sexual or non-sexual.
g. The Therapist seeks appropriate consultation and/or supervision for any circumstance in which the ethics of his/her behavior comes into question.
h. The Therapist maintains respect for colleagues. He/she refrains from the exploitation of professional relationships for personal gain, whether financial, personal or professional.
6. Multiple Relationships
a. The Therapist avoids exploitive multiple relationships. A multiple relationship occurs when a Therapist is in a psychotherapeutic relationship with a person and is at the same time, or consecutively, in another relationship with the same person. The boundaries of the therapeutic relationship must be clearly defined; otherwise they have the potential to impair judgment, cause damage and undermine the purpose of the therapy.
b. Considerations about potential exploitation include the: nature and intensity of the professional relationship and of the secondary relationship, stage of therapy, amount of transference, degree of the role conflict, level of communication skills, and existence of an evaluative role.
c. The Therapist is aware of the differences in power that may exist in their relationships with clients, students and supervisees. The Therapist will be sensitive to the real and ascribed differences in power, be responsible for bringing potential issues into the awareness of those involved, and be available for reasonable processing with those involved.
d. In certain situations, a multiple relationship that is non-exploitive may be undertaken. In these cases, the Therapist takes precautions to protect the client from exploitation and damage. Such precautions may include, but are not limited to, acknowledgment of the multiple relationship and its inherent risk to the client, ongoing dialogue, informed consent, documentation, consultation and supervision.
e. In the event that the Therapist is providing services to several persons who have a relationship (partners, parents and children, siblings, families) the Therapist attempts to clarify at the onset of the therapy, the relationship they will have with each individual. At any time, if it becomes apparent that the Therapist is in multiple relationships which compromise the treatment situation or threaten to impair the objectivity or judgment of the Therapist in any way, he/she will clarify, adjust or withdraw from conflicting roles.
f. As a teacher, the Therapist acknowledges that his/her relationships with students and/or supervises include factors which often make avoiding multiple relationships difficult. He/she monitors their teaching and supervision relationships to ensure that they do not become exploitive and/or damaging.
g. Barter is the acceptance of goods or services from clients in return for psychological services. The Therapist does not barter (including work exchange) unless the bartering arrangements are appropriate in the context of the therapeutic relationship, indicated by the needs of the client, and for the welfare of the client. Where bartering is used, the Therapist and client make agreements in writing related to the exchange of goods or services to ensure that both understand the scope and limitations of the agreement.
7. Confidentiality
a. The Therapist has the principal obligation and responsibility to respect the confidentiality of those with whom he/she works.
b. Confidential information includes all information obtained in the context of the therapeutic relationship. The Therapist must maintain the confidentiality of clients and former clients.
c. The Therapist discloses confidential information without the consent of the client only when required to by law. Such situations may include, but are not be limited to: providing essential professional services to the client, obtaining appropriate professional consultation, or protecting the client or others from harm.
d. In cases where there is more than one person involved in treatment by the same Therapist (such as with groups, families and couples), the Therapist obtains an initial agreement with those involved concerning how confidential information will be handled both within treatment and with regard to third parties.
e. The Therapist maintains appropriate records as necessary to offer competent care and as required by law or regulation.
f. The Therapist ensures the protection the confidentiality of client records in their storage, transfer, and disposal. He/she conforms to applicable local or international laws governing the length of storage and procedures for disposal.
g. Therapists take appropriate steps to ensure, as far as possible, that employees, supervisees, assistants, and volunteers maintain the confidentiality of clients. They take appropriate steps to protect the client’s identity or to obtain prior, written authorization for the use of any identifying materials in teaching, writing and public presentations. When working with groups, the Therapist explains to participants the importance of maintaining confidentiality and obtains an agreement from the group participants to respect the confidentiality and privacy of other group members.
h. The Therapist obtains consent from clients/students before taping or filming any session and informs of the intended use of the material.
