MEMBERSHIP/ CERTIFICATION DIRECTORY NEWS ETHICS MAIN TESTIMONIALS "The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy (WHCCAMP) has been charged to submit a report to the President and Congress by March 2002, providing policy recommendations. Your participation is critical." James S. Gordon, MD, Chair "Your efforts to develop the most progressive organization for psychotherapeutic professionals in America today is a model of dedication and unswerving commitment to the profession." Prof. Simon V. Keochakian, EdD, Associate Director for Clinical Services, University of Massachusetts at Amherst		CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS One of the marks of a professional expressive therapist or expressive arts therapist is adherence to a set of guidelines which define responsibilities to clients and related parties. Insurance providers and others are justifiably concerned that all practitioners be bound by the same set of guidelines. 1. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists are aware of their personal needs, and avoid letting them interfere with their work. 2. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists have a theoretical framework of behavior change and use it to guide their practice. 3. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists avoid relationships with clients that are clearly a threat to therapy. 4. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists inform clients of circumstances likely to affect confidentiality or that might otherwise influence their relationship in a negative way. 5. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists avoid imposing their beliefs and agenda on clients. 6. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists provide clients with an overview of their procedures. 7. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists "practice what they preach." 8. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists pay careful attention to multi-cultural factors. 9. Expressive therapists and expressive arts therapists consult with others if needed to help them resolve ethical dilemmas. email us © 2002, 2003 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Any copying, distribution or preparation of derivative works is strictly prohibited. Custom web graphics by Jolie Kanter of PsyberLink Web Design		The End of the Twentieth Century Joseph Beuys "I want to be licensed. I'm tired of being a second-class citizen. 'Expressive arts person' doesn't begin to describe what I do. I'm a skilled therapist. I have as high a standing in my profession as a PhD or MSW has in his or hers. I don't want to sit around all day interpreting, and I don't want to be a counselor either. I have colleagues who are counselors, and I respect them a great deal, but that's not who I am. I'm an artist. I want that to be a major part of how my work is perceived, and that's what I want to be recognized for. . . .[By the way,] I send copies of my certification to insurance companies and they sometimes come through, on the basis that some arts experiences obviously have a healing effect, but I want more than that. I'm just glad we're finally transforming the dream into a reality." Grace Wegener