SYNTHESIS OF THE ITAA ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

The ITAA has adopted the TA philosophy and combined this with the United Nations Human Rights Declaration. This gives us the basis on which we build an ethical framework for all 4 specialisation fields of TA: Counselling, Education, Organisations, and Psychotherapy. Figure 1 Synthesis of the Ethics Principles below describes the relationship between the ITAA’s philosophy, the UN Human Rights Declaration, values, Ethical Principles, behaviours and physis.

A full description of the United Nations Human Right declaration can be found in Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights related to basic values: in the EDUCATIONAL APPENDICES.

ITAA PHILOSOPHY

The ITAA adopts the following philosophical presuppositions:

  • People are OK; thus, each person has validity, importance, equality of respect.

  • Everyone has the capacity to think (with few exceptions).

  • Everyone is entitled to receive appropriate strokes.

  • People decide their story and destiny; therefore, these decisions can be changed.

VALUES, PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE

The above figure shows how Values inform our attitudes and behaviours. These values then inform the Principles on which we live our lives, professionally as well as personally, and then how both the Values and Principles then play out in the way we work and live.

Ethical Values are the fundamental basis on which human beings promote their personal and professional development and fulfilment as well as those of others. Values include reference to natural law that informs how people behave with the best interests in mind, of self, others, and larger systems.

Our values are displayed in our attitudes and behaviours. Those values are lived out in the Principles by which we live (our Practice). Our Practice impacts on the various affected groups (Self, Clients, Trainees, Colleagues, Community and the Human Environment).

The following identified values are related to human rights and are included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity, Self Determination, Health, Security and Protection. This frame of reference is congruent with the existential and philosophical perspectives of transactional analysis. (LINK to Synthesis of Ethical Values and Principles from the EATA Ethics Manual and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights for the detailed information).

PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE OF ETHICS

Practitioners and members have a professional responsibility to the ITAA, its members, clients and the public to integrate and behave in line with the ITAA’s Philosophy and Guidelines for Ethical Practice. This establishes a social contract inviting the public’s trust.

The ITAA Ethical Principles are:

  • Respect
  • Empowerment
  • Protection
  • Responsibility
  • Commitment in relationship

When a Practitioner’s behaviour is not aligned with the ITAA ethical principles, those who are aware of the behaviour in question have an ethical obligation to address it appropriately. The process to address an ethical concern (Section 3) proposes the first option is to address the member directly.

BEHAVIOURS RELATING TO THE ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

Respect

Behaviours Aligned with Principles

  • Practitioners treat affected groups with dignity, regardless of, and considerate of their physiological, psychological, sociological, or economic status, their thinking, feeling and behaviour.

Behaviours Not Aligned with Principles

  • Allowing bias and prejudice to influence and impact working relationships.
  • Engaging in working relationships in which bias and prejudice are likely to negatively influence and impact the work.

Empowerment

Behaviours Aligned with Principles

  • Practitioners aim to develop their clients’ awareness of and functioning from a position of spontaneity, connectedness, autonomy, personal and collective responsibility.

Behaviours Not Aligned with Principles

  • Allowing the Practitioner’s personal agenda to contaminate the work. Allowing another entity’s agenda (e.g. the organisation) to contaminate the work.
  • Fostering and/or enabling codependent relationships, including personal (platonic or romantic) relationships within and/or outside of the client-Practitioner relationship.

Protection

Behaviours Aligned with Principles

  • Approaching practice with a philosophy of “first do no harm” and in some cases “minimise harm” and “second, do good”. Practitioners cause no intentional or deliberate harm to any client, trainee, or supervisee or other affected group.
  • Practitioners will recognise when dual roles as well as potential platonic and/or romantic relationships, exist or have the potential to exist, and will seek consultation from trusted colleagues and respected supervisors for resolution. Clear contracting which appropriately ensures protection of affected groups where dual roles are unavoidable. (The Practitioner’s relationship to the systemic context in Organisational and Education TA will likely be different to that of Psychotherapy and Counselling TA. These relationships and contexts need to be considered and resolved to protect all affected groups).
  • Address negative consequences emerging in any affected groups as promptly as appropriate.

Behaviours Not Aligned with Principles

  • Entering into activities outside the professional contract that will or could negatively impact or jeopardise the professional relationship with a client or group.
  • Practitioners providing contractual services that result in the exploitation of affected groups in any manner, including, but not limited to, financial and sexual matters. Entering into sexual relationships (a dual relationship) between Practitioners and clients, and other affected groups (trainees, supervisees).
  • Failing to consider and respond to the potential or actual damage resulting from dual relationships.

Responsibility

Behaviours Aligned with Principles

  • Practitioners will engage in informed contractual relationships with their client where both have the appropriate professional and psychological competence and intent to fulfil.
  • Practitioners accept responsibility for addressing issues with any colleague they have reasonable cause to believe is acting in an unethical manner. Failing resolution, the Practitioner has the option to follow the process to address an ethical concern (Section 3) with the ITAA Ethics Committee. Where the Practitioner has any personal challenges or concerns in addressing the person in question, the Ethics Committee may be used as a supportive resource.
  • ITAA members will consider and take responsibility for the ethical ramifications of their written and/or verbal public statements.Practitioners will operate and conduct services to clients with full responsibility to existing laws of the state and/or country in which they reside, provided such laws are not in conflict with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the ethical principles of the ITAA. The Practitioner will seek assistance from an external supervisor to assist in managing any circumstances related to this dilemma.In establishing a professional relationship, Practitioners assume responsibility for providing a suitable environment, including such things as specifying the nature of confidentiality observed, providing for physical safety appropriate to the form of activity involved, and obtaining informed consent for high-risk procedures that could possibly have harmful effects. Informed consent includes informing the client of his/her right to refuse to participate in any procedures and/or to end the professional contract at any time. Practitioners will seek to ensure the protection of clients’ confidentiality regarding personal information conveyed through electronic transmission.

Behaviours Not Aligned with Principles

  • Engaging in contracts for which the Practitioner is not adequately trained or competent, and not in a significant supervisory relationship.
  • Failing to consider any aspect of an unethical scenario (colleague’s behaviour, its significance and consequences) and the Practitioner’s own ability to act.
  • Practitioners not taking into account dilemmas that might impact on the healthy functioning of the client/Practitioner relationship and potentially the client’s and/or affected groups’ wellbeing.

Commitment in relationship

Behaviours Aligned with Principles

  • If it is not possible to fulfil the original contract (e.g. client abandoning the work without notice), the Practitioner endeavours to find options to resolve the situation, including the use of supervision support.
  • Certain professional responsibilities continue beyond the termination of the contract and include, and are not limited to:
    1. Maintenance of agreed-on confidentiality.
    2. Avoidance of any exploitation of the former relationship.
    3. Provision of follow-up care.

    When a Practitioner becomes aware of personal conflicts or medical problems that might interfere with their ability to carry out a contractual relationship, they will seek supervision to consider the appropriateness of terminating the contract.

    Practitioners address issues of conflict, disagreement, and different perspectives in an ethical manner.

Behaviours Not Aligned with Principles

  • Practitioners allow their passive behaviours to go unchecked when challenges emerge from the relationship with the client, or which may negatively impact it (or any member of an affected group).
  • Members not attending to unresolved issues in relationship with affected groups.