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2.1 Basic Commitments [1]
A. Members base their work on the Pathwork Guide lectures.
B. Members have made a Stage IV commitment as recommended by the Guide in AD6: Stages and Questions or a commitment that is equivalent in substance even if it is worded differently.
C. Members consciously incorporate Pathwork principles in every aspect of their lives.
D. Honoring the law of brotherhood, members do continuing personal work including individual and/or group process work. In addition, if members have workers, they are in peer or paid supervision with a recognized Pathwork Helper or other person approved by a recognized Pathwork Region or Chapter or by PHANA.
E. Members honor the International Pathwork Foundation copyright and trademark policies.
F. Members are willing to engage in cooperative personal dialogue with other Helpers and The Foundation and its Councils and Committees, with the North American Pathwork Association and with PHANA. They are willing to be constructively confronted within the Pathwork community.
G. Members agree to train others to become Pathwork Helpers only within, or in cooperation with, a training program recognized by the North American Pathwork Association.
H. Members commit to conduct themselves in ways that build trust, confidence, and respect in the title Pathwork Helper. To this end, they commit to maintaining standards of social, professional, and ethical behavior that meet or exceed social norms.[2] They sign that they accept the commitments above, that they have read the PHANA Code of Conduct, and that they agree to abide by it.[3]
2.2 The Practice of Pathwork Helpership
A. The ethical practice of Helpership requires continuing study and reflection. Understanding this, members seek to keep themselves informed of evolving thinking, teaching, and interpretations of Pathwork Guide Lecture material. Members participate in ongoing opportunities for professional development. They are also continually involved in updating and upgrading their practices and in finding ethical solutions to problem situations.
B. Members maintain a daily spiritual practice. The purposes of this practice include establishing a truer and deeper connection with the Divine self as the source of answers for problems in the Helper’s own development and work; and, praying to cleanse the motives one brings to the practice of the Pathwork.
C. Members acknowledge the dependence that clients may develop within the helper/worker relationship, and aspire to respond sensitively to this when situations change the circumstances of the contact, for example, in the case of vacation, illness or termination.
D. Members endeavor to keep and store records in a way that secures confidentiality, and makes arrangements for appropriate care and/or destruction of such records in the event of the member’s incapacitation or death.
2.3 Diversity and Freedom of Expression
A. Members strive to recognize and respect differences among themselves and workers and uphold the value of freedom of expression.
B. Members strive to respect people of all ages, genders, races, ethnicities, national origins, religions, sexual orientations, disabilities, and socio-economic statuses.
C. Members may bring many sources of spiritual inspiration and practice to the work. They accept that “all the great [religious] traditions … contain aspects of the truth” (Lecture 247) and they do not promote any particular religion or religious orientation in a way that denigrates other religions and religious orientations. Diversity among our helpers and workers is valued and encouraged.
D. Members recognize and respect that their diverse personalities, styles and training backgrounds contribute to positive Pathwork opportunities for helpers and workers alike, and to the growth of the Pathwork as a whole.
2.4 The Helper/Worker Relationship
A. At the beginning of their Pathwork working relationship with workers, members make clear arrangements or contracts about the timing and length of sessions, the fee to be charged, and the method of payment. When changes need to be made they discuss and agree these changes with their workers ahead of time.
B. Members make clear arrangements with workers for termination of the working relationship, including referrals when appropriate. Members avoid precipitous or otherwise harmful terminations of contracts with workers.
C. Members do not enter a working relationship with a worker who is presently working with another helper without the knowledge and consent of that helper.
D. Members are honest about their training and credentials and make no fraudulent claims regarding their abilities, knowledge or the outcomes of Pathwork process work.
E. Members are aware, and make workers aware, that the Pathwork is not psychotherapy. Members maintain awareness that the worker may have a problem that requires a different kind of assistance than that which can be offered in the Helper’s role as spiritual guide. For example:
i) A worker may have physical problems and may need to be advised to seek proper medical treatment.
ii) A worker may have serious psychological problems (psychosis, severe depression, suicidal ideation, severe anxiety) and may need to be advised to seek a licensed therapist (psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, mental health counselor).
iii) A worker with a drug or alcohol problem should be advised to seek an appropriate substance abuse counselor or treatment program.
