APANZ process for responding to disputed posts to the Connect email forum
Council has established a process to read posts to the Connect forum to ensure they comply with the Connect community guidelines [see below]. This will be done after content has been posted, rather than by intercepting posts before they appear in the forum.
The Association’s Ethics and Professional Standards committee will form a small group (comprising ethics committee members and possible other APANZ members) who will read posts to Connect. The Chair of the “moderation group” will be a member of the APANZ Ethics and Professional Standards Committee.
If a member of this moderation group, or any other member of the Association, believes that the community standards have been breached by a post to Connect, they may contact the chair of the moderation group within 20 days of the post being made, to flag their concern.
If two or more APANZ members flag the same post as not following the community standards in a way that breaches the code of ethics, and if the majority of the moderation group agrees that the community guidelines have been breached in this manner, the chair of the moderation group will make contact with the author of the post, by phone or in person. This approach will be supportive & educative in nature, describing what has happened, ensuring that the poster is familiar with the community guidelines and requesting that they post to Connect again, rewording or retracting the inappropriate parts of their post.
The author may be encouraged to recognise any potential negative impact of their actions and to undertake to make appropriate reparation for this.
If a member’s posts repeatedly breach community standards, then there may be an escalated response from the moderation group.
Steps may include:
– An offer of education or guidance to the author of the posts
– A recommendation to Council for education to be made available to all members (eg. by creation of a course or through material on the Nexus website)
– Moderation of all the author’s posts to the Connect forum before they appear, either temporarily or permanently
– Removal of the author, either temporarily or permanently, from the Connect forum
Connect Community Guidelines
Connect is an email list where we share information, ask questions, and keep in touch with colleagues from all over the country. To join Connect, email admin@apanz.org.nz.
Community Standards: Guidelines for Communicating Online on Connect
Connect is an important forum for the sharing and exploration of ideas, thoughts, and feelings amongst APANZ members, particularly as they relate to the profession and practice of psychotherapy. We welcome all members to join and contribute. We hope this forum will be an opportunity for the honest, thoughtful, reflective, respectful, vibrant, and robust exploration and sharing of ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Given the complexity of psychotherapy as a practice and as a profession and the complexity of the world within which we live, we know that we will often be exploring multi-layered topics that have deep meaning for many of us. With this in mind, we ask that members ensure that they communicate in a manner that is respectful of the thoughts and feelings of others as we attempt together to create a forum for creative dialogue. We ask that you always aim to respectfully explore the similarities and differences you encounter in your communications on Connect. In keeping with this aim, we also ask that you keep to the following online community standards, which we hope will assist us in thinking, feeling, and communicating together.
Our online community standards on Connect:
1. Treat others online as you would treat them in person. Do not say anything online (either in terms of content or manner of expression) that you would not be prepared to say face-to-face.
2. Always aim to be respectful. Seek to convey thoughtfulness in relation to differing points of view, and to respectfully and honestly disagree when your opinion differs, even when you offer a robust alternative perspective.
3. Respect the privacy and personal information of others.
4. Do not make personal attacks on others, either to fellow connect community members, or others.
5. Avoid swearing or expressing your opinions in capital letters.
6. Where possible, if you are wanting to encourage others to explore your point of view more fully, feel free to provide reliable sources that others can follow up, which support your opinion.
Thank you for being part of the community of connect. We hope these guidelines will help us to keep open thoughtful, receptive, honest, and robust dialogue amongst us all.
If you consider these guidelines have not been followed regarding a post on Connect, please see the process outlined here.
To contact the Chair of the Ethics & Professional Standards committee, email:
Kate Dent Rennie
kate@longwhitecloud.com