WHI Community Policy
This FORM is to be signed, but you can also review it below:
WHI recognizes that this is an everchanging document that outlines our policies and procedures. Our policies and procedures are supported by our continued experiences as a business; we aim to continue to improve upon ourselves. The information outlined here allows for consistency in our programming, your safety, and our longevity as a business. Your adherence to our policies and procedures is critical to both of our successes.
Orientation: Creating community involves both you (Healee) and us (Healers) trusting one another to manage expectations of what we can and cannot do to or for the other person. We do not Heal you; rather, we provide the expertise and setting for you to Heal and learn yourself. We create trust together, which takes time and understanding. By reading this, you are earning trust with us and with yourself. You can be confident that we are providing a supportive environment with qualified personnel (e.g., teachers, trainers, coaches, consultants, advocates, and researchers) to help you with maintenance Healing and posttraumatic growth from developmental trauma, normative dissociation, and universal addictions. If we cannot trust each other, then this approach may not be best at this time.
Just like a traditional gym or fitness center, it is important to know your own limits when working out with us. If you need someone to spot you during “heavy lifting”, ask for help and coordinate solutions beforehand. We can offer suggestions. Then, similar to a spa, sit back and enjoy Healing and reap what you sow. At WHI, those that you externally ask for help are your identified personal trainers, coaches, and Healers. For Self-Work, who you internally ask for help constitutes your Meeting Area, which is part of the process we walk you through.
Who We Are
Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) is an independent research institute that specializes in trauma, dissociation, and addiction that ranges from normative to pathological. As a result of these specialties, we are experts in dissociative expressions, religious and spiritual experiences, and normative and altered states of consciousness. Historically, this wisdom has been viewed with skepticism and has led to the unjust imprisonment or murder of individuals, communities, generations, and nations. This is in large part due to a misunderstanding between those who acknowledge their dissociation as a recovery experience and those who don’t. Nonetheless, we have created a program that offers anyone willing to take it the opportunity to find out for themselves what their dissociative material has for them before they die. We also educate on how to Heal humanity’s deepest wounds through the use of memory reconsolidation, states of dual attention (dissociation), and psychedelic medicines. The way we see it, Healing is our birthright and what Gabor Mate called “a subversive act”. While we recognize that readers can interpret the meaning of our writing differently, we use clear and concise language as best as we can, especially because we do not know what is in store for you. Though we have developed measures to ensure your physical and emotional wellbeing, you cannot know what you do not know. Therefore, there is a learning curve with this approach and we are open to your feedback. That being said, we also know the territory we navigate and we know that you have everything you need right here and now.
As an education and Healing center, we welcome community while also recognizing that mental health involves expressions of illness, which have more to do with symptoms of normal stress than anything pathological. The way we see it, everyone experiences symptoms of distress and illness; Research agrees (see ACE study). However, just because distress and illness are normal does not mean that people cannot take care of themselves and these symptoms. In light of this concept, our gym and spa idea starts to make more sense. We welcome healthy collaboration and new opportunities to grow and Heal together. We are family-oriented and educate families on how to adaptively utilize mindful dissociation based on their ongoing Healing needs.
WHI has a Path of the Wounded Healers (PWH) training and program manual that can be accessed on our webpage: woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/orientation/
Managing Expectations
Our expectations: You have an adult Self within and you are or have access to an adult when engaging in our services. As a result, you are able to take responsibility for your actions.
Your expectations: To not get hurt by anyone, intentionally or unintentionally; a supportive environment; and access to our knowledge base and skillset.
Purpose of Community Policy
Our community policy encourages everyone to have the common understandings that a) we are all trying our best, b) we are all dealing with something, c) we are all constantly coping with the life and death process, and d) choosing a lifestyle to support your ongoing Healing maintenance is a conscious choice. We live in community and we want people to have good experiences. Although there is not a specific policy on how to interact with others in the community when taking part in our services, there are guidelines that we try to cultivate; our policy is akin to the rule of treating others the way you yourself would want to be treated.
GENERAL COMMUNITY POLICIES
“Do no direct harm to self or others” is our number one policy. By engaging in our community, you are acknowledging our policies that:
1) In the event of a medical emergency, we/you must call 911. If you are unable to call 911 yourself, we will check in with you and decide if that is what is needed based on your answers and presentation. If and/or when medical personnel are present, we defer to them.
2) If diagnosable disorders are currently present and active, it is necessary to be under the care of a medical or psychological provider. We can help you determine this in our application or screening process. Like a gym or spa, we do not have medical staff onsite, so if you need something, you have to ask for it.
3) Be kind and respectful in your speech and non-verbal interactions.
4) Reach out to us if you experience a psychological emergency and we can guide you towards the best solution. If not, dial 988.
5) You will be in a regulated state during workouts with your personal trainer, sitter, guide, coach, therapist, doctor, or Healer. Solution: If you are not regulated, communicate that to us beforehand.
6) You will only use clean medicine that has been tested or homegrown by you.
7) You will use an identified designated driver or taxi service OR refrain from consumption of any cannabis product at least three hours prior to operating a vehicle (for those smoking). If consuming edibles, you must have a designated driver.
8) You will only watch/listen to coursework material in a safe and calm environment. You will not engage in coursework while operating heavy or deadly machinery.
9) You agree to not self-workout alone. Solution: Tell someone (e.g., a roommate, Healer, or fellow journeyer) that you are doing a solo in case you need to reach out.
10) You agree to not consume more medicine than is needed. Solution: Check with the Meeting Area and then your Healer.
11) You agree to not take any illegal substances or alcohol during your ceremony.