F. Members are responsible for knowing the limit of what they are able to undertake with the worker.
G. Members do not engage in sessions with workers while having impaired capacity caused by:
i) Alcohol and/or drugs,
ii) A significant physical, emotional, spiritual and/or mental dysfunction which interferes with the member’s ability to practice the Pathwork.
2.5 No Exploitation of the Helper/Worker Relationship
A. A member does not solicit a worker’s abilities, expertise or cooperation for the member’s own personal or financial benefit in matters unrelated to the worker’s Pathwork process.
B. A member does not encourage a worker to continue in the worker’s Pathwork process for purposes of the member’s own personal and financial gain.
C. A Member does not use sexual or other derogatory language or behavior intended to demean a worker. If the member takes on a role (e.g. in role playing) that requires the use of particular language, the member shall make it clear in advance to the worker that he/she is taking on this role.
D. Members do not engage in any form of exploitative overt or covert seductive speech, gestures, behavior, or physical contact of a sexual nature with a worker.
E. Members do not engage in sexual intimacy with a former worker for at least two years after the cessation or termination of the helper/worker relationship, because sexual intimacy with a former worker is potentially harmful to the worker. The member who engages in such sexual activity is responsible for ensuring that there is no exploitation, fully taking into account all the relevant factors, including:
i)
The amount of time that has passed since the cessation of the helper/worker relationship,
ii)
The nature and duration of the work,
iii)
The circumstances of termination,
iv)
The worker’s personal history,
v)
The worker’s current psycho-spiritual health,
vi)
The likelihood of adverse impact on the worker,
vii)
Any statement or action by the member during the course of the work suggesting or inviting the possibility of sexual or romantic relationship with the worker.
F. Members who use physical touch in their work do so consciously and non-sexually. Members obtain their worker’s consent before touching, and act with consciousness for the worker’s safety, growth and with awareness of boundaries. Any physical touch between helper and worker that has any component of acting out of sexual feelings is specifically prohibited.
G. Members do not enter into or promise another personal, professional or financial relationship with workers or former workers if it is likely that such a relationship would impair a member’s objectivity, or might harm or exploit the workers or former workers.
H. A member does not enter into a helper/worker relationship with his/her very close relatives (mother, father, brother, sister) unless it is clearly in the best interests of the worker.
2.6 Privacy and Confidentiality
A. Members maintain an obligation of confidentiality, except under certain specific conditions:
i) In most states helping professionals are considered mandated reporters and are required by law to report certain situations, for example abuse or neglect of children and vulnerable adults, and situations in which there is evidence of clear and immediate danger to someone.
ii) In most states information may be required from helping professionals by the courts or other statutory requirements.
iii) Information about interaction between helpers and workers is shared during supervision sessions, but anonymity of the worker will be maintained insofar as possible.
iv) Information about specific workers may be exchanged between helpers when both helpers are working with the same worker (e.g. one is teacher and one is helper in individual sessions) as long as the worker has been informed in writing that this will happen.
B. A member obtains permission in writing prior to providing identifying information about a worker, except when this information is required by law, e.g. as noted in section 2.6A above and/or mandated by a court order. When there is a legal requirement for the release, only essential information is revealed. To the extent possible, workers are informed before the information is disclosed. The worker should be informed of the foreseeable uses of released information whether the release is voluntary on the part of the worker or is court-ordered.
C. In group work, members clearly define confidentiality and the parameters for the specific group being entered, explain its importance, and discuss the difficulties related to confidentiality involved in group work. The fact that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed is clearly communicated to group members.
Items 2.1 A-G are the basic commitments that have been used on PHANA’s membership application forms since these were first issued in March, 2002. These basic commitments are based on views expressed by respondents to the Foundation’s 1999-2000 survey of US/Canadian Helpers.
Experience in PHANA's first two years indicated the need for the addition of Section 2.1H. This Section was added to the basic commitments following consultation with PHANA's membership.
[3] As noted in Section 1.1, the full Code is accessible on the PHANA website. Electronic and printed copies of the Code are sent to members and applicants requesting this.
1. Introduction
2. The Code
Appendix 1: Violation Resolution Procedure Chart
Latest Revision: December 15, 2004