Participant Complaint and Grievance Policy
The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) is committed to providing high-quality continuing education activities and addressing participant concerns in a fair, timely, and confidential manner.
Participants who wish to submit a complaint regarding an educational activity, speaker, program content, instructional methods, or facilities may do so by contacting ASCH in writing at info@asch.net
All complaints are reviewed by the appropriate ASCH leadership and handled according to established procedures.
Complaints Related to Speakers or Educational Content
If a complaint concerns a speaker, educational content, or presentation style, participants will be asked to submit their concerns in writing. The Workshop Chair will review the complaint and communicate the concern to the speaker(s) while maintaining the confidentiality of the complainant whenever possible.
Complaints Related to Workshop Programs or Facilities
If a complaint concerns a workshop offering, the level or appropriateness of content, or the facilities in which the activity is conducted, the Workshop Chair will review the matter and serve as the final arbiter. When appropriate, resolutions may include:
– Transfer to another workshop or educational session;
– A credit toward a future ASCH educational activity; or
– A partial or full refund of registration fees.
Requests for credits or refunds must be accompanied by a written complaint submitted by the participant. ASCH maintains records of complaints and their resolution as part of its continuous quality improvement process.
American Psychological Association Official Grievance Process
ASCH is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists. [name of organization] will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content and in the treatment of program participants. The monitoring and assessment of compliance with these standards will be the responsibility of the Education Chair in consultation with the members of the continuing education committee, the ASCH Ethics Chairperson and the Convention Chairperson.
While ASCH goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempts to anticipate problems, there will be occasional issues which come to the attention of the convention staff which require intervention and/or action on the part of the convention staff or an officer of ASCH. This procedural description serves as a guideline for handling such grievances.
1. When a participant, either orally or in written format, files a grievance and expects action on the complaint, the following actions will be taken.
If the grievance concerns a speaker, the content presented by the speaker, or the style of presentation, the individual filing the grievance will be asked to put their comments in written format. The CE Chair will then pass on the comments to the speaker, assuring the confidentiality of the grieved individual.
2. If the grievance concerns a workshop offering, its content, level of presentation, or the facilities in which the workshop was offered, the convention chair will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the convention chair will:
a) attempt to move the participant to another workshop or
b) provide a credit for a subsequent year’s workshop or
c) provide a partial or full refund of the workshop fee.
Actions 2b and 2c will require a written note, documenting the grievance, for record keeping purposes. The note need not be signed by the grieved individual.
3. If the grievance concerns ASCG CE program, in a specific regard, the CE Chair will attempt to arbitrate.
Contact name(s): Samantha Price
Email(s): Samantha.price3@va.gov