Code of Ethics
Preamble
For the purpose of protecting the safety and welfare of community members, clergy, and staff, this Code of Ethics outlines ethical principles governing all ceremonies, but especially sacrament ceremonies, conducted by The Sacred Tribe.
As members of this community, it is our individual and collective responsibility to aspire to the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct. We agree to practice all rituals and ceremonies, especially ceremonies where sacrament is used, within our scope of competence and in accordance with this Code of Ethics.
We directly and promptly address ethical concerns and use professional judgment, supervision, and consultation when ethical dilemmas arise.
Our aim within the community is to provide an environment of safety and support for a person to engage with their own growth and expansion, to embrace each of our innate wisdom and ability to move towards wholeness and wellbeing. We act in the spirit of service to listen and ask. We devote ourselves to establishing relationships within the community based on trust, care, and attunement, and to support every individual’s own unfolding experience.
At times, we may engage in deep work with trauma and attachment, as well as non-ordinary states of consciousness; therefore, our rituals and ceremonies carry unique ethical considerations. These considerations include the potential for greater participant suggestibility, the need for sensitivity regarding consent, and the likelihood of stronger and more complex transference and countertransference.
Given the special considerations of work within these spaces, we take seriously our obligation to the safety of everyone. This work requires an elevated quality of presence, tending to the process consistently throughout long ceremonies, as well as during the phases of preparation and integration.
In order to provide impeccable care for all members and to evolve ethically, we engage in practices of self-care, self-growth, and self-examination, aligning with our own intelligence. We give and receive feedback from mentors and colleagues, work within the larger communities of which we are a part, and participate in continuing education.
Our worship ceremonies are founded on the ancient practices of Rabbis, explorers, researchers, and indigenous traditions which stretch back centuries. We honor these contributions and recognize the privilege of working with non-ordinary states of consciousness. The ability to participate in these practices, as ancient as they are innovative, is both a gift and a responsibility.
We envision a world where all people can have direct experience of the divine, however they may come to understand it, and the expansion of what is possible that comes with it. We view our members’ challenges, as well as their growth, within a greater web of relationships, acknowledging that experience is passed between people, across cultures, and through generations. We aim to validate and support the intrinsic wisdom and intelligence in others as well as in ourselves, in service to collective growth, liberation, and greater engagement in the fullness of life.
Code of Ethics
1. Safety
We commit to the safety of our members.
Prior to any ceremony, we ensure that a person is an eligible candidate for participation, medically, psychologically, and spiritually. An eligible candidate has the resources necessary to engage in the ceremony, ideally including supportive people in their life and a stable and safe living environment.
We conduct thorough and comprehensive preliminary screening and preparation, including screening by a medical professional and clergy.
Prior to any ceremony, we provide participants with clear information about our availability, backup support, and emergency contacts.
We take measures to prevent physical and psychological harm. We create a space with clearly-defined boundaries and ask participants not to leave during ceremony, and provide them with the space to do so comfortably. We inform participants that we will take precautions to ensure their safety, such as preventing falls or injuries.
We immediately address medical emergencies, including having on-call medical personnel.
We have a crisis plan prepared, where a qualified medical professional is available in the event of participant crisis or medical complications. We are responsible for addressing crises for as long as the participant is in our care.
We provide thorough post-ceremony integration with participants.
We never abandon a member. We recommend and support transitions to self-care or the care of professional service providers as appropriate.
We adhere to best practices regarding storage and security of entheogenic substances.
2. Confidentiality and Privacy
We commit to the privacy of our members and uphold professional standards of confidentiality.
We may occasionally discuss members as part of professional consultation and supervision, in which our consultants and supervisors are also obligated to respect participant privacy, and we will provide the minimum amount of identifying information.
Outside of these limitations in confidentiality, we never disclose personal information about members without their explicit permission.
We make agreements with our members about acceptable and preferred means of communication, such as leaving voicemails, sending text messages, hours of contact, and response time.
We securely store all records. We promptly respond to breaches in confidentiality.
We seek legal counsel as needed to maintain member confidentiality.
3. Transparency
We respect members’ autonomy and informed choice.
We include our members in decisions affecting their well-being.
We obtain informed consent before conducting ceremony. We honor the participant’s option to withhold or withdraw consent at any time.
We inform participants of all ceremonial procedures, including an accurate description of substances used and their potential risks and benefits.
We discuss the process of transitioning to self-care (and/or professional support) after ceremony with our members at intake.
We inform members if we have reason to believe they may be harmed by participating.
We accurately represent our background and training using appropriate terms according to applicable laws and professional code.
We obtain consent to record sessions when applicable and to use recordings solely for purposes explicitly agreed upon by the members, such as for training and supervision, or for the member’s personal use.
We obtain informed and sober consent in advance of any physical touch by describing the type of touch. Physical touch is never sexual and we make agreements about how the participant can stop touch at any time.
We inform participants in advance about the possible or scheduled presence of facilitators, observers, or any other staff who may be a part of ceremony and/or have access to sensitive participant information.
We provide consistent care to our participants and arrange a backup and emergency contact when we are unavailable to members.
4. Clergy – Member Alliance and Trust
We act in accordance with the trust placed in us by members.
We aspire to create and maintain clergy-member alliances built on trust, safety, and clear agreements, so that participants can safely engage in inner explorations.
We respect each individual’s widsom and intuition to guide their experience.
We understand that the practice of prayer and worship is deeply personal; each member has different, goals, intentions, and needs for support.
We set our members’ best interest above our own interests, within the bounds of our relationship.
We treat all members with respect and compassion.
We acknowledge the inherent power differential between clergy and members and act conscientiously in the service of members’ self-empowerment.
