The Savoy Clinic Ltd. (The Savoy Clinic) seeks to deliver training and professional development opportunities of the highest calibre. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion, safety, and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of the training and learning experience. As a Participant, you play an integral role in creating this environment, and need to uphold the above values with us. To that end, all Participants must agree to comply with the Code of Conduct and additional terms of participation set out herein.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
In this document, the following definitions apply:
- Trainees refers to people paying to receive this training.
- Facilitators refers to voluntary staff assisting with the delivery of the training.
- Educators and Staff refer to the permanent members of The Savoy Clinic.
- Participants includes both Facilitators and Trainees.
SCOPE OF PRACTICE AND CODE OF ETHICS
Participants must, at all times, practice in accordance with their own professional scope and within the code of ethics of their own professional regulatory body or association(s).
If you do not belong to a professional regulatory body or association, you are expected to follow the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors’ (BCACC) Code of Ethical Conduct, as may be amended from time to time.
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR SEEKING PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
It is highly likely that during the training some of your own unprocessed material may emerge. This can be taken to your own individual therapy. It may also sometimes be appropriate to work with it in the main training group or in small group practice sessions. However it is dealt with, this material will need to be processed in order for you to progress in this training. The Savoy Clinic reserves the right to request that a student that is not processing such material leaves the training program for their own sake and for the safety of other Participants.
Participants are responsible for making arrangements to engage in their own personal support as needed during the training program including, but not limited to consultation, supervision, and personal therapy.
PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
The Personal Information and Protection Act (PIPA) applies to the psychotherapeutic and educational activities of The Savoy Clinic.
As a Participant you must respect and safeguard the reasonable expectation of privacy and confidentiality of your fellow Participants, as well as all client information presented or discussed during the training program.
Your continued enrollment is contingent on your agreement to protect all communicated and stored client and Participant personal information and to comply with applicable legislation, ethical guidelines and regulatory standards related to privacy and confidentiality at all times.
In addition, you must agree to adhere to the following expectations:
Within the Training Group(s)
- Clinical material must not be discussed outside of the session in which it is presented unless there is a need to take something to consultation, supervision or personal therapy. Because Bringing the Body into Practice is a small training program, we ask that you anonymise identifying details when discussing other Participants.
- What goes on within the training program is not to be recorded, shared or disseminated in any written, verbal, or electronic form.
- Similarly, all original course materials provided to Participants as part of the training program are protected by copyright and must not be copied, shared or disseminated in any written, verbal, or electronic form.
Within the Facilitation Team
The Facilitation Team must respect and maintain the confidentiality of information gained in their capacity as Facilitators of The Savoy Clinic, Bringing the Body into Practice Trainings. Information and documents relating to learning and Participants are at all times to be treated as private and confidential. All Facilitators must act, at all times, to secure and protect confidentiality.
In debriefing meetings, discussions among Facilitators about the training day, demonstration sessions, and details from the small practice groups may take place. Details shared by Participants during the training day may be shared with the larger Facilitation Team as required, but must then be held in confidence by the larger facilitation team.
Online
Learning online brings unique confidentiality challenges, particularly when working from home. In order to mitigate these challenges, Participants must adhere to the following expectations:
- Zoom links provided to the Participants must not be shared.
- All email communication with The Savoy Clinic must be sent using a secure email account which cannot be accessed by anyone but the sender.
- Virtual participation in the training program must occur in a private environment which is protected from intrusion by, or exposure to, unauthorised persons. In other words, Participants must ensure that others in their household or office setting cannot overhear any aspect of the training, including the Participant’s participation, or overlook their computer screen.
- Participants must close all social network apps during virtual or in-person training sessions, and must ensure that any voice activated devices, including their cell phone, are not inadvertently recording or transmitting.
FURTHER GUIDELINES FOR WORKING ONLINE
Please ensure that your internet connectivity is sufficient to provide continued stable video connection. This should be attended to prior to the commencement of the training. It may help to use an Ethernet cable to hook directly into your modem rather than relying on WIFI. It can also help to set up a signal repeater.
We encourage you to keep your camera on throughout the training, as it promotes connection, and helps the facilitation team track what is happening in the group. Feel free to eat, stretch, or move your body, etc., while listening with your camera on.
Please mute yourself unless you are speaking.
RESPECTFUL CONDUCT
Participants must behave respectfully towards all other Participants and Staff. This is particularly important to remember given that we will be sometimes working with difficult personal material. Harassment, discrimination, or other behaviours that compromise the dignity and self-worth of others will not be tolerated. They will be addressed promptly, in confidence, and in accordance with standards of due process. Participants who do not abide by this may, at the discretion of The Savoy Clinic, be withdrawn from the training, and in such circumstances, no refund will be provided.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Facilitators must avoid all situations in which their personal interest conflicts with, or might seem to be in conflict with, their role at The Savoy Clinic. If there are any situations where such conflicts could be considered to be present at the time of accepting a position, this must be disclosed. If during a Facilitator’s work with The Savoy Clinic, circumstances arise where there is an actual or reasonable perception of a conflict of interest, this must be disclosed immediately to The Savoy Clinic.
