Terms and Conditions

Last Updated October 2023

Community Code of Conduct

Thank you for being a part of the EMDRIA Online Community. It is a great medium to solicit your peers' advice, benefit from their experience, and participate in ongoing conversations about EMDR and mental health practice. To ensure the best possible experience for all members and to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we have established the following guidelines for participation.

Participation in the EMDRIA Online Community is a privilege, not a right, of membership.
Any post that violates a Community Participation Rule or is deemed to be inappropriate for any reason may be removed at EMDRIA’s sole discretion. EMDRIA also reserves the right to moderate posts or individuals and suspend or terminate access to the community for any reason.


Community Participation Rules

1. Keep Discussion Focused on EMDR


All messages must add to the body of knowledge. Irrelevant, off-topic, or inappropriate posts may be rejected or removed.

 

2. Be Kind


All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited.

Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.

Don't challenge or attack others. The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation, not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.  


3. No Advertising (Outside of the Member Marketplace)


EMDRIA strictly prohibits posts with commercial advertisements of any kind in Central Forum/SIG/Topic Forum discussion threads, resource libraries, or Local Connections communities. 
Rule of Thumb: If the only option to obtain a training, service, or product is purchasing it, do not share it in the online community. The Marketplace Community is where such posts are allowed.
Contacting another member directly through the online community (or EMDRIA website) with unsolicited advertisement of trainings, services, or products is strictly prohibited.

Advertising includes, but is not limited to, EMDR Trainings, EMDRIA Credit Programs, consultation or training services, books, or any other products or services provided at a cost, regardless if it is offered by you or someone else. Posts containing advertising of any kind may be edited to remove the related content or the post may be removed in its entirety.

Examples (referring to for-profit trainings, products, and services):
    • Posting a training description with dates, locations, or cost.
    • Linking or directing to a training website or training registration page.
    • Linking or directing to a commerce site, such as Amazon, where a product may be purchased.
    • Offering consultation services or sharing information about consultation groups.
    • Offering free introductory services or products to advertise other services and products.
    • Linking or directing to a listserv, mailing list, or group such as Yahoo or Facebook is used for advertising purposes.
Exceptions:

The Member Marketplace allows for advertising to members about EMDR-related jobs, events, consultation services, equipment, and research studies.

If someone posts asking for a resource, product or service you or someone else provides for a fee, you can respond to the individual directly rather than replying to the group.

 

4. No Soliciting (Outside of the Member Marketplace)

Harvesting (or scraping) member email addresses from the online community for ANY purpose is strictly prohibited.


Soliciting members through the community (or EMDRIA website) for the following is strictly prohibited:
    • To contribute to a fundraiser that is not affiliated with or authorized by EMDRIA
    • For participation in research studies or surveys
    • Recruiting members for employment opportunities
Exception:

The Member Marketplace allows for advertising to members about EMDR-related jobs, events, consultation services, equipment, and research studies.

 

5. No Spam


Cross-posting the same message to multiple communities is prohibited. This is considered spam, and the additional posts will be removed. Please choose one community that is the most relevant to your topic.

 

6. Keep the Conversation in the Community


Do not divert conversations to a forum outside of the EMDRIA Online Community. EMDRIA is not affiliated with any groups or forums created outside of this community and neither endorses nor is responsible for any of their content.


7. Respect Patient Privacy


Don’t post any patient personal health information or images without appropriate permissions, and ensure that you comply with HIPAA regulations. Don't include details about a client that would make their identity identifiable, even if you don't state their name directly in the post.

Please don't post client referrals in the Central Forum. With over 15,000 members in that community, we work to keep the information posted there discussion-based and relevant to all forum members. Use the Find an EMDR Therapist Directory to find a referral. Or you can post your referral in one of the Local Connections communities. We appreciate your understanding.  
 

8. Avoid Incendiary Language During Crisis/Natural Disasters/Mass Shootings/Wars


Our community is comprised of healers whose goal is to help heal humanity. When a crisis occurs, especially those made by humans, a higher stress level occurs. If you are seeking help from your colleagues during an emergency, please do not post incendiary language about the event, local/state/national policies, politics, geopolitics, etc. Ask for help and let other members know how they can engage.




Questions regarding EMDRIA policies and procedures should be directed to EMDRIA by emailing info@emdria.org or calling (512) 451-5200. This ensures that you receive the correct and most current information available. EMDRIA is not responsible for misinformation that members in the community may post.

Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.

Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted. Remember that other participants may choose to reproduce postings from this site, and EMDRIA has no control over that possibility. Our community is a proprietary and closed social network, but we cannot ensure the confidentiality of postings.


Please be aware that EMDRIA is an association of individuals who are deemed by law to be competitors in the marketplace.  As such, any discussions regarding “appropriate” fees or other business practices that may be considered anti-competitive or potentially inconsistent with antitrust law will be deleted as soon as EMDRIA becomes aware of them, at EMDRIA’s sole discretion (see Legal Statement below).

