INDIVIDUAL CODE OF CONDUCT: Members are expected to behave in accordance to general ethical codes and guidelines. However, as SET membership is varied, individual considerations of appropriate behavior may vary from individual to individual. In addition to the specific guidelines in this general Code of Ethics of the Society of Experiential Trance, members are asked to keep all of their activities well within what are considered three very clear and general principles of practice: 1. Ensure that your activities are legal and stay in compliance to all laws that apply to your practice; 2. Keep your practice of any focused trance modality and associated activities Safe, Sane, and Consensual; and, keeping the previous principles in mind and all other points in this Code of Ethics, 3. Harming none, do what you will and respect the will of others.TRANCE PARTNER WELFARE: Members who perform any sort of hypnosis or other trancework with members of the public in private contexts will place the welfare and wellbeing of the trance partner above any other considerations. This includes, but is not limited to, emotional, psychological, mental, or physical issues of comfort, safety, and wellbeing.
HYPNOTIC SEALS: The use of Hypnotic Seals is considered an ethical violation by the Society of Experiential Trance. Members may not use suggestions to create seals that prevent others or particular classes of individuals from performing hypnosis with clients or trance partners. Boosting suggestions that reinforce a person's ability to choose how, when, and with whom to enter into hypnosis are less problematic. However blanket seals intended to block a person's ability to enter hypnosis either in general or sealing that person's ability to a particular person or class of person are inappropriate and considered violations of the Society's code of ethical conduct.
REFERRALS: Members will follow local laws in regard to the use of hypnosis or other trance forms for issues related to physical or mental health. Members will ask for a referral from a licensed medical or mental healthcare practitioners in cased related to medial or mental health issues. In such cases, trancework should be presented as a supplement to competent licensed care and not as an alternative. The only exceptions to this practice would be when local laws provide alternative healthcare options in which full disclosure is included.
REASONABLE PRACTICE: Members are expected to exercise due judgment and may withhold services from individuals whose behavior gives them cause to believe working with them may be problematic. In some cases, members may wish to require a would be client to be evaluated by a competent licensed mental health practitioner and only work with that person after such an evaluation has taken place.
CONFIDENTIALITY: Barring any other legal constraints, responsibilities, or obligation regarding one's practice, members who do private hypnosis or trancework consultations must keep client-tranceworker confidentiality and not disclose the nature of sessions to outside parties. The only exception to this is when one is legally compelled to do so in and only if one's practice is not legally covered under client confidentiality privilege.
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING: Members may not make unsubstantiated, exaggerated, or bogus claims in advertising.
TRUTH IN PRACTICE: Members should understand both the benefits and limits of hypnosis and should only promote practice of techniques with reliable effectiveness. Experimental processes should be understood as such and should not be held out to the public as anything other than experimental work. Full disclosure should be standard practice.
BUSINESS PRACTICE: Members should respect the integrity of colleagues and clients and should not solicit them into marketing schemes or similar programs that may have grey reputation. Ethical straightforward business practice with a win-win orientation rather than a win-lose attitude is encouraged.
LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY: Members of SET are expected to stay within legal requirements for the practice of hypnosis, guided imagery, or other forms of focused trance and any restrictions upon the appropriate scope of practice which may apply to them. Those who are legally practicing as alternative healthcare professionals must fully disclose their legal credentials and whether or not they are licensed healthcare or mental health practitioners. For all members, such full disclosure is considered good practice regardless or any legal requirements to do so. It is the responsibility of individual members to know and conform to legal requirements that apply to them. SET is not a legal outreach organization and is not responsible for the legal compliance of individual members, although members are required to be in legal compliance in order to maintain active membership in good standing.
UNACCREDITED OR BOGUS ACADEMIC DEGREES: The SET frowns upon diploma mill operations. Members who have unaccredited academic credentials, must disclose the unaccredited nature of their degrees if and when used in advertising or promotional material. The SET does not recognize or allow the use of unaccredited or bogus doctoral or other degrees by members - including those in hypnosis, hypnotherapy, psychology, or related fields. Bogus, faux, or generally unrecognized accreditation agencies or schemes are not acceptable. Members are responsible for making certain their academic degrees credentials are in order. Academic degrees or other credentials are not considered a professional requirement for any of the forms of trancework covered by SET membership so the use of fraudulent degrees is not only unethical but unnecessary. Members who use professional or other initials after their name should be forthright in the nature and meaning of such designations.
AND HURT NONE,
DO WHAT YOU WILLSAFE, SANE, and CONSENSUAL
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