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Therapeutic Adventure Code of Ethics
Ethical Guidelines for the
Therapeutic Adventure Professional
Statement of Purpose
Since therapeutic adventure programs profoundly affect individual
lives, it is the purpose of these guidelines to advocate for
the education, empowerment, and safety of those who participate
in these programs by establishing a minimum standard of ethical
care and operation. Individuals who adhere to these guidelines
will be considered as upholding, contributing to, and promoting
a high standard of operation and service by the Therapeutic Adventure
Professional Group of the Association for Experiential Education.
A. Definition of Professionals
The term "professional" that is used in these ethical
principles represents individuals who are members of the AEE
Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group. These guidelines may
have application to other members of the AEE, but the items contained
in these ethical principles only pertain to Therapeutic Adventure
Professional Group members of the AEE.
B. Applicability
The activity of professionals subject to these Ethics Principles
may be reviewed under these Ethical Principles only if the professional
is identified as a member of the Therapeutic Adventure Professional
Group of the Association for Experiential Education. Purely personal
activities having no connection to or effect on these professional
roles are not subject to the Ethics Code.
C. Related Ethical Principles
Professionals subscribing to this ethical code must be aware
of other ethical codes and laws that intersect with the statements
in this Ethical Code.
D. Ethical Principles of the Therapeutic Adventure Professional
Group of the Association for Experiential Education
1. Competence
- Professionals strive to maintain high standards of competence
in their work. They recognize the boundaries of their particular
competencies and understand the potential limitations of adventure
activities. Professionals exercise reasonable judgment and take
appropriate precautions to promote the welfare of participants.
They maintain knowledge of relevant professional information
related to the use of adventure experiences and they recognize
their need for ongoing education. Professionals make appropriate
use of professional, technical, and administrative resources
that serve the best interests of participants in their program.
1.1. Boundaries of Competence
- (1) Professionals provide services only within the boundaries
of their competence, based on their education, training, supervision,
experience, and practice.
- (2) Professionals provide services involving specific practices
after first undertaking appropriate study, training, supervision,
and/or consultation from persons who are competent in those areas
or practices.
- (3) In those areas where generally recognized standards for
preparatory training do not yet exist, professionals take reasonable
steps to ensure the competence of their work and to promote the
welfare of participants.
- (4) Professionals seek appropriate assistance for their personal
problems or conflicts that may impair their work performance
or judgment.
1.2 Continuing Training
- Professionals are aware of current information in their fields
of activity and undertake ongoing professional efforts to maintain
the knowledge, practice, and skills they use at a competent level.
2. Integrity
- Professionals seek to promote integrity in the practice of
adventure programming. In these experiences, they are honest,
fair, and respect others. In describing or reporting their qualifications,
services, products, fees, and research, professionals do not
make statements that are false, misleading, or deceptive. Professionals
strive to be aware of their own belief systems, values, needs,
and limitations and the effect of these on their work.
2.1 Interaction with other Professionals
- In deciding whether to offer or provide services to those
already receiving services elsewhere, professionals carefully
consider the potential participant's welfare. Professionals discuss
these issues with participants in order to minimize the risk
of confusion and conflict, consult with other professionals when
appropriate, and proceed with caution and sensitivity.
- Professionals do not engage, directly or through agents,
in uninvited solicitation of services from actual or potential
participants or others who, because of particular circumstances,
are vulnerable to undue influences (e.g., respecting client relationships).
2.2 Supervision
- Professionals delegate to their employees, supervisees, or
students only those professional responsibilities that such persons
can perform competently. Within the limitations of their institution
or other roles, professionals provide proper training or supervision
to employees or supervisees. Professionals also take reasonable
steps to see that such persons perform these services responsibly,
competently, and ethically.
3. Professional Responsibility
- Professionals uphold ethical principles of conduct, clarify
their roles and obligations, accept responsibility for their
behavior and decisions, and adapt their methods to the needs
of different populations. Professionals consult with, refer to,
and cooperate with other professionals and institutions to the
full extent needed to serve the best interests of participants.
Professionals are concerned about the ethical professional conduct
of their colleagues. When appropriate, they consult with colleagues
order to avoid unethical conduct. Because of its direct negative
influence on participants as well as the field, professionals
are strongly urged to report alleged unethical behavior to appropriate
and prescribed channels. Professionals are ethically bound to
cooperate with professional associations' inquiries concerning
ethical misconduct.
