Cuddlist Practitioner Integrity Policy

Dear Practitioner, 

 

Cuddlist is here to give you the tools to develop clear and empowering relationships with every single client. We do this for you, for your clients, and for the integrity of the Cuddlist brand. Everything you do reflects on Cuddlist as a whole. Please be mindful of the tremendous impact your actions have on Cuddlist. The following guidelines are designed to provide more clarity and security for everyone involved.

 

We are very happy to be affiliated with you. Either you or Cuddlist as an organization may choose to end that affiliation at any time. Just as our Code of Conduct prescribes your dynamic with clients and the freedom required of consensual relating, the Integrity Policy prescribes the dynamic with practitioners and Cuddlist as an organization.

 

The purpose of this document is to outline Cuddlist’s boundaries (our requirements), as well as best practices for your conduct with clients. It includes links to the related documents in Members Only with relevant details. These policies will be applied if a complaint comes to our attention; if they are not followed they may result in a decision to revoke your certification and/or remove you from membership. Please review them now. By joining our membership you are signifying that you agree to abide by these boundaries.

 

The professional conduct that determines good standing with Cuddlist.com is covered by several broad areas: 

 

1. Our organizational boundaries are listed below. 

2. Our professional ethics outlined in: Ethics

3. The signing of a waiver if you engage with the client professionally outside of a Cuddlist session. See below.

 

Cuddlist’s Boundaries as an Organization 

 

These are required. If you do not follow them your relationship with Cuddlist will come under review and may be terminated:

 

You are agreeing that, when a client comes to you through Cuddlist and is therefore seeking a Cuddlist Session, you will adhere to the following protocols:

 

• Respond within 24 hours (or inform clients of exceptions in your profile)

• Not discriminate based on race, age, gender, orientation, size, physical ability/otherly-ableness, etc 

• Not bait and switch to any other modality than a Cuddlist Session

• Keep your profile professional and in alignment with our branding

• Follow the Cuddlist Code of Conduct in the initial and all following Cuddlist Sessions

• Begin each Cuddlist Session with the Cuddlist Opening Agreement

• Adhere to the client-led approach taught by Cuddlist. In other words, the practitioner is responsible for guiding clients to discover what they want and to get better at communicating it. Practitioners maintain their limits but do not impose their wants in a session or override the clients' inner listening with suggestions/recommendations. It is fine to offer options.

 

Best Practices 

 

Practitioners who have the greatest success and uphold the highest standard of client interaction follow best practices.

 

The following guidelines are intended to address possible variations that may arise with established clients that can cause confusion and possibly accusations of misconduct.

 

If you decide to have a relationship dynamic with an established Cuddlist client other than client/Cuddlist practitioner, having a clear, signed agreement for a new relationship is the best way to be responsible for the alternate circumstances that may arise with clients over time. These are our strong recommendations and if they are not met it increases the likelihood of misunderstandings and hurt. If applicable, it is also recommended to conduct a final session dedicated to a summation of the work up to that point to end one chapter before beginning another.

 

Note: The following are examples and not meant as an exhaustive list. If you are unclear about whether you are stepping outside the Cuddlist container, first check with the Code of Conduct and get some feedback on Club Cuddlist and a Practitioner. We are here to support you, and if you have any doubts, reach out - we provide judgment-free guidance.

 

As an aside, if you decide to barter a service your client does in exchange for Cuddlist sessions, we highly recommend that you pay one another even if it is the same amount being passed back and forth. It is worthwhile insurance.

 

Possible Variations:

• Offering other modalities (you also do massage, essential oils, organizing, or any other wonderful service that’s not Cuddlist)

• Receiving other modalities (your client gives you massage, small appliance repair, landscaping, house cleaning, or any other wonderful service that is not them being a Cuddlist client)

• Becoming friends and doing unpaid activities together that are not professional in nature.

• Dating or getting romantically involved with someone who came to you for Cuddlist sessions (We do not recommend this, but it can happen. We strongly recommend a minimum of a 3-month waiting period of no contact between the time you are operating within the Code of Conduct and the time you are not. See Ethics.)

 

Firstly, consent is essential to Cuddlist sessions. To have consent, a person must be fully informed about the decision they are going to make and have the full presence of mind to provide that consent. Consensual touch and the single-pointed attention we give our clients feel wonderful and create an altered state of hormonal activity and brain chemistry. Therefore, never change any of your boundaries around your work or relationship with a client while in the midst of a session. This is a non-negotiable requirement.