Association for Transpersonal
Hypnotherapy

• Home 

---

The ATH is an organisational member of The General Hypnotherapy Standards Council

 

Find a Therapist

England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
Channel Islands
Isle of Man

International

Our Insurers

Howden Professionals:

Howden Professionals is a Division of Howden - a specialist liability insurance broker.  Howden is recognised as a leading expert in the field of indemnity and its clients range from large multinationals to UK-based sole practitioners. The ethos of Howden Professionals is very simple – we will provide the best cover, for the correct price, combined with outstanding customer service. For more information about our products please contact the team on 0113 251 5011 or email:

www.howdenpro.com

Code of Ethics

Each Registrant is bound by our Code of Ethics

All Registrants undertake to:

1) Provide service to clients solely in those areas in which they are competent to do so and for which they carry relevant professional indemnity insurance

2) Remain aware of their own limitations and wherever appropriate, be prepared to refer a client to another practitioner (regardless of discipline) who might be expected to offer suitable treatment

3) Ensure that wherever a client is seeking assistance for the relief of physical symptoms, unless having already done so, that the client be advised to contact a registered Medical Practitioner

4) Confirm that they will never knowingly offer advice to a client which either conflicts with or is contrary to that given by the client’s registered medical advisor/s. (N.B. If the therapist has doubts or concerns with regard to a client’s prescribed medication, they should, always with their client’s permission, contact the medical advisor personally)

5) Accept that any client referred to them by a registered Medical Practitioner (or other relevant agency) remains the clinical responsibility of the Medical Practitioner (or agency) and therefore to agree to keep that Medical Practitioner (or agency) suitably informed of the client’s progress

6) Maintain strict confidentiality within the client/therapist relationship, always provided that such confidentiality is neither inconsistent with the safety of the client’s family members or other members of the public nor in contravention of the laws of the land

7) Ensure that client notes and records be kept secure and confidential and that the use of computer records remains within the terms of the Data Protection Act within the UK. Record keeping outside the UK should also follow best practice guidelines and conform to local legislation or best practice guidelines

8) Obtain written permission from the client (or if appropriate, the client's parent/s or legal guardian/s) before either recording client sessions or discussing undisguised cases with any person whatsoever. ("Recording" in this context means any method other than the usual taking of written case notes. "Undisguised" in this context means cases in which material has not been sufficiently altered in order to offer reasonable anonymity to all relevant parties). With particular reference to the use of CCTV equipment, all clients must be fully informed when such equipment is in operation and as above, written permission must be obtained prior to the commencement of any client session. (N.B. Wherever possible, the practitioner should ensure that such a recording is vision only - i.e. without sound)

9) Take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the client and any person who may be accompanying them

10) Ensure that their workplace and all facilities offered to both clients and their companions will be in every respect suitable and appropriate for the service provided

11) Refrain from using their position of trust and confidence to:

a) exploit the client emotionally, sexually, financially or in any other way whatsoever. Should either a sexual or financial relationship (i.e. other than for the payment of relevant products or services) develop between either therapist and client or members of their respective immediate families, the therapist must immediately cease to accept fees, terminate treatment consistent with Clause 12 below and refer the client to another suitable therapist at the very earliest opportunity. (N.B. Clarification on dilemmas experienced by therapists in respect of the foregoing may be offered by the Association on request );

b) touch the client in any way that may be open to misinterpretation. (e.g. Psychological therapists should before employing any techniques, seek permission and provide an explanation. Therapists involved in massage therapies and other contact therapies should follow best practice guidelines.

12) Terminate treatment at the earliest moment consistent with the good care of the client where appropriate. It is understood that some therapies form part of life style choices of numerous individuals and therefore clause 12 may not be applicable to all registrants

13) Not permit considerations of religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, politics or social standing to adversely influence client treatment

14) Disclose full details of all relevant memberships, training, experience, qualifications and appropriate avenues of complaint to clients, upon request

15) Make no claim that they hold specific qualifications unless such claim can be fully substantiated. (N.B. In the absence of appropriate medical qualifications, no Registrant may utilise the title "Doctor" in a manner that may mislead any member of the public to believe that they are medically qualified and any use of this title must be clearly defined by a suitable qualifying statement.)

16) Explain fully to clients in advance of any treatment, the fee levels, precise terms of payment and any charges which might be imposed for non-attendance or cancelled appointments. (N.B. Whilst not obligatory, written material is preferable to verbal statements as this is less likely to give grounds for misunderstanding should any dispute between client and therapist subsequently develop)

17) Present all services and products in an unambiguous manner (to include any limitations and realistic outcomes of treatment) and ensure that the client retains complete control over the decision to purchase such services or products. This is known as informed consent

18) Conduct themselves at all times in accord with their professional status and in such a way as neither undermines public confidence in transpersonal hypnotherapy nor brings the Association into disrepute

a) Inform the Association, in writing, of any complaint (of which they are aware) made against them;

b) Inform the Association, in writing, of any disciplinary action taken against them by any professional body;

c) Inform the Association, in writing, of any criminal offence of which they have been convicted

19) Inform the Association, in writing, of any alteration in circumstance which would affect either their position or ability as practitioners

20) Inform the Association, in writing, of any change in practice name, contact address, telephone number or e-mail address, at the earliest convenient moment so that we can maintain your contact details on our web site

21) Ensure that all *advertising within the UK shall comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice, accord with the British Advertising Standards Authority and make available all such literature to the Association on request. (*This includes all material published on websites and in which matter, the Association reserves the right to decide, entirely at its discretion, whether to allow active links to any individual website from the Association web site). Advertisers outside of the UK agree to ensure that their advertising material complies with local legislation and/or accepted guidelines

22) Make available all relevant information requested as a result of investigation by any appointed Complaints and Disciplinary Officer without hindrance (whether implied or actual) or unreasonable delay and comply fully with all requirements inherent within any Complaints and Disciplinary Procedure to which they subscribe

23) Wherever possible, obtain the consent of an appropriate adult (i.e. parent or legal guardian) before conducting treatment with clients who are either under the age of majority or are classified as Special Needs. (N.B. Ideally, an appropriate adult should be present during such sessions. N.B.2 Where the client is under the age of 16 and requesting parental / legal guardian consent would violate confidentiality, the therapist should employ an assessment of the client's competency to consent to treatment on their own behalf ).
Research Ethics
For all practical purposes, a "research subject" should be considered synonymous with a "client" and consequently, all relevant Clauses within the Associations' Code of Ethics remain applicable

Of extra importance is the need on the part of the researcher to:

24) Accept that all participation by subjects must be on a completely voluntary basis and that no pressure of any type should be exerted in order to secure participation

25) Ensure that proper consent has been obtained prior to the commencement of any research project. This is especially so in the case of minors or Persons with Special Needs. (N.B. This does not apply where general research of a purely statistical nature is carried out)

26) Maintain complete openness and honesty with regard to both the purpose and nature of the research being conducted

27) Consider any potential adverse consequences to the subject as a result of any intended research project

28) Provide, where relevant, for the ongoing care of participants with regard to any adverse effects that might arise as a consequence of and within a reasonable time period after, their involvement within any research project
Remember - The well-being of the individual subject is always more important than the research itself.

N.B. Registrants should be aware that this is not a static document and that it may be amended from time to time in order to take account of the need for ongoing professionalism with regard to our duty of care to those who seek our services.

Back to top