Ethics & International Affairs Committee

Members of the FEPTO Ethics Committee

Anna Bielanska (Poland),  abielanska@interia.pl
Damjanov, Jana (Serbia),
Dragoteanu, Dana (Romania),  danadragoteanu@yahoo.com
Dudler, Agnes (Germany),   agnes@dudler.org
Grevo, Lillian (Norway),  lillian@crevo.no
Shouten, Peter John (The Netherlands),  peterjohn@psychodrama.nu

 

Chair

Judith Teszáry (Sweden) jteszary@gmail.com
Johannes Krall (AT) hannes.krall@aau.at 

Members of the FEPTO Ethical Board

Gasseau, Maurizio (Italy), m.gasseau@univda.it
Kayir, Arsaluys  (Turkey), arkayir@gmail.com
Moura, Luciano (Portugal), lucianomoura613@gmail.com
Perrotta, Leandra (Italy),  leandra.perrotta@gmail.com

 

1. International Affairs Committee report for the Ohrid General Assembly

International meetings: I have participated in two EAP meeting in the EWAO group as Fepto representative. 2022. I participated in the general meeting of the EWOC as FEPTO representative in March 2022.,

Scientific validation of Psychodrama
For the moment it is not necessary. Later on, when new research material of value can be added we can rewrite those 15 questions. The research committee should work on it. The Core Competencies – common to all psychotherapies – is what has been done, so far.

Note: Phase 1 of the Project was completed in July 2013 and can be found on the EAP website, the whole Project can be accessed via the link below.
Phase 2 of the Competencies Project: the Specific Competencies of the various Psychotherapy modalities.

Over and beyond these, each modality will have several competencies that are particular to that modality, and possibly to one or two other modalities ’near’ theirs: e.g. ‘Gestalt’ might have a competency of using the “empty chair”; TA might have a competency at looking at the different ‘level’s of interaction: parent, child, adult; etc.; Body Psychotherapy will have competencies regarding the use of
touch (for example). It is therefore important for each modality to identify the competencies that are “specific” to their modality.

Ideally, these competencies will be ’structured’ in one or another of the various “Domains” – see Competencies website, and will use a language similar to that in the project: e.g. Title of Competency: “This means that x psychotherapists are able to demonstrate that: – (they have the competency to …; they can … do this and that; etc.”)

Note: Additionally, some countries might – at present – require some ’Specific’ Competencies as well: i.e. if not a medical doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, then a particular mental health training [instead of (or over and above) the ECP], so that they can demonstrate that they can …. do something specific: we are talking about ‘competencies’, rather than qualifications.

Judith Teszáry
jteszary@gmail.com
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2. Online General Assembly, May 2021

Durring the General Assembly a report will be presented, and the PowerPoint will include the Ethics Online of the Russian Psychodrama Association/PD Online Section. The full report will soon be available.

Psychodramatists are responsible for deciding the relevance of the use of online-psychodrama according to the working environment of each client. When making a decision about working in an online format, the psychodramatist should take into account security limitations, the client’s topic and the reliability of the connection. Psychodramatists shall decide whether to allow the client to participate in group online work, taking into account the specific conditions of the client, his personality and group. (…)

For the full Online Ethics > Download

Judith Teszáry
jteszary@gmail.com
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3. Report in December 2020

During the pandemic, my main activities as the chair of EC was to collect my observations of online psycho- drama and sociodrama groups, both in public arrangements and with limited participants. The following points are some aspects of the Code of Practice of online functioning in the changed reality.

A lot of questions are raised by the colleagues in our member institutes regarding if and how it would be possible to carry out the training.

During the past five months, I have participated together with 15 trainers in an Online Psychodrama Working Group within the framework of the Hungarian Psychodrama Association. The work of this experiential group functioned as an advisory board; from which the Psychodrama Association would base their online training regulations .

We created a joint document where we registered the experiences concerning the methodological issues along the whole process of psychodrama, technical solutions, contract, and ethics in online sessions.

Furthermore, I participated in the pre-conference on ethics organised by the Russian Psychodrama Federation (Viktor Semenov). I came to the conclusion that the leaders/facilitators have co-responsibility, a shared responsibility of safety measures with the participants of online workshops and online training or experiential groups.

I am planning an open zoom meeting about ethical questions at the beginning of next year. Good practice:

1. The training institute needs to make a new agreement about the training contract concerning the freezing of training during the Pandemic. How to handle it if some students do not wish to go on online or wish to terminate their training. Or if the trainer/s do not want to go on with the training online?
2. Preparatory information before online is needed to send to the participants about the technical issues (zoom and other platforms) before the The best way to participate is through the computer. With the use of a tablet or cell-phone, the participants cannot see all participants at the same time. The zoom invitation will be sent via e-mail.
3. Participants offered to 15 minutes before the meeting starts, so that if there are any technical difficulties, you can resolve them before the session starts
4. For trust and safety reasons
5. Create a contract
6. All participants have their camera on,
7. Have their real names on the screen, and not nick-names.
8. Dress-code: same as in face to face meeting
9. No screenshots, no recording without special
10. By whom and for which purpose the photos and the recording are used, in case of an agreement on the recording.
11. Safeguard that nobody except the participants can see or hear the session. Participants need to take responsibility for their safety needs, to find the best setting from which they can be a part of zoom work- shop or training.
12. Announce at the beginning if someone needs to leave the meeting earlier.
13. The leader of the group ought to have practice hours of online psychodrama.
14. Intervision group for the trainers is recommended.
15. Training institutes’ regulation of online training: The training institute should decide the new conditions concerning the training hours online. For ex. How many hours are accepted online, and what part of the training must be held in ’face to face’ meetings?
16. Decide the criteria for trainers to work online and inform the students about the new regulation. Once this is decided, it is recommended for trainers and institutes to send out to trainees the precise information about the ways in which training will be held and how hours are counted, what will be accepted, etc.

