ACTMD - Association Canadienne des thérapeutes en Médecines Douces
CATCM - Canadian Association of Therapists in Complementary Medicine
ACDM - Association Canadienne des Massothérapeutes et Autres thérapeutes en Médecines Alternatives
Professional code of ethics
Interpretation
1-General clauses
2-Duty and obligations to the public
3-Duties and obligations towards the client
4-Duties and obligations towards the profession
5-Availability and due diligence
6-Professionnel secret
7-Responsibility
8-Independence and disinterestedness
9- Files accessibility
10- Professional fees
11- Asepsis
12-Relationship with members and the association
13- Duties and obligations towards the association
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF THERAPISTS IN COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
PROFESSIONAL CODE OF ETHICS
This professional code of ethics is in accordance and approved by the Regroupement des Associations en Massothérapie (RAM)
March 2007
Note: In this document, the use of the masculine gender is strictly for the purpose of simplifying the text and refers to persons of both genders.
For convenient reasons, the masculine kind is used in this text. It must be understood the same way in feminine.
The violation of all article of this code by a therapist constitutes a derogatory act to the profession's dignity and to the honour of his association.
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL CLAUSES
DEFINITION
1.1.1 In the present regulation, unless the context indicates a different sense, one hears by :
a) Association: The professional association that the therapist chose for his professional training.
b) Client: Anyone benefiting from professional services of an association member, in return for remuneration.
c) Colleague : Registered member with the association's board
d) Immediate family: Therapist's spouse, child, father, mother, brother, sister, grandparents, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandchildren of the therapist and the spouse.
e) Member: Who is a therapist detaining a membership registered with the association's board.
f) Complainant: Any person who files a complaint against a member registered with the association's board.
g) Therapist: The term therapist includes the terms practitioner, massage therapist and all other title granted by the association.
h) Treatment: All bodily, manual work of global nature applied to a human being, with a goal of prevention, maintenance and/or promotion of health according to the received expertises.
CHAPTER 2
DUTY AND OBLIGATIONS TO THE PUBLIC
2.1.1 From the moment the therapist is registered to his association under his legal name, he must use the same name on his professional card, his advertisement and all other references related to his professional practice.
2.1.2 The therapist must protect in his exercise, the health and well-being of the individuals he serves; on the individual and collective plan.
2.1.3 At all time, The therapist must display the registration document to the association's board at sight of the public in his main place of exercise.
2.1.4 In the exercise of his functions, the therapist must acknowledge all sets of consequences that his research and his works can have on the society.
2.1.5 The therapist has to promote all education and information measures in the treatment area.Unless otherwise specified, he also has to proceed, in the exercise of his function to all pertinent action leading to this education function and information to the public.
2.1.6 When invited by the media to publicly represent his association and his profession the therapist has to inform the public with honesty and exactitude on methods generally permitted by his profession.
2.1.7 At all time, when the member expresses his opinion, it has to be done with honesty, objectivity, wisdom and precision, committing to personally verify before expressing his self, the veracity and nature of the information.
2.1.8 When the therapist expresses publicly opinions or values which go against the philosophy and the mission of the Association or against what is generally allowed within his discipline, he has to clarify that he makes it on his personal behalf and that his opinions do not reflect opinions from his colleagues or the Association.
2.1.9 Member's conduct must be imprint by moderation and dignity; he must avoid any exaggeration or sensationalism of any kind.
2.1.10 Member must be respectful of himself, of his language and of his attitude at all times and place of work.
CHAPTER 3
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS THE CLIENT
PROFESSION PRACTICE
3.1.1 When exercising his profession, the therapist has to take into account his limits of abilities, capacities, as well as his knowledge. He has to refrain from beginning services for which he is not trained enough without obtaining necessary assistance.
3.1.2 During a relocation or renunciation of his professional practice, the therapist must make sure the customer will have access to a therapeutic follow-up
3.1.3 The therapist must exercise his work with the respect of privacy, dignity and client's liberty.
3.1.4 The therapist cannot have a friendship relation with a customer, a consent or seductive maneuvers on his part to justify a dispensation in his responsibility as a legal member and in his ethical duties to the customer or his association.
