Ethical Agreements of GROF® Breathwork Practitioners

Working with holotropic states of consciousness requires a strong commitment to ethics, along with ongoing self-reflection and consultation with peers and mentors. While any healing or therapeutic work requires ethical commitment, participants of GROF® Breathwork (or any form of holotropic work) may be particularly vulnerable due to working with powerful energies of healing and transformation, as well as the surfacing of unconscious, perinatal or transpersonal material that may involve past emotional wounding, trauma, or other psychospiritual challenges.

In the context of deep experiential work, the challenges of projection, transference and countertransference are often heightened.

Given the importance of ethical commitments in working with holotropic states, GROF® Breathwork practitioners affirm as follows:

Agreements

1. We commit to honoring the autonomy and self-determination of all those with whom we work, including honoring the unique inner healing intelligence of participants in holotropic work.
2. We agree to prioritize the physical and emotional safety of participants and will use our vigilance and constant best efforts to ensure safety in all environments in which we work, as well as in all work with individual participants.
3. We commit only to work within the limitations of our training, education, experience and competence; when appropriate we will seek consultation or supervision from more experienced or knowledgeable trainers.
4. We agree to be open to receiving and giving honest feedback to our practitioner colleagues in the spirit of ongoing reflection and improvement.
5. We will maintain confidences of participants in accordance with law and ethical guidelines of particular professions or jurisdictions, which may include a duty to seek assistance or make reports upon an honest determination that a participant is a safety threat to self or others.
6. We will supervise any trainees or apprentices in accordance with principles of competence, safety and ethics.
7. If we are involved in research or writing, we will abide by the highest principles of academic integrity, including avoiding plagiarism and always making appropriate citation to the work of others.
8. Unlike many other therapeutic practices, GROF® Breathwork frequently involves physical contact with participants. We agree to seek consent prior to physical contact with participants (except when immediately necessary to ensure safety of the participant, others or ourselves).
9. Sexual contact with participants is never appropriate and we understand that sexual contact with a participant in the context of any GROF® Legacy training is an ethical violation and grounds for immediate revocation of authorization to train.
10. We understand that dual relationships with participants (for instance, establishing a business relationship, romantic attachment, or financial exchange outside the context of the therapeutic work) raise ethical concerns given the heightened possibility for vulnerability, projection, transference and countertransference. In addition to actual issues, there are issues of perception and impact in the healing community. We commit to self-examination and consultation with peers and mentors with respect to issues of dual relationships. We understand the importance of completing a therapeutic encounter or relationship and allowing a reasonable passage of time before allowing the development of other forms of relationship with a participant.
11. We agree to provide appropriate referral to other qualified professionals for participants who desire or may benefit from referrals. We will not receive any compensation for such referrals.
12. We commit to ongoing self-reflection involving our own personal and professional development, including seeking professional assistance when appropriate.
13. We commit to transparent and honest business practices, including providing fair compensation to assistants in our work or businesses.

You can also read the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance Code of Ethics, which Holotropic Journeys follows as an Ethically Compliant Breathworker. If you have any concern about our conduct, please contact us at hi@holotropicjourneys.com.