We avoid entering dual relationships that are likely to lead to impaired professional judgment or exploitation. In cases where there is a dual relationship, we give special attention to issues of confidentiality, trust, communication, and boundaries, and seek supervision as needed.
We use careful judgment about any continuing interaction with existing or previous members outside the bounds of our clergy-member alliance.
When working with couples or families, we carefully consider potential conflicts of interest, disclose policies on communicating information between family members, and discuss plans for transitioning to self-care (and/or professional support) after ceremony.
5. Use of Touch
For everyone’s safety, we do not generally use touch for therapeutic purposes, and we do not allow any sexual touch of any kind.
Members and clergy alike obtain explicit, verbal consent for any touch prior to the member ingesting sacrament, as well as in the moment. Aside from protecting a person’s body from imminent harm, such as catching them from falling, the use of any touch is always optional, according to the consent of the member.
We discuss in advance simple and specific words and gestures the member is willing to use to communicate about touch during rituals. For example, participants may use the word “stop,” or a hand gesture indicating stop, and touch will stop.
We practice discernment with touch, using personal and professional judgment and assessing our own motivation when considering if touching another member is appropriate.
6. Sexual Boundaries
We do not initiate, respond to, or allow any sexual touch between members, whether partnered or not, or between clergy and members while in ceremonial space.
While we respect the sexual identities and expression of our participants, and validate participants’ processes that might relate to sexuality and sexual healing, we firmly maintain the responsibility as clergy of upholding clear professional boundaries.
We provide clear guidelines at intake and at the beginning of any ceremony for members that members are not to initiate, respond to, or allow sexual touch during ceremony.
Clergy do not engage in sexual intercourse, sexual contact, or sexual intimacy with a member, or a member’s spouse or partner, or immediate family member, during the practicing relationship or after termination.
We commit to examining our own sexual feelings, to not act in ways that create ambiguity or confusion about sexual boundaries, and to seek supervision as needed.
As representatives of this work, we aim to uphold clear sexual boundaries and ethics in our daily lives.
7. Diversity
We respect the value of diversity, as it is expressed in the various identities and experiences of our members.
We do not condone or knowingly engage in discrimination. We do not refuse professional service to anyone on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, age (except where medically or psychologically contraindicated), sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
We take steps to examine unconscious biases that we may hold and commit to ongoing self-reflection to unlearn oppressive patterns.
We make every effort to include people living with physical, mental, and cognitive disabilities.
We respect the unique experiences of our members, and practice openness towards different peoples’ values, belief systems, and ways of religious exploration.
We are attentive to the impact of power dynamics in our relationships with members and with each other, particularly where there are differences in privilege, gender, race, age, culture, education, and/or socioeconomic status.
We strive to be honest with ourselves and with our members about the limits of our understanding, and to hold genuine curiosity and interest as we relate to our participants’ experiences.
We aim to provide culturally-informed care, and seek education in support of greater cultural understanding. We refer participants to other providers as appropriate.
8. Special Considerations for Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness
We tend to special considerations when working with members in non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Members in non-ordinary states of consciousness may be especially open to suggestion, manipulation, and exploitation; therefore, we acknowledge the need for increased attention to safety and issues of consent.
We examine our own actions and do not engage in coercive behavior.
In working with non-ordinary states that can evoke unconscious material for both the member and clergy, we acknowledge the potential for stronger, more subtle, and more complicated transference and countertransference, and, with that in mind, we practice self-awareness and self-examination, and seek supervision as needed.
We respect the spiritual autonomy of our members. We practice vigilance in not letting our own attitudes or beliefs discount or pathologize our members’ unique experiences. We hold and cultivate an expanded paradigm, which includes the experiences people have in extraordinary states.
We protect our members’ health and safety through careful preparation and orientation to the ceremonial experience, as well as thorough integration.
We support members who may experience crisis or spiritual emergency related to entheogenic experiences with appropriate medical and psychological care, engaging the support of outside resources as needed.
9. Finances
We maintain clear communication with participants about donations and membership within the community, and never turn participants away due to financial considerations.
We disclose our membership and donation procedures before enrolling a member.
We advocate for our pmembers with third party payers, including health insurance reimbursement, sponsors, and donors when appropriate.
We do not accept payment or charge money for referrals.
We establish and maintain clear and honest business practices.
10. Competence
We agree to practice within our scope of competence, training, and experience specific to the populations we are working with and the modalities we offer.
We agree to represent our work honestly and accurately.
We assess at intake whether a potential member’s needs can be addressed within our scope of competence and, if not, make informed referrals to other providers and services.
We commit to ongoing professional development, seeking supervision and continuing education to further our practice skills and presence.
We agree to maintain any licensures or certifications in good standing, including re-certification as required.
11. Relationship to Colleagues and the Practice
We establish and maintain compassionate and positive working relationships with colleagues, in a spirit of mutual respect and collaboration.
To maintain the highest integrity in our practice, we agree to seek counsel with our fellow practitioners and colleagues, being open to feedback when given, and offering feedback when it may be needed.
As practitioners of this modality, we are mindful of how we represent this work to the public, including through the media, social media, and public presentations.
12. Relationship to Self
We commit to ongoing personal and professional self-reflection regarding ethics and integrity.
We adhere to an ongoing practice of self-compassion and self-inquiry.
We agree to seek professional assistance and community support for our own emotional challenges or personal conflicts, especially when, in our view or in the view of colleagues, they affect our capacity to provide ethical care to participants.
We subscribe to the value of humility, out of respect for the transformative power of the experiences we have the privilege to witness and support, and out of respect for human dignity.
In creating this document, The Sacred Tribe has been grateful to draw on the wisdom of the Association of Entheogenic Practitioners, of which The Sacred Tribe is a member.