Constitution

The code sets out certain minimum standards of ethics and conduct with which members are required to comply. The code is supplemented from time to time by statements on matters of ethics and conduct describing the standards of good practice for which members should aim. Some of these statements will give detailed guidance such as those describing advertising and descriptions. Others will be relevant to specific fields of professional practice or the special provisions of law on such matters, for example, as confidentiality and the disclosure of information.

General

In all their work members shall conduct themselves in a manner that does not bring into disrepute the discipline of clinical hypnosis/brief strategic therapy. Specifically, they shall:

• Value integrity, impartiality and respect for persons and evidence and shall seek to establish the highest ethical standards in their work.
• Because of their concern for valid evidence, ensure that research is carried out in keeping with the highest standards of scientific integrity.
• Taking account of their obligations under the law, hold the interest and welfare of those in receipt of their services to be paramount at all times and ensures that the interests of participants are safeguarded.

Competence

Members shall endeavor to maintain and develop their professional competence, to recognize and work within its limits, and to identify and ameliorate factors that restrict it. Specifically they shall:

• Refrain from laying claim, directly or indirectly, to qualifications or affiliations they do not possess; from claiming competence in a particular area of treatment in which they have not established their competence; claiming characteristics or capabilities for themselves or others which they do not possess.
• Recognize the boundaries of their own competence and not attempt to practice any form of therapy which is outside those boundaries.
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure that their qualifications, capabilities or views are not misrepresented by others and correct any such misrepresentations that are made.
• If requested to provide therapeutic services which they judge to be outside their competence, to give every reasonable assistance towards obtaining those services from others who are appropriately qualified to provide them.
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure that those working under their direct supervision comply with each of the foregoing, in particular that they recognize the limits of their competence and do not attempt to practice beyond them.

Obtaining Consent

Members shall normally carry out investigations or interventions only with the valid consent of participants, having taken all reasonable steps to ensure that they have adequately understood the nature of the investigation or intervention and its anticipated consequences. Specifically they shall:

• Always consult experienced professional colleagues when considering withholding information about an investigatory procedure, and withhold information only when it is necessary in the interests of the objectivity of the investigatory procedure or of future professional practice.
• Where it is necessary not to give full information in advance to those participating in an investigation, provide such full information retrospectively about the aims, rationale and outcomes of the procedure as far as it is consistent with a concern for the welfare of the participants.
• Refrain from making exaggerated, sensational or unjustifiable claims for the effectiveness of their methods and products; from advertising services or products in a way likely to encourage unrealistic expectations about the effectiveness of the services or products offered or misleading those to whom services are offered, about the nature and likely consequences of any interventions to be undertaken.
• Normally obtain the consent of those to whom interventions are offered, taking all reasonable steps to ensure that the consent obtained is valid, except when the intervention is made compulsorily in accordance with the provisions and safeguards of the relevant legislation.
• Recognize and uphold the rights of those whose capacity to give valid consent to interventions may be diminished including the young, those with learning disabilities, the elderly, those in the care of an institution or detained under the provisions of the law.
• When offering interventions to those in no position to give valid consent themselves, seek consent from those who have the valid authority to give it on their behalf, after consulting with experienced professional colleagues.
• Recognize and uphold the rights of recipients of services to withdraw consent to interventions or other professional procedures after they have commenced and terminate or recommend alternative services when there is evidence that those in receipt of their services are deriving no benefit from them.

Confidentiality

Members shall take all reasonable steps to preserve the confidentiality of information acquired through their professional practice or research and to protect the privacy of individuals or organizations about which information is collected or held. Specifically, they shall:

• Subject to the requirements of law, take care to prevent the identity of individuals, organizations or participants in research being revealed, deliberately or inadvertently, without their expressed permission.
• Endeavor to communicate information obtained through research or practice in ways that do not permit the identification of individuals or organizations.
• Only convey to others personally- identifiable information obtained in the course of professional work with the expressed permission of those who would be identified. (Subject always to the best interests of recipients of services or participants in research and subject to the requirements of law and agreed working practices).
• When working in a team or with collaborators, endeavor to make clear to recipients of services or participants in research, the extent to which personally- identifiable information may be shared between colleagues or others within a group receiving the services.
• Where there is sufficient evidence to raise serious concerns about the safety or interests of recipients of services, or those who may be threatened by the recipient's behavior, take appropriate steps to inform appropriate third parties, without prior consent, after first seeking advice from an experienced and disinterested colleague (unless the delay caused by seeking this advice would involve a significant risk to life or health)
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure that records over which they have control remain personally identifiable only as long as is necessary in the interests of those to whom they refer (or, exceptionally, to the general development and provision of treatment services).
• Render anonymous any records under their control that no longer need to be personally identifiable for the above purposes.
• Only make audio, video, or photographic recordings of recipients of services or participants in research (with the exception of recordings of public behavior) with the expressed agreement of those being recorded both to the recording being made and to the subsequent conditions of access to it.
• Take all reasonable steps to safeguard the security of any records they make, including those held on computer, and, where they have limited control over access to records they make, exercise discretion over the information entered on the records.
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure that colleagues with whom they work understand and respect the need for confidentiality regarding any information obtained.