3.1.5 The therapist can't have recourse to dishonest or doubtful processes in the exercise of his professional activities.
3.1.6 At no time the therapist can, directly or indirectly, undermine the customer's free choice to consult another member of the association or member of a professional order or any other competent person
3.1.7 If required, for the well-being of his customer, the therapist must consult a colleague, a member of a professional order or any another competent person, he can also direct him towards one of these persons.
3.1.8 The therapist must avoid exercise in condition, state or place subject to compromise the quality, service and dignity of the profession.
3.1.9 The therapist must refrain from interfering in personal business of his customer and must avoid any indiscreet conversation with him, nor putting pressure to obtain confidential information from the client.
3.1.10 The therapist must establish a healthy relationship between him and his clients.To this, the therapist must also:
a) Avoid talking about his personal situation in any way or give any details concerning his private life;
b) Avoid soliciting his client for a cause of any kind
c) Refrain from exercising his profession in an impersonal way
d) Respect physical, mental and emotional limits of the client
e) Respect basic rules of personal hygiene in order not to indispose his client;
f) Lead his interviews by respecting scale of values and customer's personal convictions, when getting specific information from his client;
g) Privilege customer's interests rather than his own interests and, among other things, he must avoid unnecessary meetings or unnecessary acts, inappropriate or disproportionate to the client's condition;
h) Learn about the customer's health condition and write it in his file;
i) Expose to his clients, in a complete and objective way, nature and modalities of provided services
3.1.11 The therapist must open a file for any new customer, containing below information, and maintain it up to date :
a) Names, sex, date of birth and client's address ;
b) Consultation's date and time, Client's condition as well as the client's history
c) Nature of applied health care;
d) The comments and observations of the therapist concerning customer's evaluation and evolution of client during the session;
3.1.12 Member that stops or refuses to provide necessary therapeutic services to a customer must, if possible, make sure that the client will be able to receive appropriate care from another person.
3.1.13 The therapist must, in the exercise of his profession, have a blameless conduct towards a customer, on a physical, mental or emotional plan.
SEXUAL MISSCONDUCT
3.2.1 The therapist must not engage in any type of sexual activity with his customer during his professional relation with him and for a period of 1 year following services rendered to his customer.
3.2.2 Besides, the therapist must be conscious that therapeutic relation can generate sexual needs and desires of any kind, so much from the customer and from the therapist. Close relations and sexual activities are in contradiction with the professional ethics and are forbidden as long as the customer has recourse to therapist's services. Following above mentioned, therapist cannot establish any intimate love ties with the customer during his professional relation time.
3.2.3 The therapist must not harass or sexually abuse his client ; refraining, at all times from :
a) Suggest, propose or pretend to be able to heal problems or sexual dysfunctions of the customer, unless therapist received a specialized training to this matter (with diploma justification) and his a legal member of an association, corporation or professional order;
b) Bad behaviour, such as gesture or expression, that is sexually degrading for the customer or that demonstrates a lack of respect towards his private life;
c) Making intriguing, insinuating gestures or sexual connotation jokes, personal appointments of sexual nature or all other sexual miss behaviour;
d) All sexual relation, seduction games or sexual touching with his customer;
e) To have a behavior aiming in any way for the seduction or the satisfaction of his emotional needs or those of the customer;
f) Suggesting, proposing, stimulating, or practicing techniques or bodily movements in order to touch, to knead, to rub, to skim, to examine or to manipulate customer's body or to practice energizing movements having in mind or admitted has a final result the seduction or the sexual and affective satisfaction of the client or the therapist
g) Suggesting, extolling, encouraging, prescribing or practicing bodily or energizing movements as sexual connotation caresses in order to sort out customer's emotional or psychosomatic problems;
h) Pronouncing inappropriate comments with sexual connotation or sexually degrading towards the customer such as customer's physical appearance, his clothes, his underwear, his sexual orientation or any other comment of same nature;
i) Having a sexual relation with a customer, initiated or not by the customer, including complete sexual relation or not, Masturbation or any other genital, oral or anal contact.