Judith Teszáry
jteszary@gmail.com

4. Meeting in August

 

5. Reports for the FEPTO Newsletter, December 2019

International Affairs

I was the organiser and chair of the Sociodrama Symposium at the 2nd IAGP International Psychodrama Conference in Iseo. Presented the Erasmus+ PERFORMERS#2 project.

Participated in the Trauma Disaster Symposium at the 2nd IAGP International Psychodrama Conference in Iseo. This symposium was a result of the cooperation between FEPTO Task Force for Peace Building and Conflict Transformation and IAGP Trauma Disaster group.

I participated in a round table discussion on “Professional Ethics and Privacy”, together with colleagues from Italy, Argentina, Turkey and Egypt at the 2nd IAGP Psychodrama Conference. We’ll go on with the co- operation in this group and discuss psychodrama training and practice out of ethical point of view.

 Ethics committee

In my experiences the small groups are working very well during the Annual meetings.

The outcome of the small group work on Ethics from Pravets and Tallinn is presented it in the NL 19/2. The Committee needs to meet to develop the work with the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for training organisations.

Members, who are interested in working with these issues and forming the paragraphs are invited to an Ethics Committee meeting in Hungary, at the end of August 2020.

Please, let me know if you are interested by sending a mail to jteszary@gmail.com and I tell you about the details of this meeting.

Judith Teszáry
jteszary@gmail.com

 

6. Report from the XX IAGP Congress, Malmö, Sweden: Rising Tides of Challenge and Hope. Healing Identity in Society, Groups and Individuals

I attended the congress as a representative of FEPTO together with Chantal Hanquet.
The previous congress in Rovinj/Croatia 3 years ago was a turbulent one caused by a conflict of divided loyalties among the members concerning leadership issues.

Kate Bradshaw Tauvon offered herself as President to save the situation and was chosen by a large majority. She did the right thing. Kate worked for the organization as a secretary for many years and was the right person to navigate IAGP into a new phase.

The Malmö congress also began with a bit of turbulence. The venue had to be changed which caused a lot of correspondence between the attendees and the organizers about the new venue, new bookings for hotels, etc. But every bad thing brings something good too. This happened to be a good warm up to the congress among members. There was a common mailing list, so one could read who would be attending, which workshop people would lead, finding common accommodation, etc.

The Chinese word “crises” means both danger and development. The Malmö congress turned out to be a development and a new start. There were not thousands of participants as in the past, about three hundred people attended, but this made the whole event more familiar and cozier.  Engaged and initiated individuals came from Egypt, Australia, Brazil, India, China, Japan, Russia and African countries.  Everyone was visible and recognized, especially in the large groups. The large groups were very dynamic and exciting.

Every evening, the large group was carried out by representatives from different group-modalities: Systems-centered approach, Psychoanalytic approach and Psychodrama / Sociodrama.
The Systems-centered method led by Susan Gantt works with the group as a whole. The practice is “based on the Theory of Living Human Systems developed by Yvonne Agazarian. The theory postulates that living human systems survive, develop, and transform from simple to complex through discriminating and integrating information.”
Shortly, in practice, it means that if you say something, you ask- “anyone else?”
The next person who wishes to speak must repeat what the former one said. This could be the intention, the meaning, the feeling the person wants to express. It is a difficult method, you know what you want to say, but it is not easy to listen carefully and to correctly determine what the other says.
There were some delicate moments with resistance to adopt the method, but it was quite useful in bringing sense to a large group which can be quite chaotic.

The analytic approach led by Earl Hopper was a gentle way to reflect about the events of the day. The Psychodrama/Sociodrama large group was led by Penha Nery from Brazil. Latin-American psychodramatists have an old tradition of using Psychodrama/Sociodrama in public. Putting two chairs in the middle of the group and asking if someone has something to say to someone else. It gives plasticity and focus. You listen, you see, and you can respond.  If someone raises a general issue, people can double the other chair and in this way the issue is enlightened upon by many aspects. A very sympathetic method I would say.

The Psychodrama Section meeting was short and most of time was directed towards remembering Anne Schützenberger with many-many pictures from her rich life.  Nevzat Uctum from Turkey was voted for as the new section leader and the former leader Dena Baumgartner was thanked. Unfortunately, we had no time to talk about the goals and actions to take in the section. But, we will build a committee around Nevzat to form the plans.

The elected president of IAGP is Richard Beck from New York. He is a clinical social worker, adjunct professor at several universities. He has been working with trauma of survivors, families, professionals, helpers after 9/11. He is a former chair of the Trauma Disaster section of IAGP. From this role, I contacted him for cooperation and exchange between the FEPTO Task Force for Peace and Conflict Transformation. We will continue the cooperation with the Task Force for the disaster management section.

IAGP developed during the last years from an organization covering mostly psychotherapy to an organization dealing with a larger area of group work and group processes.
IAGP has several sections besides the Psychodrama and Trauma disaster sections, such as: Family Therapy, Analytic group, Organizational Consultancy, Trans-cultural, Young Professionals.
The next congress will be held in 2021 in Vancouver, Canada and I hope many FEPTO members will participate and present workshops, papers, lectures.

If someone is interested in the lectures of key-note speakers, write to me and I can send these lectures so can get a taste of the topics we dealt with.

Judith Teszáry
jteszary@gmail.com
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7. Report to FEPTO of EAP activities February 2017 – February 2018

I present this report as an over view of EAP activities if anyone would like to know more you are welcome to participate in a Meeting. On the EAP website you will find dates and locations of future events.