3.1 Basis for Professional Judgments
- Professionals have an adequate basis for their professional
judgments and actions that are derived from professional knowledge.
3.2 Initiation and Length of Services
- Professionals do not begin services for individuals where
the constraints of limited contact will not benefit the participant.
Professionals continue services only as long as it is reasonably
clear that participants are benefiting from that service.
3.3 Concern for the Environment
- Professionals conduct adventure experiences in a manner that
has minimal impact on the environment. Professionals do not conduct
adventure experiences where permanent damage to wilderness environments
will occur as a result of programming.
4. Respect for People's Rights and Dignity
- Professionals respect the fundamental rights, dignity, and
worth of all people. They respect the rights of individuals to
privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination. Professionals
strive to be sensitive to cultural and individual differences,
including those due to age, gender, race, ethnicity, national
origin, religion, sexual preference, disability, and socioeconomic
status. Professionals do not engage in sexual or other harassment
or exploitation of participants, students, trainees, supervisees,
employees, colleagues, research subjects, or actual or potential
witnesses or complainants in investigations and ethical proceedings.
4.1 Policy Against Discrimination
- Professionals do not discriminate against or refuse professional
services to anyone on the basis of age, gender, race, ethnicity,
national origin, religion, sexual preference, disability, and
socioeconomic status.
4.2 Ethic of Empowerment
- Professionals respect the rights of participants to make
decisions and help them to understand the consequences of their
choices. Professionals assist participants in charting the course
of their own lives. They respect the rights of participants to
make decisions affecting their lives that also demonstrate an
equal concern for the rights of others.
4.3 Describing the Nature and Results of Adventure Programming
- When professionals provide services to individuals, groups,
or organizations, they first provide the consumer of services
with appropriate information about the nature of such services
and their rights, risks, and responsibilities. Professionals
also provide an opportunity to discuss the results, interpretations,
and conclusions with participants.
4.4 Informed Consent
- Professionals respect participants' rights to refuse or consent
to services and activities. Participants must be well informed
of the fees, confidentiality, benefits, risks, and responsibilities
associated with these services and activities prior to participation.
Professionals make reasonable efforts to answer participants'
questions, avoid apparent misunderstanding about the service,
and avoid creating unrealistic expectations in participants.
Professionals inform participants of the relevant limitations
of confidentiality as early as possible and the foreseeable uses
of the information generated through their services.
-
- In the case of participants who are minors, parents and/or
legal guardians must also give informed consent for participation.
Professionals obtain informed consent from participants, parents,
or guardians before videotaping, audio recording, or permitting
third-party observation.
4.5 Fees
- Professionals charge appropriate fees for services. Fees
are disclosed to participants at the beginning of services and
are truthfully represented to participants and third-party payers.
Professionals are not guided solely by a desire for monetary
reimbursement. They are encouraged to contribute a portion of
their professional time for little or no personal advantage.
4.6 Advertisement
- Professionals accurately represent their competence, training,
education, and experience relevant to their practices. This practice
includes using:
- (1) Titles that inform participants and the public about
the true and accurate identity, responsibility, source, and status
of those practicing under that title.
- (2) Professional identification (e.g., business card, office
sign, letterhead, or listing) that does not include statements
that are false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading.
4.7 Distortion of Information by Others
- Professionals make efforts to prevent the distortion or misuse
of their clinical materials and research findings. Professionals
correct, whenever possible, false, inaccurate, or misleading
information and representations made by others concerning their
qualifications, services, or products.
4.8 Public Opinions and Recommendations
- Professionals, because of their ability to influence and
alter the lives of others and the field, exercise special care
when making public their professional recommendations and opinions
(e.g., public statements and testimony).
5. Concern for Welfare
- Professionals are sensitive to real and ascribed differences
in power between themselves and their participants, and they
avoid exploiting or misleading other people during or after professional
relationships.
5.1 Professional Relationships
- Professionals provide services only in the context of a defined
professional relationship or role.
5.2 Dual Relationships
- Professionals are aware of their influential position with
respect to participants and avoid exploiting the trust and dependency
of such persons. Because of this, professionals make every effort
to avoid dual relationships with participants that could impair
professional judgment (e.g., business or close personal relationships
with participants). When dual relationships exist, professionals
take appropriate professional precautions to ensure that judgment
is not impaired and no exploitation occurs.