3.2.4 If the therapist evaluates that his customer has a need to consult, following the confessions from his client concerning sexual or dysfunctional problems, he must direct this person toward a clinician sex therapist, member of a corporation, association or professional order.
INTEGRITY AND OBJECTIVITY
3.3.1 The therapist must, on his daily work, identify himself to his customers and avoid all false representation concerning his level of expertise or efficiency of his services. He must always display, in his workplace and at sight of his customers, his name and his titles recognized by his association and keep ethic codes at their disposal.
3.3.2 The therapist must abstain from delivering false document and/or information to anyone and for any reason.
3.3.3 Member must have adequate and sufficient equipment to be able to provide services related to his title and expertise, and must insure that this equipment is in excellent working condition.
3.3.4 The therapist must fulfill his professional obligations with integrity, objectivity and moderation.
3.3.5 The therapist must avoid all false representation concerning his level of expertise. He must, in the exercise of his profession, remain within the limits of his capabilities, his knowledge and means to his disposal; he must, if the case arises, consult or orient his client to other professional services.
3.3.6 Member must avoid all reproachable behaviour when obtaining his titles, expertises, attestations of study or diplomas.
3.3.7 The therapist must inform his customer of all detrimental damage and hardly repairable mistakes that he committed while providing him with professional care, as soon as possible.
3.3.8 The therapist must abstain from counselling any stops or modification on customer's medication and must, in the interest of this one, respect opinions and advice of other health professionals.
3.3.9 The therapist must abstain from questioning medical diagnoses and/or criticize opinions and advice from health professionals and must, in customer's interest, respect all other health professionals.
CHAPTER 4
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS THE PROFESSION
DEROGATORY ACTS
4.1.1 The therapist is being derogatory to the profession dignity if he :
a) Is found guilty of fraud in obtaining his titles and expertise;
b) Refuses to provide services to a person because of his race, skin color, sex, sexual orientation, civil status, age, religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or origin, social condition, or his handicap;
c) Abuses, while practicing, of inexperience, ignorance, innocence, vulnerability or of the bad health condition of his customer;
d) Provides to his customer unjustified material advantage, notably, distorting a declaration, a receipt, a report or all relative document to a customer's health or to the provided service
e) Is not properly nor modestly dressed in his work practice regardless of his place of work.
f) Solicits, harasses or promotes the use of illegal substances or hallucinogenic drugs at any time as a complement to the treatment;
g) Exercises his work while he is under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, hallucinogens, narcotic preparations, anesthetic or any other substance which can lead to drunkenness, faculties perturbation or unconsciousness;
h) Intervene with his customer whose faculties are affected by alcohol, medicines of any kind, narcotics, drugs or hallucinogens likely to create confusion and ambiguity on the therapeutic nature; except if a framework is adapted to this problem.
i) Acts or behaves against what is generally allowed in the exercise and practice of the profession;
j) Does physical or psychological gesture in order to incite a customer, directly or indirectly, to sexual acts;
k) Take advantage of his profession to pointlessly undress a customer when condition of this one does not require any excessive undressing;
l) Communicate with plaintiff when he is informed about an inquiry on his behavior or on his competence or when a complaint is received concerning himself;
m) Accepts or offers money or any other advantage in order to contribute or has contributed in decision and adoption by the Association, board of directors or general assembly, or anyone of his committees or officers;
n) Makes a diagnosis and\or expresses criticisms on advice received by another customer's therapist or another health professional;
o) Encourage someone to have his professional service by repetitively pressuring this person
p) Does not inform his association, he has reasons to believe a member is incompetent or derogates from any ethic code;
q) Omits indicating to the Association that he has reasons to believe that a person who wants to join the association does not have required conditions;
r) Guaranties, directly or indirectly healing of a sickness, injury or any other pathology;
s) Demands fees for unimplemented professional acts, (with the exception of gift vouchers), except when preliminary agreement was signed by the customer indicating there would be extra charges if the customer omits to inform him about his absence at least 24 hours in advance, except for any major reason;
t) Claim from a customer a sum of money for a complete professional service or part of when cost is already assumed by a third party;
u) Does not respect the contracts and deals made with his client (Gift certificate, membership, etc.)