2017 was marked, for me by a major ending. EAP founder Alfred Pritz retired. Alfred dedicated at least 25 years of his life to EAP. His foresight and passion drove him ever onwards to achieve the goal of “Psychotherapy as an Independent Profession.” He leaves with this goal not yet achieved. However he passed the baton to our new General Secretary, GS, Eugenijus Laurinaiitis who already is implementing fresh ideas through his contacts in the medical world. Eugenijus has begun a dialogue with the Commissioner for Health in Europe.

We now have a three-pronged approach with; our Lobbyist, Theo Koutroubas; The Marketing Group who have worked with a Branding and Marketing expert to bring our visibility into line with modern approaches. Shortly you will see our new website; the old one while functional was never inspiring and; The General Secretary through his medical contacts.

We have been and remain in a difficult financial situation, however new projects bring new possibilities for funding. This should ensure that we can continue to develop our current and new projects.
Another significant departure from EAP was our long standing colleague, Mony Elkaim. Mony has been part of EAP almost since its inception. He established and ran the European Wide Organisation Committee, EWOC. This is the section to which we FEPTO belong. I have been honoured to take over the Chair of this committee.

You may remember that EAP completed a Core Competencies Project. The second stage of that project was to invite the EWOC modalities to work on the specific competencies of our modality. Our colleagues in Gestalt rapidly took on the task for their modality. Not too long afterwards Reijo Kauppila, FEPTO Chair of Training embarked on this work within the FEPTO training committee. Thank you Reijo and your committee who have worked so diligently.

I discovered in the recent EWOC meeting that at least 4 other modalities are now working in this direction. My plan is that we put the completed documents on our website. Who knows maybe one day we can compare and contrast all modalities so leading to mutual understanding and respect for each other’s way of working. If we can stand together as Psychotherapist then respect from external agents can follow, if we are in disharmony, need I say more!

The committees at EAP are numerous often coming together in the same time slot. As a consequence it is important to decide a route and follow that through at every event.
My personal route has been broadly, EWOC and Training Standards although many other committees overlap to a degree.
The final ending I should mention is my personal one; this is my last year in the six year Presidency period. You may remember this comprises, President elect (2 years), President (2 years) and Past

President (2 years). I will continue as Chair of EWOC for a two year period beyond that. I make no promises after that either to myself or others; we shall see how life and advancing years treat me.

As I close I want to say how lovely it was to have FEPTO Chair of Research, Hannes Krall present in Vienna last week. I hope Hannes will be able to continue to come to the February meetings in Vienna. I trust Hannes found this visit useful and I know that EAP will have gained from his presence.

Celia Scanlan
c.drama1@talktalk.net

 

8. Report for the Council meeting in Dave, October 2016

We have been discussing more the principles of code of ethics and the necessities to have codes for training institutes.  Each training institute and/or organization should present their codes and regulations to their students, before those start the training.

Points the code of ethics for institutes should include:

• Commitment
• Who has the right to attain the psychodrama training (degrees, etc)
• Which age
• Economy – how much does the training costs including the costs for issuing the certificate, supervisions, administrative costs, etc?
• What does the institute provides?
• How many hours do the different levels involve?
• What are the requirements to move from one lever to the next one?
• What is expected from the students in order to achieve middle exams an a final certificate?
• Clear criteria for the evaluation process.
• Complain procedures.

Moreover the psychodrama training should include training in ethics and in philosophy.  Send the FEPTO code of ethics to the training institutes/organization.

Judith Teszáry
Chair of the Ethics Committee

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9. Ethics Committee report in October 2015

I have been accepted to be nominated for voting in Bonn 2015 and take a role in the Council. With some of my old Council members we have been discussing to go back to the council and for the sake of continuation and as a link back to the history and reminder of the spirit of the federation when we created it.

My personal motivation is to update myself on the new spirit and the development of the council work today. It is important for me since I will be the chair of LOC of the FEPTO meeting and conference in Sweden 2017.

I chose the role of the chair of Ethics Committee partly because I was a part of creating the FEPTO Code of Ethics and Code of Practice together with Maurizio Gasseau and Gordon Langley (an expert on ethics in the UK). I learn a lot and I wish to continue to learn, especially in time of crises and conflicts it is important to have a regulation of how we behave towards each other as trainers to trainers, trainers to trainees and institutes to institutes, individual to institutes and within institutes.
My duty for this period
FEPTO is a federation of training institute and until now we do not have Code of Ethics for Training Institutes and Training Organisations.
I would like to accomplish this missing part by creating one together with the members of the Ethics Committee.
At our first meeting in Bonn 2015 present: Luciano Moura (the former chair of ethics), Arşaluys Kayır (former chair of ethics), Georgios Chaniotis, Peter John Schouten.
We have been discussing what has been done before and what topics they were discussing in the committee. I also wish to contact all the earlier members of the committee. Reading the discussion of the committee I can see how much knowledgeable people have been active in this committee. They are active in their countries concerning ethical questions. In the next NL I will present all of them who wish to be a part of this committee.
I wish to have a continuation and a follow up of those issues they brought up.
I also wish to enlarge the Advisory Board and renew the regulation of their function.

International Affairs
My other role in the Council is chair of International Affairs. I have been representing FEPTO in EAP together with Celia Scanlan. Our duty was to scrutinize ECP (European Certificate of Psychotherapy) application for FEPTO members. I will continue to do it.
I am also representing FEPTO in IAGP in different working groups alternating with the president, Johannes Krall. There is a wish from IAGP to have a closer cooperation with member institutes and also be more active in the Psychodrama Section.
I have been participated in a working group on international training standards in Cartagena. The working group was very impressed by our way to work out the MTS (Minimal Training Standards).
Michael Wieser is the chair of the Organisation Affiliates in IAGP and we’ll have a meeting in Rovinj congress 3rd of September 2015.
As a co-coordinator of the Task Force for Peace and Conflict Transformation (FEPTO) I have exchanged with Richard Beck, the chair of Task Force for Trauma-Disaster Management (IAGP).
You can read my CV on the FEPTO website.
Please, contact me if you are interested in the work of ethics!