Personal Conduct

Members shall conduct themselves in their professional activities in a way that does not damage the interests of the recipients of their services or participants in their research and does not inappropriately undermine public confidence in their, or their fellow professionals' ability to carry out their professional duties. Specifically they shall:

• Not attempt to secure or to accept from those receiving their service any significant financial or material benefit beyond that which has been contractually agreed, or to secure directly from them any such benefit for services that are already rewarded by salary.
• Not exploit any relationship of influence or trust which exists between colleagues, or those in receipt of their services to further the gratification of their personal desires.
• Not allow their professional responsibilities or standards of practice to be diminished by considerations of religion, sex, race, age, nationality, party politics, social standing, class, self-interest or other extraneous factors.
• Refrain from practice when physically or psychologically unfit to exercise professional judgement, for example as a result of alcohol, drugs, illness or personal stress.
• Value for all relevant evidence and the limits of such evidence when giving advice or expressing a professional opinion.
• Value and have respect for scientific evidence and the limits of such evidence when making public statements that provide practical information.
• Refrain from claiming credit for the research and intellectual property of others and give due credit to the contributions of others in collaborative work.
• Take steps to maintain adequate standards of safety in the use of procedures used in practice or research.
• Bring allegations of misconduct by a professional colleague to the attention of those responsible for investigating them; do so without malice and with no breaches of confidentiality other than those necessary to the proper investigatory processes.
• When the subject of misconduct allegations, take all reasonable steps to assist those responsible for investigating them.

Guidelines on Advertising Services to the Public

The Role of the Society

The Society adopts a neutral position on the desirability or otherwise of members working in private practice and charging clients directly for services provided.

The responsibility of the Society is to ensure that when members advertise services, they do so with due regard to acceptable standards. Announcements through agencies should conform to the same standards.

General Guidelines

An advertisement is defined as a communication addressed directly to the public, or a section of it, the purpose of which is to influence the behavior or opinions of those to whom it is addressed.

An advertisement therefore includes any announcement about the professional services of an individual or group, whether they work in private practice or for a corporate employer, that appears in the press, on television, on the radio, in Yellow Pages or in a brochure distributed directly through a potential client’s letterbox.

Different principles apply to a letter of introduction that a therapist might send to a third party (e.g. a solicitor or medical practitioner) introducing services offered to clients who subsequently may be referred at the discretion of the third party receiving the letter.

All members should:

• Recognize the need to encourage and preserve a relationship with those to whom their services are offered which is dignified and based on confidence.
• Not make exaggerated and unjustified claims about the effectiveness of their methods, advertise their services in a way that is likely to encourage unrealistic expectations of the effectiveness of the services offered, mislead those to whom services are offered about the nature and likely consequences of any interventions.

What to include in an advertisement:

The Society advises members who advertise personal therapeutic services to individuals to include only ‘visiting card’ particulars in the advertisement, that is, information giving name, qualifications, status, address, telephone number, etc.

In some cases, such as in brief strategic therapy, where the public does not necessarily know what services to expect from the name, factual information about the specialist nature of the services provided and the methods employed would also be helpful.

When making reference to the specialist services offered, great care should be taken to avoid playing on the fears of a client and then offering to provide a cure. One way of meeting this requirement is to avoid reference to the kinds of client problems for which treatment is offered.

It is not normally possible to refer to specialist areas of psychosomatic treatment without making reference to the problems for which the client is seeking help (e.g. stress-related disorders, smoking etc). When phrasing an advertisement therefore, members should use discretion and judgement, the criteria being that no reasonable person would find the advertisement distasteful.

Thus, an advertisement offering to help those with stress-related problems or those wanting help with slimming would be acceptable, but an advertisement stressing the health dangers of obesity and then offering help to overcome it would not.

What not to include in an advertisement:

• Any comparative denigration of the services of other treatments or practitioners from other professions.
• Claims that the services offered are of superlative quality or that the advice given is likely to be better than that given by another. (Therapists may, of course mention their formal qualifications).
• Any play on client's fears regarding their state of health or stimulation of any feeling of dissatisfaction with their present life situation.
• The implication either of the certainty of cure for any conditions to be treated or the certainty of success with the resolution of a client’s problems.
  Offers to refund money to dissatisfied clients.

The competence of those claiming expertise in specialist areas of treatment

Members must be able to substantiate any claims of competence e.g. by demonstrating that they have received relevant training.

Fees for therapeutic services

By law, the Society may not give advice on specific fees that should and can be charged by its members as this is a prohibited, restrictive practice. The Monopolies and Mergers Commission have confirmed this position.

Policy and information for individuals making a complaint

If you feel you are being subjected to harassment in any form, do not feel that it is your fault or that you have to tolerate it. If possible, make it clear to the person that such behavior is unacceptable to you.

It does not constitute consent to harassment if you feel unable to speak to the person about it, nor will it prejudice any complaint you may bring. It is a good idea to keep a record or a ‘diary’ of the behavior and events you have found unacceptable and any action you took.

The role of the Society

The Society is required to investigate all allegations of professional misconduct against its members.

If, following investigation, an allegation of professional misconduct about a member is upheld, the member may be expelled; suspended from membership of the Society; issued with a reprimand or severe reprimand that may be accompanied by a request for an undertaking to refrain from continuing or repeating the offending conduct.

For any allegation against a member of the Society to be considered formally, the allegation shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by as full an account of the relevant facts as possible and submitted to the secretary of the society for consideration.

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