8. Safe Touch
a. The use of touch has a legitimate and valuable role as a mode of intervention when used skillfully and with clear boundaries, sensitive application and good judgment. Because use of touch may make clients especially vulnerable, the Therapist pays particular attention to the potential for dependent, infantile or erotic transference and seeks healthy containment rather than therapeutically inappropriate accentuation of these states. Genital or other sexual touching by a Therapist or client is always inappropriate. The Therapist always practices safe touch. The client is notified of the possibility of an intervention of touch and always given the option to request not to be touched if they do not feel safe.
b. The Therapist evaluates the appropriateness of the use of touch for each client. They consider a number of factors such as the capacity of the client for genuine informed consent, the client’s personal history in relation to touch, the client’s ability to usefully integrate touch experiences; and the interaction of the practitioner’s particular style of touch work with the client’s.
c. The Therapist obtains informed consent prior to using touch-related techniques in the therapeutic relationship. He/she makes every attempt to ensure that consent for the use of touch is genuine and that the client adequately understands the nature and purposes of its use. The Therapist strives to be sensitive to the client’s spoken and unspoken cues regarding touch, taking into account the particular client’s capacity for authentic and full consent.
d. The Therapist recognizes and respects the right of the client to refuse or terminate any touch on the part of the Therapist at any point, and they inform the client of this right.
e. The Therapist recognizes that, as with all aspects of the therapy, touch is only used when it can reasonably be determined to benefit the client. Touch may never be utilized to gratify the personal needs of the Therapist, nor because it is seen as required by the Therapist’s theoretical viewpoint in disregard of the client’s needs or wishes.
f. The application of touch techniques requires a high degree of internal clarity and integration on the part of the Therapist. The Therapist prepares himself/herself for the use of therapeutic touch through thorough training and supervision in the use of touch, receiving therapy that includes touch, and appropriate supervision or consultation should any issues arise in the course of treatment.
g. The Therapist does not engage in genital or other sexual touching. The Therapist is responsible to maintain clear sexual boundaries in terms of his/her own behavior and to set limits on the client’s behavior towards him/her which prohibits any sexual touching.
9. Education and Training
a. When the Therapist is responsible for education and training programs, he/she seeks to ensure that the programs are competently structured and provide appropriate experiences and training to fulfill the stated objectives. The Therapist recognizes the power the/she holds over students and supervisees and therefore conducts him/herself with respect toward students and supervisees.
b. The Therapist attempts to ensure that any education and training programs for which he/she is responsible have accurate descriptions of the program content, training goals, objectives, and requirements that must be met for satisfactory admission to and completion of the program. This information is made readily available to all interested parties.
c. When engaged in teaching or training, educators present pertinent information accurately and objectively with respectful critiques when appropriate. The educational content in their programs is based on information that has some form of valid, publicly available evidence and/or investigation behind it. Educational programs provide exposure to varied theoretical positions as well as scientifically and professionally derived knowledge.
d. The Therapist establishes appropriate processes for providing feedback to students and supervisees. He/she evaluates students and supervisees on the basis of their actual performance on relevant and established program requirements.
e. When performing the role of teacher or trainer, the Therapist maintains a level of confidentiality appropriate for the teaching environment. Teachers and trainers discuss trainees and supervisees only in accord with publicly stated policy or mutual agreement and for the purpose of enriching the educational opportunities of the individual.
f. Educators must be able to present adequate credentials that demonstrate that their teaching is within their scope of learning and expertise.
9. Complaints
Since, as mentioned above, our Institute is simultaneously an academic program and a psychotherapeutic training, involving processes whereby Students engage in self-exploration and therapeutic process under the supervision and guidance of Faculty, Staff, Trainees and other Students, we request that any disagreement, perceived violation of the Code of Conduct, unfair treatment and complaint first be viewed within the confines and context of the course or group that it occurred in and that resolution be sought within the confines of the course or group with all parties involved. This in no way supersedes any national or local law or any violation of the national or international standards of human rights. If a resolution cannot be reached in the above manner, the student should follow the complaint procedures and processes outlined in the Institute’s Complaints Procedure.
Within the context of the therapeutic relationship, transference and negative feelings are a frequent and necessary occurrence. Failure to deal with those within the context of the therapy, individual or group, and not to assign them to their proper origin as well as not to offer the opportunity for resolution and growth within the therapeutic relationship can damage relationships and leave the persons involved with unresolved feelings. This is why we always encourage self-expression, reality testing and do our best to create an environment of open communication, acceptance and collaboration.