Looking forward to a good cooperation, with best wishes
Judith Teszáry, Founding Member of FEPTO
Sweden, Chair of Ethics Committee
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10. Ethics in November 2014

Bearing in mind that the Advisory Board is an essential organ for the proper functioning of the Ethics Committee, it has been one of my concerns trying to restructure this honourable team. In the last FEPTO General Meeting it was announced that our dear colleagues, Greta Leutz e Giovanni Boria would no longer take part in this committee, for personal reasons. To them was given the deserved homage for the good services so generously provided in this scope. According to the Council, it was decided to enlarge the number of members of this team. Invitations have been made to seven persons. Until now we only got two positive responses: Nancy Piercy and Agnes Dudler.

At the last meeting of the Ethics Committee were present:

– Peter John; Arsaluys; Yorgos Haniotis; Peter Haworth. This last person is part of this Committee since then. In fact, he was already part of the previous committee.

About the topics discussed, Arsa has put some pertinent questions:

1^st– If my institute ceases to be a member of FEPTO, I leave or not FEPTO too?
2^nd– If I started to be a member of a network, who decides whether or not I continue?
3^rd– To whom should be officially addressed this information? To the Chair of Ethics, to the Chair of the Network or to the President?

Peter John, Peter Howard and Yorgos recalled past instances of complaints of ethical forum that happened with institutes in their own countries and how different they were the ways of treating them. Peter Howard believed that countries are different in terms of codes of ethics. To this, Arsa replies that FEPTO is a multicultural organization. Therefore, to what extent can we “blame” cultures for the things that happen?There is a universal code for these subjects (when we are talking about democratic countries, obviously). Arsa also said that FEPTO is maybe having a problem: accepts Institutes but cannot actually carry out adequately the follow-up of its procedures. I believe that common sense prevails as essential in these matters.

FEPTO is an organization of institutes and is mostly over the Institutes, themselves, that shall focus on its work as regards to the matters of ethics. It is obvious that persons make up these institutes and this should also be taken into account. However, it should be bear in mind that there are the Order of Physicians,the Order of Psychologists, etc. in every country to defend people, whose decisions FEPTO must respect.

Luciano Moura
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11. Ethics in Lisbon 2014

The FEPTO Ethics Committee, elected in the last meeting in Santander, has been functioning suitably, in a perfect teamwork between the Chair and the Ethics Advisory Board. However, some of our dear colleagues  that are part of this Board will be no longer available in the near future, for personal reasons. So, we shall try to invite one (or more) new members in order to be part of this honorable team.

Exceptionally the Chair also works alone. Sometimes, somebody makes a complaint and feels satisfied after a conversation and decides not to formalize that complaint. Mediation is a very important function of the Chair of Ethics.

Luciano Moura,
Chair of the Ethics Committee

 

12. Ethics in Santander

As new chair  of the FEPTO´s Committee of Ethics, my main aim will be to continue the excellent work developed by the previous Committee whom we thank, among many other things , for the publication of the Complains Procedure which is an instrument that greatly facilitates the course of the ethic complains.

I´ll try to do all my very best to coordinate the best possible the communication between the members of this committee in order to implement an atmosphere of cooperation as easy, clear and healthy as possible.

The 18 of September, 2013, we had our first meeting of the Ethics Committee with Maurízio Gasseau; Arsaluys Kayir; Kostas Letsios; Yorgos Chaniotis; Kerstin Jurdell; Sorina Birle; Anja van Impe; Peter John; Suzanne Kunz; Leandra Perrotta, the last Chair that agreed to shadow the new chair (there were still 3 on-going complains) and myself .

We define now, from the previous committee, two levels of involvement of our members in the Ethics Committee:

1^st – Philosophic Level
2^nd – Deeper Commitment

Sorina said that she has been 4 years in the Psychodrama Society Counselling for Ethics of PIfE and that she wanted to ear new ideas for this association. Arsa has been working on Advisory Board. Yorgos has been in the Ethics Committee of his Psychodrama association in Greece, and talked about how important this theme is for the association and for the Psychotherapy. Kostas told how sensitive he is about the Ethics theme and how we could better develop the relationship between institutes and also between members towards respecting ourselves better. Peter John remains in this group from the last committee. Wants to put into agenda what he learned in these 25 years about trainers and trainees, in order to learn and not to blame.

Maurizio Gasseau talked about the FEPTO Code of Ethics (Pierre Fontaine); that there is a big difference between the Code of Ethics in the North and in the South of Europe; we need to improve the area of Internet. In his opinion, complains among FEPTO trainers are made more for economical reasons, and that we have to work more on that. We have to give an answer and for that we have to create a Safe Place and think of how to make the outcome of the resolution, as safe as possible, and what results to give back to the Membership. He is ready to work on the Advisory Board. Greta and Giovanni are no longer available and then we have to create a new Advisory Board.

Suzanne Kunz is interested on the Code for Psychotherapy. She has been on the Congress of Berlin and she thinks that people are not doing this properly. We must work on this and agree with what happened with some associations in FEPTO that were subjected to complains and how important for the future it is to reflect on this. Anja Van Impe had already been on the Ethics Committee last year and is very involved in this. She talked about the contracts in Psychodrama and asked if the codes were different.

Leandra Perrotta talked about the problem of the videotape in the sessions. For Anja this procedure is very important for her supervision and talked largely about her experience on this field.
Arsaluys´ opinion is that there must be someone responsible for the use of videotape – we have to talk with the Training Committee – if we can use this or not.

