The Ethical Practice of Holotropic Breathwork

by Kylea Taylor, M.S., M.F.T.

Abstract
[First published in The Inner Door, 13(4)8, November 2001]

Taylor describes the historical process of constructing ethical guidelines for Holotropic Breathwork. The Association for Holotropic Breathwork's Ethical Agreements are included at the end of the article.






What is ethical Holotropic Breathwork practice? The Association for Holotropic Breathwork International (AHBI) answered that question in a creative way in 1993. For three years, the AHBI Ethics Committee reviewed many ethical codes from other organizations and associations and thought about some of the types of problems that had come up already in Holotropic Holotropic practice.

The committee process was a long one, because we thoroughly considered every proposal and listened carefully to any dissenting opinion in the discussion. The Grof Transpersonal Training became involved in the process also. In the true spirit of a consensus process, we either incorporated the sense of any dissent into the final product or else the dissenting person(s) was persuaded by the group discussion. In the end, we decided that Holotropic Breathwork would best be served, not by a set of ethical guidelines or codes, but rather with a list of “Ethical Agreements”1 which we all could agree to uphold for the benefit of clients and the protection of the work itself. One draft of these “Ethical Agreements” and then a final revision came in turn before the whole membership through publication in The Inner Door.

The “Ethical Agreements” were finally approved in a General Membership Meeting in May 1993 in San Francisco. Inherent in the Agreements was the implication that all future Facilitators would also agree to these standards in practicing Holotropic Breathwork.

Most of the problems that have arisen in Holotropic Breathwork (and there have been remarkably few of these overall) have involved sexual relationships between practitioners and participants and/or conscious or unconscious misuse of power. I have written about some of these examples in my book, The Ethics of Caring (Hilfe fur die Helfer in German) and have used other actual Breathwork stories in teaching ethics at GTT Certification and Advanced Trainings. These kinds of examples help alert Facilitators to the subtle and difficult issues, and the unconscious motivations involved in most ethical problems. The hope is that when Facilitators become more aware of their own unconscious desires, fears, and longings and hear about the difficult experiences of their colleagues, perhaps some future painful consequences can be prevented both for the Facilitators and their Breathers.

Author Bio
Kylea Taylor, M.S., M.F.T., is a California licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and was certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner in 1990. She wrote The Breathwork Experience, The Ethics of Caring, and The Holotropic Breathwork Workshop: A Manual for Trained Facilitators. She has been Editor of The Inner Door, the quarterly publication of the Association for Holotropic Breathwork International since 1991 and has been a staff trainer for the Grof Transpersonal Training since 1993. kyleat@hanfordmead.com. www.hanfordmead.com


Ethical Agreements of Holotropic Breathwork Practitioners*

Preface

The practice of Holotropic Breathwork involves work with clients in non-ordinary states of consciousness. It is described in the “Theoretical Principles of Holotropic Breathwork” by Stanislav and Christina Grof. As individuals or as individuals working in organizations, we subscribe to the value of self-examination in order to promote personal growth in ethics. Because practitioners who keep these Agreements avoid behavior which may be exploitative to participants and may also bring injury to the larger Holotropic Breathwork community, we subscribe to the principle that we need to give and receive feedback from each other in order to maintain the highest integrity in the Holotropic Breathwork community. We make the following agreements which specifically apply to our relationship with clients as practitioners of Holotropic Breathwork.

Agreements

1. We commit ourselves, as practitioners-in-training to practice Holotropic Breathwork only within the limitations of our training and competence, and to do so under the direct supervision of a Certified Holotropic Breathwork Practitioner.

2. We commit ourselves, as Holotropic Breathwork
Practitioners to be open to receive feedback from other Holotropic Breathwork Practitioners. We also commit ourselves to give feedback to other Practitioners, especially when we believe that the other Practitioners have failed to keep one of the following agreements.

3. We will keep workshop clients’/participants’ confidences within the limits of the state law.

4. We create a safe setting for clients, as defined by the Holotropic Breathwork Principles.

5. We will represent ourselves and act only within the bounds of our experience and competence and help our apprentices and trainees to do the same.

6. If we are certified and qualified to supervise trainees as apprentices, we agree to be responsible for providing ethical guidance to our apprentices (including these agreements) while they are under our supervision.

7. We continue to increase our Holotropic Breathwork competence.

8. As researchers, educators, and authors we are dedicated to presenting accurate information and to citing our sources.

9. Dual relationships risk role confusion and the appearance or reality of exploiting clients for personal gain. We agree to discuss with our peers any of our relationships with participants or apprentices. We agree to avoid and refrain from dual relationships which may be exploitative sexually, emotionally, spiritually, economically, hierarchically, or ideologically.

10. We do not invite, project, respond to, or allow any sexual contact with our clients or apprentices.

11. We provide referrals to workshop participants who require follow-up or referral to local community resources.

12. We seek appropriate professional assistance for our own personal problems or conflicts which may impair our work performance or professional judgments.

13. We respect the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual autonomy of our clients. We enable them to choose freely with respect to participating in Holotropic Breathwork, following suggestions, and accepting physical interventions.

14. We maintain clear and honest business practices, including making agreements regarding appointments, workshop times, and fees.

15. In establishing the rates for our services we consider the financial situation of our clients.

16. We recognize a responsibility to participate in activities that contribute to the community, including devoting a portion of our services for little or no financial reward.

I, the undersigned, agree to uphold the above Agreements of the Holotropic Breathwork community and the Association for Holotropic Breathwork International.

_________________________________________________
(Signed, Name Certified Holotropic Breathwork Facilitator