Report a concern or complaint

If you’re considering a more formal complaint, please review the information below. 

Complaints 
Peer-to-peer professional courtesy is expected of ACEP members who perceive that a colleague may be engaging in practices that are out of conformity with the ACEP Code of Ethics. As a first step, it is advisable to contact directly and personally a suspected offending member to resolve a perceived violation. If that is unsuccessful, or if there are valid reasons why such an approach might seem inappropriate, then the Director of Ethics or the Chair, or any other member of the ACEP Ethics Committee may be approached to express a concern. Contacting the Ethics Committee for advice does not necessarily commit the enquirer to pursuing a formal complaint. 
 
The ACEP Ethics Committee will consider complaints against a member and help to resolve these through mediation, education, and or corrective actions. However, ACEP is primarily an organization for the discussion and dissemination of information regarding energy psychology and is not in essence a regulatory professional body. Many of its members belong to other professional bodies that do have regulatory functions, and this is encouraged by ACEP. 
 
ACEP will consider only those complaints regarding regular members in good standing and relating to a specific provision of this Code of Ethics. 
 
In no case will ACEP accept anonymous complaints for consideration. ACEP does not attempt to resolve complaints regarding non-members. 
 
If it is determined that formal action is the best way to proceed with a complaint regarding an ACEP member (after an initial conversation with a member of the Ethics Committee), the complaint(s) should be submitted in writing by E-mail or by certified or international registered mail to the Director of Ethics c/o the office of the executive director. 

The Director of Ethics will conduct a preliminary review of the matter, which may be in consultation with the Chair of Ethics or any other member of the Ethics Committee. If the Director determines that (1) the matter lacks sufficient merit, (2) the complaint contains unreliable or insufficient information, or (3) the matter is outside the scope of the ACEP Code of Ethics or its jurisdiction, then no further actions shall be taken and the complaint will be dismissed. 
 
If the information reviewed is determined to be within the scope of the Code of Ethics, the Director of Ethics will liaise with the Chair of the Ethics Committee, to appoint additional members of the Ethics Committee, to form a Panel, which will proceed with further investigation of the complaint.

Procedure for investigating a complaint 

The Panel would undertake the following tasks:

• Clarify the complaint and consider what features, if any, of the ACEP code may have been violated. 

• Formulate the complaint in a succinct statement. 

• Clarify what facts (as opposed to general opinion or description) have been stated - and what evidence, if any, has been indicated.

 

• Determine appropriate corrective actions if a breach of the code has occurred. 

Clarification of ACEP’s responsibility: ACEP’s ethical goals are primarily concerned with education of its members. In some cases mediation and reconciliation between complainant and member may be facilitated. If necessary, it is explained that in no case and under no circumstances will financial or any other compensation be awarded to any parties for perceived damages. A decision to pursue legal recourse in any venue is beyond the purview of ACEP. 

Read the steps involved in a formal complaint investigation.