The manner of dealing with an actual or perceived conflict interest will be determined by The Savoy Clinic, in its sole discretion. The Savoy Clinic is not responsible, and does not assume responsibility, for any adverse consequences arising from an actual or perceived conflict of interest, including but not limited to, discipline or sanction by the Facilitator’s professional regulatory body or association.
OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIPS
The Savoy Clinic recognizes relationships must be managed intentionally, and that as clinicians and educators we must maintain appropriate professional boundaries, and recognize, prevent, and take action to resolve conflicts of interest—direct, potential, or perceived.
Overlapping relationships occur when people have more than one role/social role with each other. Such relationships may include, but are not limited to, historic, or current: therapeutic relationships with self or family members, employee-employer relationships, supervisory relationships, work colleagues, close friendships, romantic or sexual relationships, or any relationship such that the power balance is unequal. These types of relationships present risk when they are not mitigated well, and or the person with less power, or perceived power, (e.g. therapist/client, supervisor/supervisee) is at risk of exploitation or harm.
We recognise the inherent power imbalance between Educators, Facilitators, and Trainees, and our goal is to create a culture of inclusion, safety, and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of the BBP training and learning experience. In order to do so, it is our policy not to place Participants with pre-existing Overlapping Relationships together in small experiential practice groups. In addition, all new Participants must agree not to initiate, and must be careful to avoid, new therapeutic Overlapping Relationships with fellow Participants in the training cohort until the completion of the training program.
Pre-existing and Historical Overlapping Relationships
In order to avoid therapeutic Overlapping Relationships among Participants which may impede the participation of one or more Trainees in the same training group, after the close of registration each Participant will be asked to:
- Review the list of Facilitators and Trainees in the cohort;
- Identify whether they have a pre-existing relationship with any Participants; and
- Disclose the nature of their pre-existing relationship.
Therapeutic Relationships
In the case of pre-existing or historical therapeutic relationships:
- If the Participant disclosing an Overlapping Relationship is, or was, the therapist in that relationship, the Participant/therapist should not disclose the identity of their current or former client. All that is required is that the Participant/therapist disclose that another Facilitator or Trainee in the cohort is, or was formerly, in a therapeutic relationship with the Participant;
- If the Participant identifying an Overlapping Relationship is, or was, the client in that relationship, the Participant/client must disclose the identity of their current or former therapist.
Withdrawal or Deferral of Registration
After receiving the Overlapping Relationships Disclosure and Consent Form and Trainee and Facilitator cohort list, a Trainee who identifies one or more Overlapping Relationships which may impede their participation in the training, will have the option of:
- Withdrawing from the cohort and receiving a full refund, or
- Deferring their enrollment until a later offering of the training.
In these circumstances, if the Trainee decides to withdraw from the training program and wishes to receive a refund, they must advise The Savoy Clinic of their intention to do so in writing within two weeks of receiving the Overlapping Relationships Disclosure and Consent form and Trainee and Facilitator cohort list. For clarity, no refunds will be provided after this two week period has passed.
New Overlapping Relationships
Entering into new Overlapping Relationships during the training program where a power imbalance exists between the parties is strongly discouraged. The Savoy Clinic assumes no responsibility for the consequences of any new Overlapping Relationships.
Facilitators must not begin any other professional or personal relationship with Trainees in the cohorts that they facilitate for the duration of that training cohort.
Trainees who may identify the need for professional services during their training program must not solicit those services from the Educators or Facilitators in their cohort.
A romantic or sexual relationship between an Educator and either a Facilitator or a Trainee, or between a Facilitator and a Trainee, cannot avoid power imbalance. It should, therefore, be avoided entirely for the duration of the training.
If a new Overlapping Relationship where a power imbalance exists between the parties emerges outside of the training environment, it must be disclosed to The Savoy Clinic at the involved Participant’s earliest opportunity. This will enable early intervention by the Educators to determine whether it is possible to mitigate the potential adverse impact of the new Overlapping Relationship on the involved Participant, as well as on the broader training cohort.
If a new Overlapping Relationship where a power imbalance exists between the parties emerges among two or more Participants while the training program is ongoing, The Savoy Clinic may, in its sole discretion, cancel the registration of any Participant who knowingly entered into such a relationship while the training program was ongoing. In such circumstances, no refund will be provided.
Disclosure to the Facilitation Team
To ensure that the parties to an Overlapping Relationship do not practice together, the existence of all Overlapping Relationships among the training cohort (but not their nature) will be disclosed to the Facilitation Team and must be treated by all Facilitators as confidential. In circumstances where a Facilitator is party to an overlapping relationship with a Trainee in another small experiential practice group, that Facilitator will not participate in any portion of a Facilitator Team meeting during which that Trainee’s progress is being discussed.
Discerning Overlapping Relationships
If you need help discerning whether or not to move ahead with the training given that it would result in an Overlapping therapeutic relationship, or where a power imbalance exists between the parties, you are encouraged to seek professional consultation from someone with specific training or expertise in therapist ethics and discuss it with the other party.
Disclaimer: The Savoy Clinic assumes no responsibility for the consequences of any pre-existing, historical, or new Overlapping Relationships.
GROUP CONSULTATIONS
Group consultations are open to current Trainees and current Facilitators, and alumni from any of The Savoy Clinic’s two-year training programs. This increases the potential for Overlapping Relationships to arise.
If during a group consultation that a Participant becomes aware that they know, or suspect they know, the identity of the client which is the subject of the case presentation, they must:
- Leave the session for the duration of that case presentation and discussion;
- Alert the Educator(s) so that they know to advise the Participant when the group has moved on from the case presentation so the Participant may return to the discussion.
If a Participant who has voluntarily withdrawn themselves from a group consultation as a result of an identified or suspected Overlapping Relationship with the individual who is the subject of a case presentation is not invited to return to the group consultation session within half an hour, they may return to the session to check in on whether the discussion is complete.
If a Participant is presenting case in a group consultation and they become aware of an Overlapping Relationship between the subject client and someone in the group consultation, they must alert the Educator(s) and not go ahead with the presentation.
In addition to the above there is an expectation that all group consultation Participants will adhere to the following expectations:
- All Participants must vigorously maintain the confidentiality of group process and the privacy of all clients and Participants.
- Maintain a regular supervisory relationship independently of this training, and consistent with the requirements of the Participant’s professional regulatory body or association and current clinical practice;
- Maintain practice-appropriate professional liability insurance, or be covered by the professional liability insurance of their employer.
Presenters of case material must:
- Obtain client consent, in writing (and where applicable, a parent or legal guardian’s written consent); or
- Remove all information which could reasonably be used to identify the client, taking into consideration that it is best practice to obtain client’s written consent even when material is to be presented in de-identified form in group training consultations.
COMMUNICATION AND RUPTURES
Interpersonal conflict can arise in the training context.
If conflict arises between Participants, they are encouraged, if possible, to take steps to resolve the conflict and repair the relationship directly with the other person(s) involved.
If this is not possible, or the parties’ efforts to resolve the issues between them are not successful, Participants are encouraged to reach out to the Educators for assistance.
Where necessary, interpersonal difficulties will be managed with the assistance of the Facilitation Team and/or the Educators.
FEES, RECEIPTS & CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS
Fees are due two weeks prior to the start of each clinic. If you need a payment plan, please let us know and we will consider each request on a case by case basis.
All payments must be made by e-transfer.
Receipts will be provided after the workshop, clinic, or other form of training has been completed unless alternate arrangements have been made.
If you need documentation for your continuing education credits, please ask your professional regulatory body or association for specific details. Please request any documentation one week prior to the workshop or training so your hours can be tracked.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The content of all educational materials provided to you as a Participant is the intellectual property of The Savoy Clinic, and must not be shared, posted, copied, emailed, transmitted, or used outside of the training program except as a reference used only by the Participant to inform their clinical practice.
The didactic components of the clinics, both in person and online, are recorded by The Savoy Clinic for educational purposes. Participants are NOT permitted to record any or all parts of the clinics or consultations.
All recordings of lectures which may be shared with Participants remain the intellectual property of The Savoy Clinic.
MISSED DAYS OF TRAINING
If you have to miss a day or more of the training, you will be provided with the audio of the lecture part of the day. You will be responsible for arranging to do a practice(s) with another Trainee from the group to keep current.
If you miss only a portion of one day, please reach out to a colleague and ask them to share a copy of their notes.
If you download the audio of a missed lecture onto a personal device, it must be deleted within one month of receiving it.
Please adhere to our policies to keep our work confidential.
ALCOHOL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
All Participants are prohibited from taking part in any aspect of the training program while under the influence of alcohol, or any other psychotropic substance.
IN CLOSING
This Code of Conduct and Terms of Participation are minimum standards and are not intended to address every contingency.
If you are uncertain about any aspect of the application of, and expectations associated with, this Code of Conduct and Terms of Participation, please seek clarification or further information from The Savoy Clinic.
If you believe that something contrary to this Code of Conduct and Terms of Participation, or to the intentions which inform them, is occurring, please do bring your concerns to The Savoy Clinic.
Under no circumstances will The Savoy Clinic, or its directors, officers, or employees be liable to you or to any other individual for any loss, claim, injury, or damage, whether foreseeable or unforeseeable, arising from your participation in this training program including, but not limited to, your application of the concepts taught by The Savoy Clinic.
With Appreciation,
The Savoy Clinic, Ltd. - Lisa Mortimore, PhD and Stacy Jensen, MEd
