IASP Certified & Accredited Kambo Practitioners adhere to a Practitioners Code of Ethics

This is an extract from the IASP’s Code of Ethics, specifically relating to working with seekers and ceremonial participants of Kambo.

All members of the IASP agree to work by this Code of Ethics. 

It is intended for use by all Practitioner level members as a guide to excellence in professional conduct and practice.

The definition of a professional Kambo Practitioner is that you are fundamentally concerned with the welfare of your clients when giving Kambo. You are therefore willing to follow a Code such as this in order to protect your clients from poor practice and are willing to take responsibility for your actions. As a member of IASP you must at all times:

An IASP Practitioner must ALWAYS:

• Act in the best interests of the participants seeking treatment and treat them with the utmost respect. 

• Take responsibility for their own actions.

• Respect other practitioners and health professionals.

• Practice only within the limits of their competence. 

• Ensure their behaviour does not damage the reputation of Kambo and or other spirit medicines and their practitioners.

• Observe confidentiality of their participants and ensure all participants observe confidentiality of other participants in attendance.

• Comply with IASP procedures on safety protocols and standards of practice that ensure each person's experience is clean, safe and private.

• Maintain high standards of personal hygiene and that our ceremony space and tools are cleansed and disinfected.

• Maintain and develop your knowledge and skills of holding sacred space for others.

IASP Members shall have respect for the religious, spiritual, political and social views of any individual irrespective of race, color, creed, sexual orientation or gender.

The relationship between an IASP member and her/his client remains professional. The client places trust in a member’s care, skill and integrity and it is the member’s duty to act with due diligence at all times and not to abuse this trust in any way.

Proper moral conduct must always be paramount in members’ relations with clients. They must behave with courtesy, respect, dignity, discretion and tact. Their attitude must be competent and sympathetic, hopeful and positive and encouraging of a positive outlook and a progression towards good health. Members must guard against any act, suggestion or statement that may be interpreted, mistakenly or otherwise, as having a sexual implication.

All members working within any establishment will comply with the protocols and guidelines in force at such establishments.

Members must never claim to ‘cure’. The possible therapeutic benefits may be described; ‘recovery’ must never be guaranteed.

Members should ensure that they themselves are physically and psychologically fit to practice.

Discretion must be used for the protection of the member and client when carrying out private treatment with clients who are mentally unstable, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or severely depressed, suicidal or hallucinated. Such clients must be treated only by a member with relevant competency if at all. A member must not treat a client in any case which exceeds her/his capacity, training and competence. Where appropriate, the member must seek referral to a more qualified person or decline treatment.

Members must not countermand instructions or prescriptions given by a doctor.

Members must not advise a particular course of medical treatment, such as to undergo an operation or to take specific drugs. It must be left to the client to make her/his own decision in the light of medical advice.

Members must never give a medical diagnosis to a client in any circumstances, unless medically qualified to do so; this is the responsibility of a registered medical practitioner. However, many members have a ‘gift’ of diagnosis and of discovering dysfunctions in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects. In this case the member may advise the client to see her/his doctor for a medical diagnosis and record this action on the client’s records.

Members are forbidden to diagnose, perform tests on or treat animals in any way, unless specifically qualified, or give advice following diagnosis by a registered veterinary surgeon or to countermand her/his instructions.

Members must not attend women in childbirth or treat them for 42 days thereafter in the capacity of a Kambo Practitioner.

Members must not administer remedies, herbs, supplements or other products unless their training and qualifications entitle them to do so.

Advertising must be dignified in tone and shall not contain exaggerations or claim to cure any disease etc. It shall be confined to drawing attention to the therapy available, the qualifications of the member and offer a general service together with necessary details. The member will also utilize original content and refrain from plagiarism by recreating content from other practitioners.

Before treatment members must explain fully all the procedures involved in the treatment including such matters as length of consultation, number of consultations, what the participant can anticipate during ceremony, fees etc.

Members must act with consideration concerning fees and justification for treatment.

Members should recognize the client’s right to refuse treatment or ignore advice. It is the client’s prerogative to make their own choices with regard to their health, lifestyle and finances.

Members must ensure they keep clear and comprehensive records of their treatments including the dates where the frequency or intensity of the treatments warrants the keeping of records.

Members and their assistants have an implicit duty to keep all information, records and views formed about clients entirely confidential. No disclosure may be made to any third party, including any member of the client’s own family or another practitioner, without the client’s explicit consent unless it is required by due process of the law.

Members must ensure that they comply with the Data Protection laws of their country.

No third party, including assistants and members of the client’s family, may be present during the course of a one on one consultation without the client’s consent.

All members shall ensure that their equipment and working conditions are suitable for the giving and receiving of Kambo.

All members who purchase Kambo Sticks agree that they will not sell those sticks to non-members.

All members agree to respect and protect the copyrights of all documents received during training or IASP membership.

All members agree that they will not at any time in the future, agree to train any other person in the giving of Kambo unless they are authorized and trained to do so. This includes giving advice or sharing techniques in person or on social media.

All membership must be continuous. If a member does not agree to the terms and conditions set out in our code of ethics or refuses to participate in an annual review, their membership will be terminated. 

If a member breaches any of the codes of ethics with a participant and the matter escalates, there will be steps implemented to correct the matter with the participant and/or the member.

Members should not engage with any form of media without first clearing it with a member of the management team. Meaning, all interviews that will be made public must be authorized by a member of the mentor team prior to engagement.

All members agree to work with the management team and follow complaints procedures in the event that a client raises a complaint against them.

Members must not film or photograph nor allow others to film or photograph clients whilst they have Kambo on. The practitioner’s sole focus should be holding space for their clients and acting in the clients best interest. Any activity that distracts from the practitioner’s focus on their client, or the client’s ability to focus on their process is a breach of the Code of Practice of an IASP Certified Kambo Practitioner. A client may set up a camera and record their session in a private session for personal use only.

Members will follow and abide by decisions made the Governing body of the IASP regarding the amendment of this code.