WHAT and WHOM THE PROFESSIONAL ETHICS COMMITTEE ADDRESSES

Each IEDTA Member is a professional accountable to their professional body. As a consequence, these ethical rules do not address the relationship between individual therapists and their clients/patients. As the IEDTA Ethical Committee we are recommending ethical standards :
(1) relation of IEDTA Members and Trainees with IEDTA and with each other;
(2) matters regarding Teaching/Supervision/Core Training/Supervisor Training in one of the EDT’s;
(3) matters regarding the public image of  IEDTA.

MATTERS REGARDING TEACHING/ SUPERVISION/ CORE TRAINING/ SUPERVISOR TRAINING IN ONE OF THE EDT’s

In general, teaching, training and supervision in one of the EDT’s must comply with (i) the definition and the spirit of EDT as outlined in the IEDTA bylaws and (ii) the requirements already established for the recognition of specific courses and of Teachers/Supervisors. As a consequence, IEDTA Members and Trainees in any of the courses held by IEDTA Teachers/Supervisors, cannot formally teach/supervise before they are recognized as, respectively, Teachers and Supervisors.
In addition to this, IEDTA Members are bound to behave ethically when offering Teaching, Core Training and Supervisor Training. This involves, for example, the following:
(1) encouraging Trainees who are already attending Core Training with an IEDTA Supervisor, to complete the training, or to enter and sustain a dialogue with their current Supervisor, in order to reach a mutual understanding if they choose to leave the program and begin a new and different one;
(2) refraining from recruiting Trainees who are in other EDT training programs;
(3) Core group Trainees must have successfully completed Core Training program in full, before they are eligible to follow a dedicated Teacher and/or Supervisor Training program. It is unethical to invite trainees that are still in training to follow a course for becoming Teacher and/or Supervisor.

MATTERS REGARDING PROMOTION/ADVERTISING/COMMUNICATION OF EDT COURSES/EVENTS

The general outline of material illustrating a course/event, should (i) refrain from directly or indirectly suggesting that the techniques being taught will enable participants to treat any pathology, or to invariably achieve full therapeutic results; (ii) be clear and sober, thus avoiding a presumptuous or messianic/evangelic wording/tone.
In addition to this, the following points are relevant to a correct communication:
(1) it is wrong to advertise by image, suggestion, name or any other means that the course/event deliver anything but some form of learning experience; it is wrong to create an image of an organization that has either power or membership that is fictitious in order to attract participants;
(2) communication should be respectful of other EDT and non-EDT therapeutic models, and the EDT model being taught should not be presented as the only or best form of EDT;
(3) courses/events should not be organized strictly to make profit and participation fees should be in reason of the actual hours of teaching and number of participants;
(4) the Teachers/Supervisors of any EDT course/event should mention that they are IEDTA Members (Teachers, Supervisors...) in all the advertising material, since this will (i) help promoting IEDTA, and (ii) give Participants useful information as to what is the umbrella EDT association;
(5) if an IEDTA Member forms (or becomes the Member of) a new association/group, the name, goals and bylaws of the new association/group must not (i) represent a duplication of those of IEDTA, (ii) clash with the objectives and bylaws of IEDTA, and (iii) in any other way undermine the function, reputation or public image of IEDTA, nor of any of the association’s organs and internal subgroups.

ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS COMMITTEE

(1) The Ethics Committee will act either on a complaint basis, or when asked by the IEDTA President
(2) The IEDTA President and the Ethics Committee may, at any time, request to view the promotion and advertisement material used by IEDTA Members or their current trainees
(3) The scope and mission of the Ethics Committee is primarily educational for IEDTA Members, not punitive
(4) If, however, a IEDTA Member seriously or repeatedly crosses the boundary of the above ethical rules, or in other ways shows unethical behaviour, the Ethics Committee will put forward its recommendations to reprimand such unethical behaviour
(5) These ethics guidelines should be printed on the IEDTA website, so as to be easily accessible by all interested parties.

Ferruccio Osimo - Chairperson of Professional Ethics Committee: