Ethics Infrastructure
Glossary Template
[Company Name] Ethics Infrastructure Glossary
I. Introduction
Purpose:
To create a common understanding of terms used throughout the [Company Name] Ethics Infrastructure documents
A
B
● Accountability: Responsibility for one's actions, including acknowledging and addressing mistakes or ethical breaches.
● Action Plan: A detailed strategy outlining specific steps, timelines, and responsibilities for addressing a conflict or implementing changes following a resolution process It aims to ensure that identified issues are systematically and effectively resolved.
● Allies: Individuals or groups who support and advocate for those affected by conflict or injustice Allies work to amplify the voices of marginalized or impacted parties and contribute to resolving issues through solidarity and action.
● Autonomy (Client Autonomy): The ability of a competent adult to make decisions about themselves, which must be respected in ethical practice.
C
● Best Practices: Established methods or techniques that are widely recognized as effective and efficient in achieving desired outcomes In ethics, these practices ensure adherence to moral and professional standards
● Bioethics: Examines what is morally permissible in contexts related to health, life, law, and medicine
● Burnout: Physical or emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, often impacting work quality of life and work capacity.
● “Bad Trip”: Colloquial term for a difficult psychedelic experience marked by overwhelming, disorienting, and/or distressing experiences.
● Bystanders: Individuals who witness a conflict or harmful situation but are not directly involved Bystanders have a role in either supporting the resolution process or potentially intervening to prevent further harm.
● Center/Recenter: Regaining balance and focus after stress or distraction, often using mindfulness or calming techniques.
● Client: An individual who seeks or receives services from a professional, in this case, psychedelic care from a guide.
● Client Presentation: Includes non-verbal expressions, verbal cues, and physical signs that represent a client's state during an experience
● Client Welfare: The well-being and interests of individuals receiving care or services. Ensuring client welfare involves prioritizing their safety, dignity, and overall health
● Code of Conduct: It complements the Code of Ethics by providing concrete policies and best practices for ethical conduct in a particular role.
● Code of Ethics: A document listing and describing the core values of an organization and its representatives, guiding practices
● Collective Healing: The process of addressing and resolving trauma or challenges within a community, group or society, aiming to promote overall well-being and resilience, recognizing that individual healing is interconnected with the health and well-being of the community and society
● Committee Chair: Leads the committee, facilitates committee meetings and workflows, and acts as the primary liaison with [Company Name]’s leadership and board.
● Committee Charter: A formal document that outlines the purpose, scope, authority, and structure of a committee It defines the committee's goals, roles, responsibilities, and procedures, providing a framework for its operations and decision-making.
● Confidentiality: The obligation to protect personal or sensitive information from unauthorized disclosure
● Conflict of Interest: A situation where an individual's personal interests could interfere with their professional responsibilities or ethical commitments of [Company Name]
● Consent: The voluntary and informed agreement to participate in a process or undertake actions
● Consent Agreement: A document that records the consent provided, outlining acceptable and unacceptable actions, specifying risks and benefits.
● Continuous Improvement: An ongoing commitment to enhancing ethical practices, standards, and training through regular review and feedback
● Cultural Appropriation: The adoption or use of elements from one culture by members of another culture, often without permission or respect for the original context It can lead to the exploitation or misrepresentation of cultural practices and symbols and cause harm to people groups.
● Cultural Humility: An approach to acknowledging and learning from the limitations of one’s own knowledge of others cultural experience or history, remaining open to different perspectives, and engaging in continuous self-reflection on this matter
● Cultural Lineages: The historical and cultural traditions that are passed down through generations within specific communities or societies. This term often relates to the practices, beliefs, and wisdom of a group associated with a specific place, country, or tradition
● Cultural Sensitivity: The awareness and consideration of cultural differences and the ability to respond appropriately to these differences in interactions and practices
● Culturally Responsive Care: Adapting care practices to meet the cultural, identity, and social needs of clients, and aiming to provide services that are respectful and relevant to their backgrounds and orientations
● Container: Describes the quality of the environment and practices during an intentionally designed experience, in this case sessions with or without non-ordinary state experience
● Contraindications: Conditions or circumstances where a procedure, technique or substance should not be used due to potential harm
D
● Dosage: The amount and frequency of a substance administered In psychedelic care, it refers to the specific quantity and timing of substances used during sessions
● Dual Relationships: Situations where one person has more than one kind of relationship with another person in a specific setting, for example if a guide has multiple roles with a client, such as social, business, or personal relationships, which can complexify professional boundaries and cause a conflict of interest in decision making.
E
● Ethical Breach: A violation of established ethical standards or codes of conduct
● Ethical Dilemma: A situation where a difficult choice must be made between competing ethical principles or values.
● Ethical Framework: A structured approach to ethical decision-making and behavior, including a set of principles, guidelines, and values that guide actions and judgments
● Ethical Principles: Fundamental values that inform and shape ethical decision-making and behavior
● Ethical Standards: Accepted principles and norms that guide ethical behavior and decision-making within an organization or profession.
● Ethics: Moral principles governing behavior under given conditions
● Ethics Committee: A committee responsible for overseeing and advising on ethical practices and conduct
● Ethical Tension: A situation where competing imperatives are present and require ethical decision making and action.
● Ethically Impermissible: Actions considered morally unacceptable according to societal norms and context
● Ethically Permissible: Actions considered morally acceptable according to societal norms and context
● Feedback Loop: A system of continuous improvement where feedback is gathered, analyzed, and used to make adjustments or improvements.
● Grievance: A formal complaint or concern raised regarding perceived ethical breaches or conduct that is causing harm in some way.
● Ground/Grounded: Being connected to the present moment and one’s physical and emotional state through practices that enhance awareness.
● Guide Role/Guide Seat: Refers to the inner state and relational presence of a guide, including being present, mindful, and attuned to the client
● Harm/Harmful: An injury or damage; in psychedelic care, includes experiencing an undesired short- and long-term outcome that may be irreversible or is difficult to adequately have addressed and repaired
● Harm Prevention: Strategies and practices aimed at minimizing or eliminating the risk of harm or conflict. This involves proactive measures to address potential issues before they occur
● Humanness: The recognition and acceptance of human imperfection and the ongoing process of growth and change. It involves extending compassion and understanding to oneself and others
● Independent Oversight Body (IOB): An external or neutral group responsible for overseeing certain committee processes and decisions, and committee accountability and effectiveness
● Indigenous: Originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native to that area
● Indigenous Wisdom: Knowledge and practices that originate from indigenous cultures, often involving deep connections to nature, spirituality, and community traditions This wisdom is usually passed down through generations and reflects a profound understanding of local ecosystems and cultural practices.
● Integration: The process of reflecting on, understanding, and incorporating the insights and experiences gained from a meaningful experience into one's daily life for personal growth and well-being
● Integration Session/Phase: Time after a psychedelic experience focused on reflecting and integrating insights for lasting positive change. Involves discussions with facilitators or coaches, and practices like rituals or new routines
● Informed Consent: The process of a client or participant providing voluntary agreement after all necessary information about what the engagement entails, including potential risks and benefits has been provided and understood to as well as is possible
● Implicit Biases: Unconscious attitudes or beliefs that affect understanding, actions, and decisions towards others , potentially leading to unfair treatment of clients or other individuals
● Integrity: Consistency and coherence within one's actions, decisions, behaviors, proclamations and representations with their moral and ethical values
● Interconnectedness: The understanding that all elements of life, including individuals, cultures, and systems, are interconnected and influence one another.
● Intake: Early process in arc of care to assess a person’s history, health, and goals to identify contraindications and support safety, client welfare and a tailored care plan.
● Mentorship: Guidance provided by a more experienced individual to support the development of a less experienced person in a particular domain
● Mediation: Process of resolving conflicts through discussion aimed at better understanding the other and coming to agreements for resolving issues This is often a process facilitated by a 3rd party
● Moral Distress: Stress caused by knowing the ethical moral action in a given situation but being unable to take it due to constraints outside one's control, affecting integrity
● Moral Erosion: Decline in morals and ethical integrity over time due to organizational or cultural pressures, leading to loss of interest in others' well-being and affection quality of ethical care
● Non-Judgemental Regard: Open, empathetic understanding of others without judgment, integral to compassionate interactions.
● Non-Voting Members: Individuals who participate and contribute perspective or expertise in discussions but do not have authority to vote on final decisions
● Non-Ordinary State/Altered State/Expanded State of Consciousness: A state different from everyday consciousness, marked by changes in perception, thought processes, and bodily sensations Can be induced by substances or other means, intentional or unintentional.
● Organizational Ethics: Framework for integrating values into an organization, including proactive and responsive ethics policies and procedures
● Positionality: The social and cultural context of an individual, including how their background and identity impact their interactions with others. Positionality can change based on context
● Power Differential: The imbalance of power between individuals, such as between a guide and a client, where one party has greater knowledge, authority, or ability to effect change, potentially influencing interactions and decision-making, and risking negative impacts on the individual with less power
● Preparation Session/Phase: Time before a psychedelic experience where a client prepares through meetings with a guide Includes safety screening, setting agreements, establishing trust, and preparing through practices or changes in routines
● Probationary Status: A temporary status assigned to a guide's certification status after an ethical breach, during which they must demonstrate compliance with specific
requirements, corrective actions, or improvements before full reinstatement of their certification.
● Professional Boundaries: Limits set to maintain a respectful and ethical guide/client relationship, including how guides communicate and interact with clients.
● Certification: Recognition granted by [Company Name] indicating that an individual has met specific standards and qualifications for the designation Maintaining certification requires ongoing education and adherence to established codes of conduct.
● Psychedelic: "Psychedelic" refers broadly to substances, plants, fungi, or other naturally occurring substances which induce non-ordinary states of consciousness
● Psychedelics (classical psychedelics): Substances including by not limited to psilocybin, LSD, or DMT that expand consciousness, alter sensory perceptions, and may induce auditory or visual hallucinations
● Psychedelics (non-classical like MDMA): Not a classic psychedelic but also alters consciousness and induces altered perceptions but lacks overt hallucinatory effects
● Psychedelic Session/Ritual/Ceremony: The event where a substance inducing a non-ordinary state is consumed, guided by a facilitator(s) "Session" is more often used in clinical contexts, while "ceremony" or "ritual" often emphasizes spiritual or communal aspects.
● Reciprocity: The practice of mutual exchange and support, often involving giving back or providing something in return for benefits received
● Reconciliation: The process of mending relationships and resolving conflicts through understanding, dialogue, and mutual agreement. It aims to restore trust and repair damaged relationships
● Recertification: The process of renewing professional certification, which often includes demonstrating ongoing education and adherence to current standards.
● Referral: The act of directing a client to another professional or resource better suited to address their needs, particularly when the client's needs fall outside the guide’s scope of practice
● Resilience: The ability to recover quickly from difficulties
● Risk: The possibility of harm or adverse effects resulting from a particular action or decision S
● Set: The mental and emotional state of an individual before and during a psychedelic session, affecting the experience.
● Setting: The physical and social environment of a session, including location, ambiance, and supportive presence
● Social Justice Analysis: The examination of how social structures, power dynamics, and systemic inequalities impact individuals and groups It involves assessing and addressing these factors to promote equity and alleviate oppression
● Social Responsibility: An ethical framework that suggests an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large.
● Somatic/Somatic Approaches: Practices focusing on the body and physical sensations to address emotional and psychological issues.
● Spiritual Bypassing: Using spiritual beliefs or practices to avoid addressing emotional issues, unresolved personal problems or accountability for the impact of one's actions
● Spiritual Health: Spiritual health refers to a state of well-being achieved through a meaningful connection to one's own values, sense of purpose and beliefs in a larger context of existence such as a divine, god or goddess, abstract benevolent universe, etc
● Stakeholder: Any individual or group that is affected by or can affect the outcomes of [Company Name]'s actions and decisions
● Stakeholder Engagement: The process of involving individuals or groups who are directly or indirectly affected by [Company Name]'s operations in ethical deliberations and decisions
● System Change: Efforts to alter or improve systemic structures, policies, or practices to address underlying issues and promote well-being and equity
● Systemic Awareness: The understanding of how individual experiences and behaviors are interconnected with broader societal and cultural systems, including recognition of systemic inequalities and privileges
● Systemic Injustices: Widespread and entrenched forms of inequality and discrimination that are embedded within societal systems and structures, affecting various groups and individuals in differing ways
● Scope of Practice: The defined limits of activities and services a guide is qualified to perform based on their education, training, and certification.
● Self-Awareness: Conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, and motivations.
● Self-Care: The practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health and well-being
● Self-Resourcing: Drawing on learned practices and personal strength to increase capacity to handle challenges and maintain stability
● Socio-cultural Attunement: Efforts to understand and sensitively address the diverse cultural and social factors influencing client experiences to promote respectful approaches to care
● Side Effects: Unintended and often adverse effects that occur in addition to the sought after primary effects of a substance or treatment. These can be physical or psychological
● Supervision and Consultation: Regular meetings a practitioner has with experienced practitioners to review practices, receive feedback, and help ensure ethical and effective care
● Transformative Justice (TJ): An approach that seeks to address and resolve conflict by focusing on systemic change, personal growth, and community involvement. It
emphasizes healing, accountability, and addressing root causes of harm, rather than relying solely on punitive measures.
● Transparency: The practices of being open and clear in speech and in documentation about processes, decisions, and actions taken.
● Trauma: Persisting conditions or physical or emotional events that are harmful or life-threatening with lasting negative effects on one's ability to function in society and experience well-being.
● Trauma-Informed Care: An approach centered on understanding and addressing the impact of trauma, emphasizing safety
● Vetting: The process of evaluating or assessing someone or something for suitability or credibility in a particular context.
● Well-being: A state of overall health and happiness, encompassing physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social aspects
● Wisdom: The ability to make sound decisions based on experience and knowledge.