v) Sign and give one or several receipts for insurance purposes to the buyer or to the gift certificate recipient;
w) Uses a receipt of insurances for an activity not constituting a treatment as defined in the present Code, for a treatment that has not been done by the person signatory of this receipt, for a treatment that has not been received by the person whose name appears on the receipt, or for indicated rates that don't correspond to the real amount defrayed by the customer.
x) Provides to anyone an unjustified financial or material advantage or any other related advantage, notably while distorting a declaration, a report, a receipt or all other related document to customer's health or to service provided to him.
y) Suggests or encourages a customer to do an illegal or fraudulent act.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROFESSION ADVANCEMENT
4.2.1 The therapist must, to the extent of his possibilities, contribute to, and help, the development of his association by exchanging his knowledge and his experiences with other therapists and students, and by participating in courses and ongoing education training;
CHAPTER 5
AVAILABILITY AND DUE DILIGENCE
5.1.1 The therapist must prove, in the exercise of his profession, his availability and a reasonable diligence. He must show a particular attention notably to his customer's privacy by offering a discreet place to undress and dress or to come out of the room before and after the session. The therapist must respect the customer's right to keep his clothes at all time during the session.
5.1.2 The therapist can offer an appropriate technique to customer's personal progress or direct him toward another qualified and recognized therapist by the association
5.1.3 The therapist must be faithful, honest and attentive towards his customer
5.1.4 The therapist must show honesty and transparency related to services provided to his customer. He must provide him necessary explanation, understanding and appreciation to service he renders.
5.1.5 The therapist must abstain from expressing opinions or give contradictory or incomplete advice. Following the above mentioned, he must try to have a complete knowledge of the facts before giving an opinion or an advice.
5.1.6 The therapist is not able to, except for just and reasonable motives, stop or refuse to provide necessary treatments to a customer. The following constitutes just and reasonable motives :
a) Loss of confidence from the customer towards the therapist and vice versa
b) Character incompatibility between the therapist and the customer;
c) Incitement from the customer to achieve illegal, unjust or fraudulent acts;
d) Fact that the therapist is in a conflict of interest situation or in a context where his professional independence could be questionable;
e) All reproachable behaviour from the customer's part and, particularly, implying force, threats, coercion, psychological, verbal or physical violence or all gesture with sexual connotation;
f) Client personal hygiene
g) Fact that a customer refuse's all use of sheets/blankets to cover himself if he is undressed;
h) Therapist's inability to work with information provided by the customer;
i) Lack of experience or resources following a change of customer's condition;
j) A reasonable risk for therapist or customer's health;
k) Loss of integrity from part of the client or the therapist
l) Fact for a customer to be under the influence of alcohol, drug or all substance that may affect his lucidity or his health;
m) Customer's inappropriate behavior in relation with the therapist.
CHAPTER 6
PROFESSIONNEL SECRET
6.1.1 The therapist is bonded to the professional secret and must respect the secret of all information of confidential nature obtained in the exercise of his profession.
6.1.2 The content of the file concerning a customer, held by a therapist, cannot be revealed, confided or handed to a third party, in all or in part, without written authorization from customer in question or when the law requires it.
6.1.3 When a therapist intervenes with several members of a family, right to professional secret for every member must be protected at all time.
6.1.4 The therapist must not use confidential information so it causes a prejudice to his customer or in order to get a direct or indirect advantage for himself or for any other person.
6.1.5 The therapist must avoid all indiscreet conversation about his customer and services provided to him.
6.1.6 In the case where a therapist wants to record, photograph or film an interview, he must beforehand get a written permission from the customer.
