We shall strictly adhere to the ethical guidelines of IAAP

Members of the Ethics Committee—

Dr. Geeti Bhattacharya

Mr. Masanbou Abonmai

Ms. Mayanglambam Twinkle Devi

Mr. Anurag Thounaojam

A.                  Analyst-Patient Relationships

Responsibilities to Patients:

An analyst shall respect the integrity of his/her patient under all circumstances, unless evident significant risks to the patient demand some intervention contrary to the patient’s approval.

A) At the start of the treatment the analyst shall state clearly to the patient the terms and conditions of the treatment, e.g. times, frequency of sessions, and fee arrangements. The analyst shall ensure that these terms and conditions are maintained.

B) Financial dealings shall be restricted to matters concerning professional fees.

C) During treatment, restraint should be exercised with regard to social contacts with a patient. After treatment one should also keep in mind the possible continuation of transference feelings and use discretion in any social contacts. Social contact with a patient’s relatives should be approached with great caution and should occur only with the knowledge and consent of the patient. Exceptions may be made in certain circumstances, such as when a patient is a danger to himself/herself or others, in the treatment of children, or when the agreed upon treatment plan includes appointments with family or others for therapeutic or counselling purposes.

D) Confidentiality and the preservation of a patient’s anonymity are of primary importance. Particular care must be taken in the publication of clinical material and the presentation of clinical material at clinical seminars. If a patient requests that his/her material should not be published or presented, this shall be respected. Discretion should also be exercised when professional consultation is utilized.

Exceptions may have to be made when a lawsuit is threatened or when the law requires a breach of confidentiality, as in the case of child abuse, a requirement to warn of danger to others, or a court order.

E) An analyst should not enter into a sexual relationship with any patient nor take any sort of personal advantages that transgress the analytical boundaries (or frame). Terminating a therapeutic relationship in order to have a sexual relationship is also unethical.

F) An analyst should not use physical violence against a patient. The use of physical constraint may be made when the patient is physically dangerous and has to be restrained for the safety of the patient, analyst or others.

General Personal Responsibilities:

G) An analyst shall not claim to possess qualifications which he or she does not possess.

H) An analyst shall give proper credit and reference to the contributions and publications of other colleagues and shall not plagiarize the work of others.

I) An analyst shall not continue to practice when seriously or persistently impaired (1) by the use of alcohol or other substances, or (2) by a physical or psychological illness or any severe stress that would impair one’s ability to practice and exercise adequate skill and judgment.

J) If an analyst is convicted of a criminal offence, or has been found to have engaged in unethical professional behaviour by a professional body or licensing agency in the state or country in which he/she resides, it is his/her duty to inform the President of the IAAP of the legal, professional or licensing decision, together with the relevant facts.

II.             Analyst/Supervisee or Control Analyst/Control Analysand Relationships

Responsibilities to Supervisees or Control Analysands:

The supervisor or control analyst shall respect the particular relationship that is established in training with a supervisee or control analysand. The supervisor or control analyst shall not in any way take advantage of his/her greater authority. Thus, a supervisor or control analyst shall not become sexually involved with, exploit, or take advantage in any way of someone he/she is to evaluate, grade, promote, or recommend for promotion. In addition, caution should be exercised after the teaching/supervisory relationship is over because of ongoing unresolved transference and projection issues which may have arisen in the course of training.

III. Responsibility in Reporting to and Appearing Before the Ethics Committee

A)         Self-reporting. It is the responsibility of an IAAP Individual Member to seek help and report his/her own unprofessional conduct to the IAAP Ethics Committee. Self-reporting will neither relieve the member of responsibility for his/her misconduct nor preclude disciplinary action before the IAAP Ethics Committee.

B)      Responsibility in Addressing Unprofessional Conduct of a Colleague: Whenever an IAAP analyst has evidence of a colleague’s misconduct it is his/her responsibility to inform the IAAP Ethics Committee, except in cases where patient confidentiality must be maintained. When a member of the IAAP is made aware of the unethical behaviour of a colleague, he/she should first talk with the colleague and try to stop the behaviour in question, and if necessary encourage consultation or further personal analysis/treatment. If the concerned member cannot do this directly and/or needs to maintain confidentiality, he/she may contact the Chairperson of the IAAP Ethics Committee.

C)      Responsibility to Appear before the IAAP Ethics Committee. When an Individual Member analyst is called on to respond to a complaint or a grievance in order to clarify a possible breach of ethics, refusal to meet with the IAAP Ethics Committee and cooperate in good faith could itself be the basis for a separate charge of unethical or unprofessional behaviour. This non-compliance could be grounds for Committee action, including a recommendation of suspension or expulsion from any form of individual or group membership in the IAAP.

Ethics complaints against routers—

The router has by his or her signature accepted to follow the Code of Ethics for Individual Members of the IAAP. Routers, however, are not members of the IAAP and they are therefore not mentioned in the IAAP Constitution.

From this follows, that routers are not mentioned in the IAAP Code of Ethics and that the Ethics Committee of the IAAP is not responsible for any ethical complaint against a router.

Router training is under the oversight of the IAAP Executive Committee. The IAAP Executive Committee is therefore responsible for ethical questions or complaints regarding routers. For this reason, the Executive Committee has approved a procedure to process cases of an ethical complaint against a router.

A.               Procedure in Case of an Ethical Complaint Against a Router

1. All complaints shall be made to the Regional Organiser who will immediately forward the complaint to the Co-Chairs of the Education Committee and the Officers. The subsequent procedure should be designed to give both the complainant and the person complained against an opportunity to substantiate their positions. When appropriate and with the continuing concurrence of the parties the Officers may offer or designate an Officer to offer to facilitate communication between the parties for the purpose of informally resolving the matter.