Anja also talked about a Data Bank that is used with children that have cochlear implants and are shot all the time in their psychotherapies and how this is useful and efficient. Kostas talked about the relationship between members and that we might describe some rules about how the relationship should be, how we should create bridges. Maybe the other Committees could help us in this matter.

Luciano Moura, chair of the Ethics Committee

 

13. Ethics Committee report in March 2013

In the last year, the Ethics Committee has been working hard on defining a procedure for evaluating ethical complaints and making the complaint assessment process as transparent and fair as possible.
The first draft of the Complaints Procedure was published in the last FEPTO Newsletter and feedback was received from FEPTO members. Three more drafts were written and a fourth version has now been finalized. The Complaints Procedure will be published on the FEPTO website so that all FEPTO members may familiarize with it.

The Complaint Procedure is an ongoing process and it should be continuously updated and rewritten following the changing needs of the FEPTO community and the awareness and knowledge which comes from new ethical complaints. Of course, the Complaint Procedure is not perfect. But as Winnicott would say, it should be “good enough” to be approved at the General Assembly in April and to be implemented immediately.

A future aim is also to update the FEPTO Code of Ethics and Practice. FEPTO requires members and applying members to comply with the FEPTO Code of Ethics and Practice.
In order to establish a well-working Ethics Committee, clear roles regarding involvement of its members were defined. Specifically, two different levels of involvement were considered. A first level, in which members of the Ethics Committee are only interested in the philosophical issues regarding ethics and in the definition of clear and adequate procedures; and a second level, in which members of the Ethics Committee agree to taking a deeper level of commitment and are dedicated to the practical and specific problem-solving aspects of ethical cases. This second level contains discussion of privileged information and since ethical issues have a high degree of confidentiality, all members of the ethics committee must decide at what level of commitment they wish to be involved.
One ethical complaint was filed with FEPTO in November 2012, and two more were filed in 2013. One of these has been resolved whereas the other two are still ongoing.

Ethical issues are a high priority for FEPTO and for the sake of transparency, I will briefly delineate the complaint assessment process that was followed and that is described in the Complaints Procedure.
The first step the Chair of the Ethics Committee takes to guarantee a correct and impartial procedure is to ensure that all people involved in managing the complaint assessment process do not have a conflict of interest. Then, the Chair of the Ethics Committee, in accordance with the FEPTO Council, nominates a Complaint Assessment Panel to assess the nature of the complaint and to determine how it will be progressed.

The Complaint Assessment Panel comprises members of the Advisory Board of Ethics and members of the Ethics Committee involved on the second level – chosen according to their experience.
After carefully evaluating the complaint, the Complaint Assessment Panel formulates a recommendation to the Council regarding the outcome of the complaint and the Council ratifies the recommendation.

The Advisory Board of Ethics currently has six members – Giovanni Boria, Pierre Fontaine, Maurizio Gasseau, Arsaluys Kayir, Gordon Langley and Grete Leutz.
The Ethics Committee has 13 members: Stefan Flegelskamp, Peter Haworth, Tzvetelina Iossifova, Marcia Karp, Sabine Kern, Suzanne Kunz, Jan Lap, Konstantinos Letsios, Küllike Lillestik, Manuela Maciel, Peter John Schouten, Judith Teszáry, and Anja van Impe.

The next meeting will be held at the FEPTO Annual Meeting in Santander, Spain in April 2013.

14. Ethics Committee in September 2012

FEPTO is a growing community with growing needs. After the FEPTO Code of Ethics and Practice was drafted by Maurizio Gasseau, Gordon Langley and Judith Teszáry and approved at the General Assembly in Vienna in 2005, the membership felt the need for a way of dealing with ethical complaints should they arise.
The Ethics Committee rose to this task and is now producing the 1st draft of the FEPTO Complaints Procedure published in this issue of the Newsletter. Constructive criticism is encouraged! Recommendations are elicited from FEPTO members and will be held in consideration for 2 months.
The FEPTO Complaints Procedure provides a practical approach by which FEPTO can give effect to the Code of Ethics and Practice. It is intended that the Complaints Procedure be read in conjunction with the Code of Ethics and Practice. The Complaints Procedure should provide a means for investigating and evaluating ethical complaints and define a regulation for deciding any disciplinary (reprimand, suspension or expulsion) or corrective action (requirements for additional training or supervision) considered to be appropriate. It is also a means to facilitate communication and to resolve disputes.
Please pay special attention to suggestions concerning roles and responsibilities of the different parties involved, as well as suggested procedures concerning the complaint resolution process, the hearing procedures and corrective or disciplinary actions.
The second, amended draft containing your suggestions will be submitted to the Council for a final reading and will be voted for approval in February.
The final version of the Complaints Procedure will then be sent via email to all FEPTO membership one month before the General Assembly and will be ratified by the FEPTO General Assembly at Santander in 2013.
Please take the time to acquaint yourselves with the Complaints Procedure. We all share a responsibility in co-creating this lovely and lively FEPTO community and ensuring it run as smoothly as possible.

Leandra Perrotta

 

15. Ethics Committee report in May 2012

The Ethics Committee is in the process of defining a procedure for investigating and evaluating ethical complaints and the definition of a regulation for deciding any disciplinary (reprimand, suspension or expulsion) or corrective action (requirements for additional training or supervision) considered to be appropriate.

