Research Policy for Counselling & Psychotherapy Forums

Research Policy

The counselling and psychotherapy discussion and support forums exist primarily for the purposes of community support and the exchange of ideas and experiences about counselling and psychotherapy. These forums cannot be used for any type of research or behavioural studies -- whether active participation or passive listening -- without the explicit consent of the Managing Editor and the other individuals participating in the forums.

If you are a researcher or author and would like to use these forums in any type of medical, behavioural, psychological or other research, or to produce any type of publication, you must contact the Managing Editor before taking any actions in the forums. The Managing Editor will require a detailed copy of your proposal, including references, research methodology, duration and information about any co-authors. After reviewing the proposal, the Managing Editor may, at his sole discretion, determine that the proposal merits further consideration by the users of the forums. If the proposal does merit further consideration, the Managing Editor will post a public announcement in the relevant forum to invite the views of users. After listening to the views of users, the Managing Editor will make the final decision on whether or not to permit the research to take place.

Members of the press who wish only to write a general story about these forums do not need explicit permission unless they plan to interact in any way with forum users, including posting questions or quoting from others' posts.