2. The Officer will first determine that the complaint, if proven to be true, would represent a violation of the IAAP Ethics Code and could properly be adjudicated by the Executive Committee according to the terms of these Responsibilities and Procedures.

3. Upon receipt of a complaint against a router, the Officers shall instruct the complainant to put his/her complaint in writing and to provide written permission that the person complained against may be informed of the complaint made against him/her. In addition, if an activity, which would otherwise be confidential, is to be investigated, the complainant must give written permission for the defendant to provide to the Officers any necessary information, including but not limited to analytic notes, supervisory notes, personal correspondence and similar material, in order to respond to the complaint.

4. Upon receipt of a complaint the Officers shall inform the router in writing about the complaint, enclosing a copy of it, and require a response to the charges within a fixed period of time (no longer than 60 days).

5. The Officers will appoint an Investigation Committee composed of three persons of whom at least one should be an Officer and one a member of the Executive Committee. The appointment of members must be approved by the President of the IAAP. The Investigation Committee will investigate and make recommendations to the IAAP Executive Committee as a whole. The IAAP Executive Committee will make the final determination in the case. In special cases the IAAP Executive Committee can decide to involve the Chair of the Ethics Committee.

6. The Investigation Committee will make the determination on the basis of the written submissions of the parties. In unusual circumstances, one or more members of the Investigation Committee may be made available to meet face-to-face with the parties either singularly or jointly, as it may deem appropriate. Due to the sensitive nature of the material to be discussed at these meetings, they will remain private and may be attended only by the parties to the complaint and those witnesses that the Investigation Committee determines could offer relevant information. Solicitors or anyone acting in a legal capacity may not represent parties before the Investigation Committee. Information gathered in the course of an investigation will not be communicated to others except as provided for in these procedures. If the Investigation Committee makes a recommendation for suspension or expulsion under C. 7. f., below, special care shall be taken to protect the identity of the complainant. The conduct of any meeting or meetings shall be at the discretion of the Investigation Committee. Decisions by both the Investigation Committee and the IAAP Executive Committee may be reached through face-to-face meetings or by other means of communication (post, telephone, fax, or Internet).

7. In the case of a complaint against a router, if the Investigation Committee finds that the router has committed a breach of the Code of Ethics, it may:

      a. recommend an apology to the complainant.

      b. give a written warning outlining the potential ethical issues a particular action may involve.

      c. give a written reprimand censuring the router for any unethical violation he/she has taken.

     d. require the router, in addition to the supervision already going on, to be supervised by an approved senior colleague, the period and frequency of the supervision to be approved by the IAAP Executive Committee.

      e. recommend to the router, to seek independent medical and/or psychological examination.

      f. recommend to the IAAP Executive Committee suspension or expulsion from the router training.

     g. decide on the release of information concerning the IAAP Executive Committee’s final determination.

8. A router’s refusal to cooperate with these procedures and/or recommendations will constitute a violation of the IAAP Ethics Guidelines and Standards.

9. Both the person complained against, and the complainant shall be notified in writing as to the IAAP Executive Committee’s final determination and action on a complaint as soon as possible after the IAAP Executive Committee’s decision. Notification to others under C.7.g. can take place only after 45 days following notice to the parties of the IAAP Executive Committee’s final determination or after the completion of the appeal process, whichever is later.

10. The IAAP Executive Committee will also decide on the degree to which the findings may be disseminated more generally. Any action taken to suspend or expel a router for ethical reasons shall be reported to the Developing Group of which the sanctioned router is a member, but only if such reporting can be, and is, done in accordance with applicable law.

11. The official documents pertaining to an ethical complaint against a router will be in English, and while a translation into the local language may be provided, the English version shall be binding.

B. Appeals:

1. Both the complainant and the person complained against will be given notice of the right to appeal the IAAP Executive Committee’s final determination, including the right to appeal a recommendation to expel a router.

2. Expelled or suspended routers shall be denied all router privileges pending appeal. All other penalties shall be suspended pending appeal.

3. The party wishing to appeal must file notice with the President of the IAAP within 45 days of the mailing of the notice of action taken. He or she will be asked to show good cause and to submit any information which would support the appeal.

4. Grounds for overturning the decisions of the IAAP Executive Committee include procedural errors or new evidence, which brings into question the substantive validity of the IAAP Executive Committee’s final determination. Only one appeal will be permitted.

5. The President will appoint a committee to hear the appeal. The Appeals Committee shall be composed of three senior IAAP members, preferably from among the Past Presidents or past Ethics Committee Chairpersons. The President will designate one member to act as Chair of the Appeals Committee. The Appeals Committee shall decide on its own procedures, but normally it will rely on the written submission of the individual making the appeal and the records of the Investigation Committee and the IAAP Executive Committee. It will consider the grounds for the appeal, and if they are found to be valid it will send the case back to the IAAP Executive Committee for reconsideration, unless the Appeals Committee determines that the IAAP Executive Committee would be unable to fairly decide the case, in which case it may make recommendations of its own.

6. In the event that the recommendations of the Appeals Committee contradict those of the IAAP Executive Committee, both Committees’ findings will be presented to the Ethics Committee. A two-thirds majority of the Ethics Committee shall be required to rescind or revise the IAAP Executive Committee’s final recommendation.

Code of Ethics

(As per the guidelines given in IAAP Router Handbook 2004, pp. 19-23)

Ethics Committee