6.1.7 The therapist must abstain from intervening in his customer's personal business. On the other hand, he must collaborate with his customers or their relatives or with all other person when customer's interest requires it, and for that, all parts must agree, specially, the customer.
6.1.8 The therapist must prove his objectivity and wisdom following an information request.
CHAPITRE 7
RESPONSIBILITY
7.1.1 The therapist must, in the exercise of his profession, incur his fully personal civil responsibility. He can't insert in a professional service contract, a clause excluding directly or indirectly, in totality or in part, above mentioned responsibility.
7.1.2 The therapist must consult a recognized professional if he feels vulnerable concerning his emotional, psychological or sexual feelings. , In the absence of it, he must abstain from practicing his work.
7.1.3 The therapist must use all resources in good faith in his private life to be emotionally balanced and in full sexual and psychological health, without having to use his customers to fulfill his emotional, psychological or sexual needs.
CHAPTER 8
INDEPENDENCE ET INDIFFERENCE
8.1.1 The therapist must have in mind his customer's interests before his personal interests.
8.1.2 The therapist must ignore all intervention from a third party capable to influence execution of his professional duties causing his customer a prejudice.
8.1.3 The therapist must protect at all time his professional independence and must avoid all situation where he would be in conflict of interests.
8.1.4 The therapist cannot have his immediate family benefit from unjustified advantage related to his practice, such as receipts for repayment purposes. The therapist can give at all time a treatment to one or another of these people without emitting a receipt for repayment.
8.1.5 As soon as a situation of conflict of interests is noted, the therapist must inform his customer of it and ask him if he allows him to continue the mandate.
8.1.6 The therapist cannot share his fees with another one, so far as this sharing corresponds to a service distribution and/or responsibilities and his autonomy is respected.
8.1.7 With the exception of remuneration to which he his allowed, the therapist must abstain from receiving, remit or commit to remit any discount and/or gift.
8.1.8 Gratuity is a form of remuneration so far as this one respects what is generally admitted in our society. The gratuity must be left to customer's discretion.
8.1.9 The therapist must abstain at all time from asking funds or publish, recruit, direct or solicit his customer to consults or adheres to esoteric, religious, spiritual or political group.
CHAPTER 9
FILES ACCESSIBILITY
9.1.1 The therapist must keep his files in a place or a room inaccessible to the public and locked. Besides, he must take reasonable means with regard to his employees and the staff that surrounds him so he's able to preserve the confidentiality on information concerning his customers.
9.1.2 The access to information contained in a file is free. However, the therapist can ask the customer for a reasonable price if transcription, reproduction or transmission of information is required. The therapist who intends to ask for such fee must, before conducting the transcription, reproduction or transmission, inform his customer of the approximate amount this one will be paying.
CHAPTER 10
PROFESSIONAL FEES
FEES SETTINGS AND PAIEMENTS
10.1.1 The therapist must ask and accept reasonable fees.
10.1.2 Fees are fair and reasonable if they are justified by circumstances and proportional to provided services. The therapist must take into account the following factors when fixing his fees :
a) His experience;
b) Time spent doing his professional services;
c) Difficulty and importance of service
d) Benefit of unusual services or demand of an expertise or an exceptional promptness;
e) Education received.
10.1.3 The therapist must provide his customer with all necessary explanation in order to understand his fee summary and payment mode.
10.1.4 The therapist cannot require payment of his services before they are provided.
10.1.5 The therapist cannot ask for non dispensed services fees, except if a politics of cancellation is in place and customer is informed of the disposition. The therapist, in such a case, cannot ask more than usual fees discerned for a session.
10.1.6 The therapist must advise his client on cost of his services.
PRODUCT SALE
10.2.1 The therapist must consider the sale of products like a service to his clientele and not a main source of income.
10.2.2 The therapist must abstain at all time from making excessive advertisement and use his professional statute to put pressure on the sales.