The Ethics Committee, in collaboration with Membership Committee and the Development Committee, is also currently re-visiting the applications procedure. Our aim is to create a more robust system. The Ethics Committee is also closely collaborating with the Membership committee concerning the presentation/misrepresentation of applying institutes and with the Development Committee regarding the voting procedure of new institutes at the General Assembly.
During the Council meeting held in Dave, Belgium, in November, Pierre Fontaine clarified the role of the Advisory Board of the Ethics Committee. The members of the Advisory Board are chosen according to their knowledge, professional experience and skills in the field of Ethics. They may be called upon individually, or as a team, to provide guidance or advice and to express their thoughts upon delicate matters, should they arise. The advisory board does not have decision-making power, but assists the FEPTO Council in the performance of its functions.
The Ethics Committee avails itself of the wisdom of five members of the Advisory Board of Ethics – Giovanni Boria, Pierre Fontaine, Maurizio Gasseau, Gordon Langley and Grete Leutz – all of whom have chosen to renew their commitment to the Advisory Board and their support to the Ethics Committee.
After careful consideration, Pierre Fontaine suggested the Council invite Arsaluys Kayir to join the Advisory Board and we are honoured that Arsa has accepted the role of sixth member.

The Ethics Committee also has 11 members who generously contribute their energy, time and knowledge to the work of the committee: Stefan Flegelskamp, Bahar Gökler, Kerstin Jurdell, Nese Karabekir Ezgin, Marcia Karp, Jan Lap, Konstantinos Letsios, Manuela Maciel, Ildikó Mävers, Henna Merikivi, Renée Oudijk.

The next meeting will be held at the FEPTO Annual Meeting in Oslo, Norway in June 2012.

Leandra Perrotta

 

16. Ethics Committee in December 2011

My work as Chair of the Ethics Committee has been exciting and quite demanding so far. I felt I had to embark on a journey of knowledge before undertaking any other task regarding specific competencies. My point of departure was understanding the application of ethics to real-life situations and realizing that issues are very often multifaceted and that proposed actions may address different areas concurrently. This realisation made the aim of the Committee to establish a clear definition of what belongs to the domain of ethics all the more imperative.

The paramount priority of the Ethics Committee, however, regards the definition of a procedure for investigating and evaluating ethical complaints and the definition of a regulation for deciding any disciplinary (reprimand, suspension or expulsion) or corrective action (requirements for additional training or supervision) considered to be appropriate.
An ethical complaint was recently filed against a trainer belonging to one of the FEPTO Training Organizations after the FEPTO Annual Meeting in Neve Shalom, Israel. The respective Organizations presented their statements and an investigation was carried out to evaluate a possible violation of the ethical code. After a careful evaluation of the reports and statements of the case, the executive which had been tasked by the national association superintending the case found no evidence of violation of the Code of Ethics.
In the light of what occurred at the General Assembly in Neve Shalom, the FEPTO Council is currently re-visiting the application procedure. Our aim is to create a more robust system. This issue is currently being examined by the Ethics Committee, the Membership Committee and the Development Committee.
The Ethics Committee is also closely collaborating with the Membership Committee concerning the presentation/misrepresentation of applying institutes and with the Development Committee regarding the voting procedure of new institutes at the General Assembly.

During the last Council meeting held in Dave, Belgium, in November, we had a very fruitful discussion with Pierre Fontaine, who clarified the role of the Advisory Board of the Ethics Committee. The members of the Advisory Board are chosen according to their knowledge, professional experience and skills in the field of Ethics. They may be called upon individually, or as a team, to provide guidance and express their thoughts upon delicate matters, should they arise. After careful consideration, Pierre Fontaine suggested we invite Arsaluys Kayir to join the Advisory Board. We are honoured that Arsa accepted to be part of the Advisory Board.

The Ethics Committee avails itself of the wisdom of five other members of the Advisory Board of Ethics – Giovanni Boria, Pierre Fontaine, Maurizio Gasseau, Gordon Langley and Grete Leutz – all of whom have chosen to renew their commitment to the Advisory Board and their support to the Ethics Committee.
The Ethics Committee also has 11 members who generously contribute their energy, time and knowledge to the work of the committee: Stefan Flegelskamp, Bahar Gökler, Kerstin Jurdell, Nese Karabekir Ezgin, Marcia Karp, Jan Lap, Konstantinos Letsios, Manuela Maciel, Ildikó Mävers, Henna Merikivi, Renée Oudijk.
The last meeting of the Ethics Committee was held in Neve Shalom, Israel, on 31st March 2011 and the next meeting will be held at the FEPTO Annual Meeting in Oslo, Norway in June 2012.

Ethics Committee report in Dave, November 2011

Leandra Perrotta

 

17. Ethics Committee in July 2011

It is with great pleasure that I take on the role as new Chair of the Ethics Committee. I wish to thank Arsaluys Kayir for her excellent work as the previous Chair and I will do my best to carry on what she has developed so far. Arsa has assured me that she will continue to support the Ethics committee and indeed, I have already been able to avail myself of her very precious experience.

A meeting of the Ethics committee was held during the Annual Meeting in Neve Shalom, Israel, on the 31st March 2010. The members who renewed their commitment to the Ethics Committee and who were present at the meeting were Stefan Flegelskamp, Manuela Maciel, Arsaluys Kayir, Kostas Letsios, Maurizio Gasseau and Kerstin Jurdell.

The discussion was very fruitful and touched upon the following topics:
1. The Ethics Committee feels there is an urgent need for:
a, A complaints procedure.
2. The Ethics Committee feels there is also a need for:
a. Norms regulating the internet, research, publishing and video taking;
b. A definition of what is ethics;
c. Ethical regulation for Institutes: relationship with colleagues and the   development of standards for mediation among Institutes;
d. Codes for education.
3. The EAP has inquired about the complaints procedure of FEPTO.
4. The Committee suggests:
a) to update the code of ethics;
b) to update and approve the brief ethical guidelines prepared by the previous Chair, Arsaluys Kayir, from the codes of FEPTO, EAP, and IAGP.
c) to dramatize fictional ethical cases at the meeting;
d) a closer collaboration with the Membership committee concerning the presentation and voting procedure of new institutes;
e) a closer collaboration with the Task Force for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

One of the current priorities and goals of the Committee regards the definition of a procedure for ethical complaints. After the Annual Meeting in Neve Shalom this year, an ethical complaint made against the trainer of an association was brought to the attention of the FEPTO ethics committee. An inquiry has been opened by the respective associations involved and is still ongoing. The FEPTO executive of the Council and the Chair of the ethics committee are following the matter very closely and are awaiting the results of the inquiries.