5.3 Sexual Relationships
- Sexual intimacy with participants is prohibited during the
time of the professional relationship. Professionals engaging
in sexual intimacy with past participants bear the burden of
proving that there is no form of exploitation occurring.
5.4 Physical Contact
- Adventure activities often include various forms of physical
contact between professionals and participants or among participants
(e.g., spotting, checking climbing harnesses, holding hands).
Professionals are sensitive and respectful of the fact that participants
experience varying degrees of comfort with physical contact,
even when it is offered for safety, encouragement, or support.
Whenever possible, professionals inform, explain, and gain consent
for usual and customary forms of physical contact. Professionals
are aware of individual needs when initiating physical contact,
especially if the contact is meant to communicate support (e.g.,
hugs, pats) and is otherwise not required for a particular activity.
Except when safety is a factor, participants have the right to
limit or refuse physical contact with professionals and participants.
5.5 Behavior Management
- Each program and professional will approach the topic of
managing behavior with a concern for dignity and safety for both
participants and professionals. Definitions of appropriate and
inappropriate behaviors of participants should be made clear
to participants before any adventure programming commences.
-
- Professional responses to inappropriate behaviors should
be clearly understood by both professionals and participants
and carried out in an appropriate manner. There should be clear
documentation of staff training and awareness about program policies
concerning the management of unsafe behavior. Policies should
never advocate the use of restraint unless participant(s) impose
a threat to themselves or others. Restraint should never be used
as a punishment or as a means to frighten, humiliate, or threaten
a participant. Whenever possible, restraint should be avoided
and as passive as possible. All behavior management should be
accurately documented.
5.6 Physical Needs of Participants
- Participants will be provided with the necessary water, nutrition,
clothing, shelter, or other essential needs they require for
the environment they are living in, unless there is a prior mutual
consent between participants and professionals and it is recognized
that this will serve a valid purpose (e.g., solo). At no time
during any program will the withholding of these needs be used
as a punitive measure.
5.7 Physical Treatment of Participants
- At no time will participants be asked to perform excessive
physical activity as a means of punishment. There should be a
direct relationship between the amount of participants' physical
activity levels and the objective of the experience.
5.8 Appropriate Use of Risk
- The amount of actual emotional and physical risk participants
experience in adventure activities will be appropriate for the
objectives and competence level of participants. Professionals
use appropriate judgment when choosing activities that expose
participants to actual or perceived physical and emotional risks.
5.9 Assisting Participants in Obtaining Alternative Services
- Professionals assist participants in obtaining other services
if they are unwilling or unable, for appropriate reasons, to
provide professional help. Professionals will not unilaterally
terminate services to participants without making reasonable
attempts to arrange for the continuation of such services (e.g.,
referral). Experiences are planned with the intent that decisions
made during and after the experience are in accordance with the
best interest of participants.
5.10 Confidentiality
- Professionals respect the right of participants to decide
the extent to which confidential material is made public. Professionals
may not disclose participant confidences except: (a) as mandated
by law; (b) to prevent a clear and immediate danger to a person
or persons; (c) where the professional is a defendant in civil,
criminal, or disciplinary action arising from services (in which
case participant confidences may be disclosed only in the course
of that action); or (d) if there is a waiver previously obtained
in writing, and then such information may be revealed only in
accordance with the terms of the waiver.
-
- Unless it is contraindicated or not feasible, the discussion
of confidentiality occurs at the onset of the professional relationship.
5.11 Use of Case Materials with Teaching or Professional
Presentations
- Professionals only use participant or clinicalmaterials in
teaching, writing, and public presentations if a written waiver
has been obtained in accordance with guideline 5.10 or when appropriate
steps have been taken to disguise participant identity and assure
confidentiality.
5.12 Storage and Disposal of Participant Materials
- Professionals store and dispose of participant records in
ways that maintain confidentiality. Records should be maintained
for a minimum of seven (7) years.
6. Social Responsibility
- Professionals are aware of their professional responsibilities
to the community and society in which they work and live. Within
the limitations of their roles, professionals avoid the misuse
of their work. Professionals comply with the standards stated
in the AEE Safety Practices in Adventure Programs book as well
as with the particular laws in their particular geographical
and professional area. Professionals also encourage the development
of standards and policies that serve the interests of participants
and the public.