PSYCHEDELIC POLICIES
1. Clean or homegrown medicines ONLY.
2. Take only what you need during ceremony.
3. CBD is a permissible substitute for anyone who is agreeable to it.
4. If under 21, you must have a valid medical card for THC. CBD w/ guardians’ permission.
5. If you are in a state where THC is not legal, then we recommend working with CBD
DISSOCIATIVE OR ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS POLICIES
1. Know your system well enough to understand what is right for you.
2. Experiences are felt and lived experiences can be reproductions of similar and previous experiences.
ONLINE POLICIES
By registering for trainings, PTG Gym and Spa, workshops, events, and intensives, you acknowledge that you meet the technological and self-awareness requirements needed to participate in a self-guided study of the self. Though there are professionals here to guide you through it, you must also be aware enough to know that we are not mind readers. If you require technical assistance, reach out to your instructor at least one week prior to the start of training.
1) If you are taking medicine as a part of your training and self-care, you must have an emergency contact on file and attend individual, Q&A, or discussion sessions.
2) You must go through our MASA with an approved professional.
Technological Training Requirements: Attendance at all live sessions on the indicated dates is mandatory for completion of this course. These live lectures and practicum sessions will be hosted by the video conferencing platform. Links for joining live sessions are included in course portals. These links will prompt you to download software, if you have not already done so, and will then connect you to the session. Please plan on joining a few minutes early for troubleshooting if you are not already familiar with the platform.
Refund/Cancellation Policy: You have read and agree to WHI’s Organizational Policies, which stipulate the terms for refunds, cancellations, and resolving grievances and disputes.
Correspondence from Training Organization: WHI regularly sends correspondence about training, including an email confirmation at registration and several emails leading up to each training. The emails presently come from [email protected]. Additionally, WHI may send out emails from [email protected]. If you do not receive these emails, please check your spam folder, as correspondence from new organizations often ends up there. Once you receive your first correspondence, please save the email to your address book. If you have not received a confirmation email or other correspondence from the organization within seven days of the event, it is your responsibility to reach out to us by email or phone.
Professionalism: You will show up on time and be fully present for each session, acting in a professional manner. You will reach out to your faculty member or assistant if any unexpected problems arise. Staying present for online learning can come with a unique set of challenges; You agree to take full responsibility for addressing your needs in the areas of grounding and self-care during the training. You agree to refrain from alcohol and unsolicited illicit drug use during the training and agree to speak with your faculty member or an assistant if you anticipate an impairment due to prescribed medication that might pose a problem during training. Faculty and staff reserve the right to remove trainees at any time if the trainee creates an unsafe or unprofessional environment for you or for other trainees, or for any other reason, at their sole discretion.
Accommodations: WHI follows the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you are in need of accommodations for online training with us, please email us with any special requests thirty days prior to the scheduled training. If during a training the need for an accommodation arises, you are expected to contact your instructor and/or practicum assistant immediately and we will discuss the best possible solution.
Confidentiality: There is no client relationship or other privilege that would create a duty rising to the level of clinical confidentiality in this training setting; however, you are expected to respect the confidentiality of other trainees in the group. Your trainer will explain the importance of confidentiality. Trainees who observe a problem with another trainee are expected to bring the problem to the lead trainer or other training staff. Similarly, if a staff member observes an issue with professionalism, they reserve the right to discuss that issue with the lead trainer.
Preparedness for Doing Your Own Work: If you have received a major mental health diagnosis (past or present), you acknowledge that you are taking this training and engaging in this practicum at your own risk and agree to alert faculty or training staff before or during the training if any complications arise. If any problems arise, you agree to address them with faculty or staff members.
TRAINING POLICIES
WHEN YOU ARE AT AN EVENT (TRAINING, WORKSHOP, INTENSIVE, COACHING):
1) First and foremost, we trust your process because we trust our own.
2) Your presence at the training is required in full at all sessions, on video, as an attendance verification. No partial credit can be awarded, if credit is needed.
3) We reject no one on the grounds that Healing is an innate response to pain; however, people may need additional resources to be successful in our programming. We will provide resources that will hopefully benefit you in the long run.
GRIEVANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURE
In the rare occurrence that there is an issue with WHI or one of its affiliates or faculty by our or their own accord, we reserve the right to have arbitration before involving the law because of how these topics have historically been treated. We are the means of arbitration to the conflict that rests inside of us all and if there is something that is unconsciously trying to express itself, we are here to listen. We can take what you have to give. Our research points to grave misunderstandings in the medical and psychological models of care. We have chosen to educate on how spiritual models offer a more long-term solution. We steer away from pathology because creating pathology is pathological. We acknowledge both sides of pathology in our work.
Our procedure is to run the issue by our council of elders (IRB) and provide reasonable solutions for the parties involved. You can contact our [email protected] to make a complaint. If you wish to be anonymous, you can upload your document HERE. Upon receipt of a complaint, our council of elders will provide feedback on best next steps. If the situation cannot be resolved through arbitration or restorative justice, the council of elders will provide guidance. Due to the limitations of legal resolve, we choose to address matters directly and personally so we can both grow from them. If there are immediate life-threatening needs, then by all means, call 911. By signing our agreements, you are waiving your rights to legal entanglements in favor of arbitration.
WHI has responsibilities to you as a business that provides you with the space and skills you will need to map your unconscious territory, memory systems, and regulation:
1. We agree to do no direct harm outside of the context of alleviating pain. This is because alleviating pain involves going into it.
2. We are not responsible for your mental health and your life and death decisions. Again, like a gym or spa, we offer guidance and suggestions on how to best workout based on your requests, needs, comfort, and skill level.