In her last report, Arsaluys Kayir proposed we temporarily refer to the complaints procedure from the Ethical Code of the Romanian association “J.L. Moreno” Psychodrama Society (SPJLM) since it was approved in 2007 – 2 years after the approval of the FEPTO Code of Ethics and Practice for Psychodramatists, laid out by Maurizio Gasseau, Gordon Langley and Judith Teszáry.

I have been researching existing procedures in other countries and I wish to thank Anna Chesner, Galabina Tarashoeva, Pablo Población, Elisa Lopez, Horatiu Albini, Norbert Apter, Gabriela Moita, Celia Scanlan, Wilma Scategni and Marco Greco who answered my mails to offer their support.
The current members of the ethics committee are: Stefan Flegelskamp, Maurizio Gasseau, Bahar Gökler, Kerstin Jurdell, Nese Karabekir Ezgin, Marcia Karp, Arsaluys Kayir, Jan Lap, Konstantinos Letsios, Manuela Maciel, Ildikó Mävers, Henna Merikivi, Renée Oudijk.
The ethics committee also avails itself of the wisdom of the Advisory Board of Ethics, whose members – Giovanni Boria, Pierre Fontaine, Maurizio Gasseau, Gordon Langley and Grete Leutz – have all chosen to renew their commitment to the Advisory Board and their support to the Ethics Committee.
The next meeting of the committee will be held at the Annual Meeting in Norway in June 2012.

Leandra Perrotta

 

18. Report in Neve Shalom, March 2011

As the chair of Ethics Committee, I had an ambivalent feeling for ethical misuse complaints. On the one hand I wanted to be in touch with real cases but on the other hand I felt happy that no complaint comes. No written complaint came during last five years. Shall we be happy that everything is fine and is solved before complaint comes to FEPTO or shall we think that people don’t dare to go further to point out an ethical misuse? The result is that we are strong in theory but weak in practice.

When handing over the Ethics chair Maurizio Gasseau reminded me two things. The first point was that ethical complaints don’t come and the second was the need to work on fiction cases.
While answering EAP’s membership questionnaire regarding Codes of Ethics, it was hard to answer the detailed questions about complaint procedure.

So we prepared some new codes for proposal in the general assembly in Ghent in 2009. But there was consensus on the idea that we need more time for discussion. So my hope is that we find some time, maybe a workshop, to work on some fiction cases, new codes and Pierre Fountain’s ideas on ombudsman.

Our Advisory board members are: Pierre Fontaine, Grete Leutz, Gordon Langley, Maurizio Gasseau, Gordon Langley, Giovanni Boria, Ildikó Mävers.

Our Committee members are: Arsaluys Kayir(the chair), Pierre Fountain, Grete Leutz, Maurizio Gasseau, Bahar Gokler, Marcia Karp, Henna Merikivi, Reneé Oudijk, Jan Lap ,Nese Karabekir , Konstantinos Letsios, Arne Husjord

I thank the advisory board and the committee members. We could not always come together in all meetings but people gave hand when needed.
I am especially thankful to Grete and Pierre for their kind presence, so that I could reach them so easily.

What new codes do we need to add?
Codes for complaint procedure, codes for research, video-taking publishing etc., codes for relationship with Institutes and colleagues, codes for education and guidelines for ethics. I have already prepared a Brief Ethical Guideline with guidance of FEPTO, EAP, and IAGP ethical codes. The Ethical Codes of SPJLM (Romania) approved in 2007 later than ours (2005) can be helpful for our new codes.

Arsaluys Kayir

 

19. Ethics Committee report, November 2010

This year in Belgrade we had a small meeting with a small number of people as Ethics Committee: Maurizio Gasseau, Konstantinos Letsios and Arsaluys Kayir

We talked how people avoid sending written complaints of ethical misuse. Just we were preparing to sit for our meeting; a colleague came and said that there were some ethical misuses. We asked her to write. Till then no complaint came.
We have a good number of committee members but they are not regular. In a short time, it is not possible for example to work on codes or guidelines.
I had prepared some codes but in Ghent it was decided that we take our time before adding new codes. Especially we don’t have complaint procedure. Maybe we can take complaint procedure and research, publication and publicity codes from the Ethical Codes of the Romanian association “J.L. Moreno” Psychodrama Society (S.P.J.L.M) approved in 2007 – later then ours (2005).

I have prepared an ethical guideline which is a kind of summary of the long ethical codes. Because I did not have a guide I just made it up looking and shortening the codes of (FEPTO, EAP, and IAGP).

BRIEF ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Draft

Idea taken from IAGP brief guidelines below. Statements are adapted from EAP “statement of ethical principles”

1-Be aware of the fact that the rule of confidentiality is respected not only by the leader, but also by every member of the group.
2-Respect other members of your profession.
3-Keep the responsibility which requires; competence, objectivity in the application of skills, and concern for the best interests of clients, colleagues, students, research, participants, and society members.
4-Accept the responsibility to make every effort to ensure that services are used appropriately.
5-Avoid relationships that may limit objectivity or create a conflict of interest.
6-Keep your practice at the highest standard and that your communication is accurate, current, and relevant.
7-Avoid any action that will violate or diminish the human, legal and civil rights of clients, students or others who may be affected.
8-Respect the confidentiality of information obtained from persons in the course of your work as psychodramatist and trainer.
9-When conflict arise between client/student and psychodramatist/trainer, keep all parties informed of their commitments.
10-Respect the prerogatives and obligations of the institutes with which other colleagues are associated.
11- Do not exploit your professional relationships with clients, supervisees, trainees, or research participants sexually or otherwise.
12- Be aware that public statements, announcements of services, advertising, serve the purpose of helping the public make informed judgements and choices.
13- Guard against the misuse of assessment results.
14- The decision to undertake research considers how best it contributes to human science and human welfare.
15- Respect the individual’s freedom to decline to participate in or withdraw from the research at any time.