Footnotes
1. Background of Ethical Guidelines
- At the 19th Annual Conference for the Association for Experiential
Education in St. Paul, MN, one of the critical needs identified
by the Therapeutic Adventure Professional group was the establishment
of a set of ethical guidelines for adventure therapy. At that
time, a committee was formed to: 1) examine the feasibility of
such a development, 2) help to research ethical guidelines used
by other professionals, and 3) serve as a "conduit"
to help synthesize the input of others.
-
- Input for the initial creation of these documents was from
a number of sources, which included: 1) the 1991 draft of the
American Psychological Association (APA) ethics code, 2) the
1991 revised code of ethics of the American Association of Marriage
and Family Therapy(AAMFT), 3) the 1986 ethics code for therapeutic
recreation specialists, 4) Jasper Hunt's work in the second edition
of "Ethical Issues in Experiential Education" (1990),
and 5) Tim Marshall's work on these guidelines from the Aspen
Achievement Academy guidelines (1991), which have become part
of the licensing standards for the State of Utah under the "Outdoor
Youth Programs" section.
-
- The work of this committee was presented at a Pre-Conference
session of the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group at the
1991 AEE Conference at Lake Junaluska. During this session, these
guidelines were revised by a group of 27 invested professionals.
During the Conference, the Therapeutic Adventure Professional
Group voted to accept these guidelines given that we notify organizations
like the APA and AAMFT that we were using portions of their ethical
codes and that we would recognize their input into our work.
The AAMFT and the APA after consultation with their legal counsel,
have given the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group permission
to use portions of their ethical code.
- Since their approval at the Conference, the guidelines have
been reviewed and commented on by more professionals. Most of
these comments have been extremely positive, a number of individuals
thinking that the entire Association should establish such guidelines.
Some of the perplexing issues (i.e., areas where we could make
these guidelines even better) that have been brought up include:
-
- (1) A. Definition of Professionals - "This raises
interesting issues. Does paying $35 to the AEE make one a professional?"
"Who is going to police programs that are unethical? Is
this 'policing' this part of being a professional?"
-
- (2) C. Related Ethical Codes - "This section
is too vague to be useful. What do I have to know about the Islamic
Fundamentalist codes? It would be better if it was more explicit."
-
- (3) 3.3 Concern for the Environment - Some people
felt this section was too vague to be helpful. "Do you mean
'legal wilderness only?" "How about bolts in rocks?"
-
- (4) 4.1 Policy against Discrimination - (Note: this
section has drawn the most attention.) Some people challenged
this statement as an effort to be "politically correct"
and it was "troublesome." Specific questions in this
policy were: (a) with gender, does this imply that "women"
or "men" only groups would be discriminatory?, (b)
with ethnicity, does this mean that not choosing to provide services
for a Ku Klux Klan group would be discrimination?, (c) with religion,
does this mean that Christian programs must include satanists?
Some of these arguments may be for exceptional circumstances,
but they do raise attention to areas that need to be addressed.
-
- (5) 4.4 - Clarify the "limitations of confidentiality"
- one person thought this should be clearer.
-
- (6) 6 - Social responsibility - One person stated
that something needs to be said about a professional's primary
responsibility being the welfare of the client before the institution.
- Other ideas that have been raised include:
- -the need for specific negative rights that clients possess
- -something about the importance of empirical research to
undergrid the practice and implications for scanty or non-existent
research for practice
- -something about marketing materials accurately reflecting
the practice (e.g., the pictures used to show only smiling facesrarely
crying, hurt, or enraged faces).
- -something about separation of powers (i.e., some form of
court of appeals for clients to turn to for aid against an organization
or specific practitioner).
- Ideas like these will serve to further the evolution of these
guidelines. Other future areas of development include a clearer
definition of particular principles, the establishment of a collection
of ethical dilemmas and scenarios in adventure therapy that help
to further define these practices, and a decision on how such
guidelines will be regulated and monitored.
2. Acknowledgments
- The Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group acknowledges
the use of the ethical guidelines from the American Psychological
Association (APA) and American Association of Marriage and Family
Therapy. It also greatly appreciates the support of the American
Psychological Association (APA) and American Association of Marriage
and Family Therapy (AAMFT) in the development of these ethical
standards and their current evolutionary process.
Back to
AEE Home Page (many resources about experiential education)
Back
to Christian Itin's Home page (many resources related to adventure-based
practice)
Back to The Adventure Therapy
Web (good source for AT and the AT discussion list)
updated 1/19/98