Legal Statements

EMDRIA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties about information posted on this site, whether posted by EMDRIA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall EMDRIA be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.

Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the copyright owner's permission. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants EMDRIA and users of this site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.

Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct intended to restrict free trade illegally. Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate: prices, discounts, or terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins, or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers.

HIPAA and Confidentiality Notice

You agree not to post any information about any identified or identifiable patients.

Should you submit personal information, including personal health information, regarding a patient or other third party, you are responsible for ensuring that such third parties have been informed of and have given their consent, to the extent required by law, to disclose their personal information.  

Never disclose any nonpublic information about your company or any other confidential information that is, or potentially is, proprietary, confidential, privileged or sensitive. Posting should not risk noncompliance with laws respecting the security and confidentiality of such protected information.  If you have signed a confidentiality agreement, abide by its terms.

 

Community Moderation

EMDRIA routinely monitors community posts to ensure that Code of Conduct guidelines are being followed, but also relies on community members to self-moderate discussions. Any member of a community may flag a post that they believe is in violation of the Code of Conduct for EMDRIA's review.

Flagging a Post as Inappropriate

When a post is flagged, it is temporarily removed from the community and an alert is sent to the Online Community Manager. This administrative alert includes the name of the person who flagged the post and why it was flagged. 

Once EMDRIA has reviewed the content, it will either be permanently removed from the community, moved to the appropriate community, or taken off moderation and made viewable in the community again. 

Please note that depending on when a post is flagged, it may still appear in real-time and daily digest community notifications.


HOW TO FLAG A POST

Online - On the post, click on the arrow next to “Reply to Discussion” to get the dropdown menu. Click on “Mark As Inappropriate”. A pop-up box will appear requiring you to give a reason. After you do so, click Submit.

Email - Underneath the post in the email, click on the “Flag as Inappropriate” link. A web browser will open and you’ll be taken to the EMDRIA Online Community (you will need to sign in) where you’ll see a pop-up box requiring you to give a reason. After you do so, click Submit.


IF YOU FLAG A POST

Flagging posts is anonymous to other community members. Your name is only shared with EMDRIA as part of the flagging process. It does not appear anywhere in the community that you have flagged a post.
 
You will not receive a notification after you flag a post confirming your submission. Once you click Submit, the process is complete.


You will not receive a notification from EMDRIA letting you know if the content was removed or not. Our main concern is notifying the poster if the post is removed. 


IF YOUR POST IS FLAGGED
 

You will not receive a notification that your post has been flagged. However, you may notice your post is no longer appearing in the online community or did not go out in the community notifications. If you contact us, we’ll let you know if it’s because it was flagged.
 
If your post is flagged and EMDRIA determines it is appropriate, it will be made viewable again in the community. You will not be notified.

If your post is flagged and EMDRIA determines it is appropriate but in the wrong community, it will be moved and made viewable again in the appropriate community. You will not be notified.
 
If your post is flagged and EMDRIA determines it is inappropriate, we will send you an email notification that your post has been removed from the community and the reason why.


EMDRIA's Privacy Policy


We Respect Your Privacy


Any personal information you provide to us including and similar to your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address will not be released, sold, or rented to any entities or individuals outside of our organization except as noted below. The EMDRIA Online Community is hosted by Higher Logic, and you may read their Privacy Policy here.


With Whom Do We Share the Personal Information We Collect Through This Site

GOVERNMENT AND LEGAL DISCLOSURES
 We may disclose the personal information we collect through this site, when we, in good faith, believe disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law (or a court order or subpoena); to prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft; to enforce our Terms and Conditions or other agreements that govern your use of this site; or to protect the rights, property or safety of our company, our users, or others.


EMDRIA Website Privacy Policy


If you visit the EMDRIA website, you may read the Privacy Policy regarding that site here.



External Sites


We are not responsible for the content of external internet sites. You are advised to read the privacy policy of external sites before disclosing any personal information.



Cookies


A "cookie" is a small data text file that is placed in your browser and allows us to recognize you each time you visit this site (personalization, etc). Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and we do not use cookies to collect personal information. Cookies may also be used by 3rd party content providers such as newsfeeds.



Remember the Risks Whenever You Use the Internet


While we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us and you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any passwords or other account information. In addition other Internet sites or services that may be accessible through our site have separate data and privacy practices independent of us, and therefore we disclaim any responsibility or liability for their policies or actions. Please contact those vendors and others directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.





Questions / Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Community Code of Conduct, contact the EMDRIA Online Community Manager, Jennifer Livsey, jlivsey@emdria.org or EMDRIA at info@emdria.org.

Changes to the Community Code of Conduct

EMDRIA reserves the right to change this Code of Conduct at any time. If we do so, we will post the changes here and to other places we deem appropriate.