BRIEF ETHICAL GUIDELINES
(draft-statements taken from FEPTO Ethical Codes)

1-Stay within the laws of the country in which ou practice psychodrama.
2-Use your professional work to the benefit of the client/patient /trainee and not primarily to satisfy your own needs.
3- Seek ways of increasing your personal and professional awareness and development, including seeking supervision from a supervisor.
4- Be aware of and respect cultural mores of your clients, trainees and colleagues
5- Obey the confidentiality of the information of the group members as well as the third parties not included in the group.
6-Preserve client’s anonymity when writing or teaching others.
7- Make available a copy of the code of practice for all students.
8-Make a clear contract about the form content process and the purpose of the group/individual work.
9-_Provide a safe and secure space for therapy.
10-Prevent the development of a sexual or private intimate relationship.
11-Feel obliged to obtain clear, informed consent from all participants, involved in the recorded or observed sessions.
12-Keep the responsibility to continue personal therapy, training and supervisions.
13-Be aware that you have an educative role in society as well as a therapeutic one.
14-Be aware that supervision is a confidential activity between supervisors and supervisees.
15- Keep the rule that psychodramatists do not supervise or train persons receiving therapy with them.
16- Be aware that Institute Manager, trainers, and students should agree to their contract.

Brief Ethical Guidelines Version 1.0
Core Principles taken from the Code of Ethics and professional standards for Group Psychotherapy of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes

1. At all times strive to do no harm to your patients.

2. Keep your personal and professional boundaries intact in all your relations with your patients. Restrict financial arrangements with patients to payment for services. Sexual relations with patients are never appropriate.

3. Be open about the limits of your clinical skills and refer patients for treatment in areas outside your ability to treat.

4. Show respect in all communication with your colleagues, especially when their opinion differs from yours.

5. Take the necessary time to develop relationships with those colleagues who are your co-therapists or with whom you must collaborate closely in order to better serve your patients.

6. Continue to study and learn from your patients and your colleagues, always remembering the complexity of the task before you.

7. Always guard the confidentiality of your communication with your patients, except in extraordinary cases when the patient threatens to harm him or her self or a person designated by name.

8. Respect the diversity and otherness of your patients. Their world view may differ greatly from your own.

9. Be aware of your obligation as a healer to the larger international community and use your skills to promote understanding and conflict resolution whenever possible.

10. Be modest in realizing what you can achieve in your special role as group psychotherapist. Never underestimate your power in the lives of your patients and never exaggerate what you can do to help them.

11. Make an effort to treat patients with special needs and physical handicaps whenever possible.

12. Adhere to the values of honesty and the principles expressed in the Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.

13. Obtain informed consent when initiating scientific investigations with your patients as subjects.

14. Strive to be happy and joyful in your work. You work in a field that is like no other in its large responsibilities and its deep satisfactions.

The latest complete version of IAGP’s Ethical Guidelines, including contact details for the ethics chair, can be found at
http://www.iagp.com/about/ethicalguidelines.htm

 

20. Ethics Committee report for Newsletter 10.2, May 2010

As a chair of Ethics Committee, I have an ambivalent feeling for ethical misuse complaints. On the one hand I want to be in touch with real cases but on the other hand I am happy if no complaint comes. The result is that we are strong in theory but weak in practice.

When handing over the Ethics chair Maurizio Gasseau reminded me two things. First was the point that ethical complaints don’t come and the second was the need to work on fiction cases.

While answering EAP’s membership questionnaire regarding Codes of Ethics, it was hard to answer the detailed questions about complaint procedure. So we prepared some new codes for proposal in the general assembly in Ghent in 2009. But there was consensus on the idea that we need more time for discussion. So my hope is that we find some time, maybe a workshop, to work on some fiction cases, new codes and Pierre Fountain’s ideas on ombudsman.

What new codes do we need to add?
Codes for complaint procedure, codes for research, video-taking publishing etc., codes for relationship with Institutes and colleagues, codes for education and guidelines for ethics.

Looking forward for your interest and cooperation.

 

21. Ethics Committee report, November 2009

The Meeting of Ethics Committee – Ghent, April, 2009

We had our committee meeting with five members. Grete, Henna, Jan, Reneé and me. Jana Segula told that she would choose another committee.
New members brought new voices, we were happy being together. We concentrated on the following items.

Reneé will follow EAP Membership Committee Questionnaire after we sign send it. Jutta and I signed it but will send it after the meeting in Dave in October. As our EAP representative Judith told she could take it to EAP meeting.

Ethical codes of EAP and FEPTO are GUIDELINES for the code of the institutes. EAP and FEPTO don’t take complaint. Complaints are dealt in one’s own country. Instead of that FEPTO ethical code should have a request that the ethical codes of the institutes have a description of complaint procedure in their codes.

Greta asked if FEPTO needs some insurances in the conferences. What are the responsibilities of FEPTO?

Taking into consideration what was said about the new codes, we will not need some of them.

So the new codes need to be checked together and be prepared as proposals for the GA in 2010.I will also be in contact with Maurizio the previous chair of the ethics committee.

There was a wish for ethics for the next meeting. In the FEPTO meetings it will be good to play some prepared fiction ethical cases
and try to find what is the misuse in this case. I have prepared some.

The links of FEPTO´s Ethic Code to each institute are controlled by Horatiu.