EasyTidings.com Code of Ethics

Introduction

At Easy Tidings, we understand friendship. A good friendship means mutual respect but not always agreement; sometimes it may be difficult to judge where the line is. The following is our code of ethics designed to clarify where we consider that line is, and define acceptable conduct in the Easy Tidings community.

Because the roles within Easy Tidings are different, we have defined two separate guidelines. These guidelines are harmonized and consistent, but are outlined to focus on how they might apply to each role. If you have any questions about our code of ethics or would like to report any concerns, please Contact Us.

The Client's Code of Ethics

If you are receiving services from Easy Tidings, you are considered a client, and this section applies to you.

Easy Tidings expects our clients to follow a code of conduct in order to remain enrolled in our service. You are free to discuss anything and everything that you would with a family member or a friend. With that being said, our professional friends have a right to work in an environment that is respectful of them as a person, as well. We do not condone conversations that involve aggression, intimidation, emotional manipulation, harassment of any kind, talk about violence to self or others or sexual content/vulgarity. While you may have a naturally more profane way of speaking (e.g. you might swear quite a bit) this is permissible inasmuch as you would find in a “real world” situation when speaking to a friend.

Conversations and relationships must remain on the platform. This is for your safety and security as well as for ours. You can absolutely ask your professional friend anything that you'd like to about themselves and their life, but please understand that they have the ability and the right to answer as much or as little as they prefer about their personal lives. They are here to be your friend and support. Any attempts on your part to consistently ask personal details will be viewed as harassment.

Mental health is a topic we take very seriously. We are professional friends and NOT mental health professionals. Sometimes those spheres overlap, but if there is any attempt to use a friend in place of therapy (for example: consistently asking for diagnoses, asking for help with a treatment that needs to be carried out by a therapist, consistently mentioning treatments/diagnoses that need therapist intervention) or attempting to coerce a friend through guilt or other means to treat you, this is considered emotional manipulation and grounds for dismissal from our service. We are extremely sympathetic to those who need therapy, and we often are used in conjunction with therapy, but we are not a replacement for it and cannot or should not be manipulated into providing it.

In short, we are here to be a good friend to you and would be happy to talk to you about just about anything. Please just be respectful to your friend like you would with anyone else and you'll have a great experience!

The Professional Friend's Code of Ethics

If you are providing services from Easy Tidings, you are considered a Professional Friend, and this section applies to you.

Easy Tidings expects our professional friends to follow a code of conduct when dealing with our clientele. We adhere to a strong sense of ethics, which is understanding and maintaining a robust morality. We have a duty to our clients to always have their best interests at heart at all times; conversations can often include sensitive information, and it is of paramount importance that we never divulge any information about what is discussed outside of those sessions. We adhere to the same guidelines that govern medical professionals who use HIPPA, which is to never discuss any information or any identifiers of our clients and to completely safeguard any and all topics of conversation.

In addition, we are not to use, coerce, threaten or otherwise imply in any way that information that we learn about clients could be used against them in any way. We are here for their benefit and not for our personal gain.

Relationships are not to be taken off this platform, and the conversations should be centered on the client and not on the professional friend. While we may certainly become friendly with our clients and we are encouraged to form genuine connections, please always remember that this is a service that we provide for the benefit of the client and not for ourselves. We are not to take advantage in any way of a developing friendship, and professional boundaries must be maintained. Many of our clients are vulnerable and they seek us out for friendship services; they are not to be exploited.

We do not condone conversations that involve aggression, intimidation, emotional manipulation, harassment of any kind, talk about violence to self or others or sexual content/vulgarity. While some of us have a naturally more profane way of speaking (e.g. we tend to swear quite a bit) this is permissible inasmuch as you would find in a “real world” situation when speaking to a friend. Judgment is called for, and please begin with respect first. Do not allow swearing to be the default, as many clients find this offensive.

Please do not initiate potentially red flag topics (politics, religion, etc.) with a client, especially when you are getting to know them. Many of our clients will bring these topics up on their own; it is their prerogative to do so, but unnecessary for you to lead these conversations initially with no prompting.

In general, understand that we are trying to cultivate a safe and enjoyable experience for a potentially at-risk population. Many clients have been grieving or depressed for a long time. It is our honor and privilege to work to bring joy to them. All we ask is that your actions and words can guide this experience.