10.2.3 The therapist can sell several products as long as they are joined to his therapeutic practice and are complementary to the exercise of this practice
10.2.4 The therapist cannot commercialize products or methods susceptible to do harm to customer's health.
10.2.5 The therapist cannot mention or make believe that the association recognizes, endorse or suggest different articles, accessories and/or devices.
PROMOTION AND MARKETING
10.3.1 The association and each of his members have a duty to inform the consumer on real possibilities, limits and contra-indications of the treatment and products offered by the therapist: articles, accessories and/or devices related to the well-being of the customer.
PUBLICITY, MEDIA AND INTERNET
10.4.1 When a therapist wants to make advertisement, he is allowed to use the logo, professionally, as well as all other methods of identification to the association in order to demonstrate his adherence to it, while respecting its mission and its philosophy.
10.4.2 Bearing in mind the previous article is forbidden for him to use the logo and/or all other methods of identification to the association for :
a) Fund raising;
b) Recruiting, directing or soliciting in order to get the public or his clients involved or adhered in/to groups such as esoteric, religious, spiritual or political.
10.4.3 Information destined to the consumers takes precedent on all forms of advertisement
RESTRICTIONS AND OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO THE PUBLICITY
10.5.1 Therapist cannot attribute himself qualities or cleverness, only if he's able to justify them.
CHAPTER 11
ASEPSIS
WORKPLACE CLEANNESS
11.1.1 Local where practice takes place must be temperate, clean and regularly maintained. The sinks and toilets must be cleaned with an antiseptic product and disinfectant.
HAND WASHING
11.2.1 The therapist must wash his hands with an adequate product in order to decontaminate them before and after every treatment.
EQUIPEMENT CLEANNESS
11.3.1 The therapist must insure that equipment he uses for a treatment (linen, sheets, cushions, devices, other) are washed and/or disinfected with an appropriated product before every treatment.
CHAPTER 12
RELATIONSHIP WITH MEMBERS AND THE ASSOCIATION
12.1.1 The therapist must not harm colleague's good faith or be guilty towards him because of a confidence breach or disloyal processes. He must not take credit for work done by a colleague and not him.
12.1.2 The therapist consulted by a colleague must provide his opinion and his recommendations as soon as possible.
12.1.3 The therapist who's called to collaborate with a colleague must preserve his professional independence. If one attributes him a task contrary to his conscience or to his principles, he can ask to be dispensed.
12.1.4 The therapist must not discredit in any way the reputation of the association or one of his members.
12.1.5 The therapist who reproduces the graphic symbol of the association in order to advertise must insure this symbol is in conformity with the original, handled by the secretary of the association
12.1.6 Any member of the association that collaborates and/or recommends a joined intervention with another therapist must insure that the professional in question has completed his courses and that he fulfill ethical norms of his association or professional order, and that this association or order has a suitable disciplinary mechanism.
12.1.7 The member must abstain from hindering work of the association's directors or members of its committees, or to deceive them by reluctance, of false declarations or by improper document production, or refusing to provide them information or documents necessary to a good work order and activities of the association or its committees.
12.1.8 The therapist cannot have in his possession copies of the exam or can't correct association's exam so he can sale it right after or he can help a person in process of admission in the association by giving him a copy.
12.1.9 The therapist must inform the board of directors, if the case arises, concerning :
a) Complaint, suspension and/or exclusion of the therapist while he is or was part of another professional association;
b) Possession of a criminal file, without necessarily revealing the nature of the offences;
c) His adherence or admission as member of an association in alternative medicine other than the association.
12.1.10 Every therapist who is presently member and that would not have revealed information contained in point 12.1.9 a), b) and c) when admitted is liable of suspension or exclusion. (The therapist must inform the board of directors, in order to do an update on his file, within 90 days following the date of change)
CHAPTER 13
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS THE ASSOCIATION
13.1.1 The therapist must use the official receipts of the association. The therapist is also responsible of receipts in his possession, of their uses and can only be the unique user and signatory of it. He can't in any way, in part or in whole, reproduce them whatsoever. The therapist must obligatory complete all of the above concerning mentioned receipt.
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