Accountability Pod

What is Accountability Pod?

There is always power imbalance in any client-facilitator situation.Facilitators have the most power, and this is inherent even if the clients are not aware of a power imbalance.

We, Roos Reijbroek, Legien Warsosemito-Schenk, Wilrieke Sophia and Tanya Rozenthal are professionals in the field of human relationships, intimacy, sexuality and inner leadership.We appreciate that human relationships and connections are rich and multiply complex. We work in the vulnerable field of human processes.

The value of integrity in this professional space needs to be refined, articulated and clear, above the mark.

With that recognition, we strive to be as honest, transparent and informed as possible with ourselves and each other whenever there are any potential imbalances of power in transference/counterference dynamic within the setting client/therapist.

ACCOUNTABILITY – WHO TO SPEAK TO IF SOMETHING DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT

We are passionate to uphold best practice around our professional and personal ethics. Human relationships are complex, and we all occasionally make mistakes.

Our accountability pod and monthly intervisions are developed for clients support, to bring up to the attention what couldn’t be addressed before.

If something happens at or in relation to one of my sessions or workshops which feels out of integrity to you and it feels difficult to approach me directly, you can reach out to one of the members of accountability pod.

The accountability pod also takes the experiences and feelings of the reporter extremely seriously and starts from the interest of the client. We want to bring more structural change, accountability, transparency and growth of ethical awareness into our work.

Our professional field of consent- and trauma informed facilitators and coaches can be a great foundation to restore ecology of ethics in love, connections, relationships and intimacy.

All of it we need to support communities to grow and to thrive in togetherness.

INCIDENTS: ACCOUNTABILITY POD

As professionals, we care for our clients; in this, things can sometimes go wrong. We believe that the feelings of the reporter are always important and valid. We also believe that an incident often exposes a pattern and that only repairing the damage of this incident is therefore not enough. In order to care for the reporter and to ensure that the accused makes structural changes where necessary, we have a two-track policy.

TRACK 1: ATTENTION FOR THE REPORTER

Do you have a complaint, question or report about the behavior of one of us? Then we would all prefer that you speak to that person directly. You can do this in person or by e-mail, whatever suits you best.

Is it not okay for you to address the person directly, for example due to the nature of the incident? We ask you to stop having contact with the person in question and to approach one of the people in the pod. In our biographies you can read who we are and what we have experience with. You choose someone you like and contact them via their website. This pod member is your contact person from now on and looks after your interests.

You discuss your experience with your contact person; your perception is central. Together with your contact person you make clear what you want to happen with your report and what you need from the person who is accused and from possible others. In consultation, based on what you want and need, your contact person will inform the rest of the pod. The goal is to restore your own safety. These conversations are confidential: you decide which information is shared and which not, and with whom exactly.

When you have spoken with your contact person and possibly with the accused, the conclusion may be that the accused cannot and could not do anything about how you have experienced a situation. In that case, no change is necessary for the person in question. In that case, too, we will take your experience seriously. We think along with you about what is appropriate for you to further restore your sense of security, for example referral to trauma therapy or a coach to continue working independently on what you have encountered.

Are you not sure which responsibility lies with whom during an incident? Then we invite you to bring this up with a pod member; better one time too many than one time too few!

TRACK 2: CHANGE WITH THE PERSON REPORTING THE INCIDENT

If the reporter so wishes, the person about whom the complaint is about (the accused) is informed. The person accused is given his or her own contact person within the pod. The two contact persons will maintain contact with each other, and any contact between the reporter and the accused will always take place with another pod member present.

The accused works with the contact person on the complaint: what went wrong? What should the person have done differently? What must he or she do to rectify the situation, and what structural changes must be made to ensure that it does not happen again? The wishes of the reporter are the guiding principle here (for example, making an apology (publicly or personally), writing a statement on his or her website about the change that is needed, etc.).

If you as reporter would like to (eventually) have a conversation with the accused, that conversation is mediated by the fourth, independent member of the pod. The reporter can choose whether to have their own contact person present during such a conversation. The first goal remains the same: to ensure that the safety of the reporter is restored. A possible next goal, if the situation allows, is to restore contact between the reporter and the accused. There may also be additional goals and desires on the part of the reporter. These are discussed during the mediation.

An incident is concluded when there is consensus among the reporter and accused about its conclusion.

- POD MEMBERS -

ROOS REIJBROEK

she/her, they/them

Intersections I identify with are bi/pan/queer, (low identifying) woman, feminist, neurodivergent, survivor of abuse, highly educated, white, middle class, stigmatized work backgrounds, sex positive. I am a relationship coach specializing in nonmonogamy, public speaker, facilitator, trainer.

Within the field of self-development, alternative care and sexual fulfilment, I have seen (in the role of participant and assistant) that much misconduct and additional suffering is glossed over. And as an organizer, I know, through trial and error, that good intentions are not enough to make a session or workshop "safe." Because I want the best for everyone who puts their trust in me, I want to be accountable for my actions, especially when something has gone wrong. At the same time I hold others accountable for the care they have for their clients and community. When we give empathetic attention to sorrow and suffering, positive change happens automatically.

People call me warm, critical, clear, punctual, disarming, idealistic, realistic.

LEGIEN WARSOSEMITO-SCHENK

she/her

Female, Javanese-Surinamese, subtle autistic, mother, husband, dancer of life, projector (Human Design), analyzer (character structures), daughter of hardworking parents.

MeToo coaching, training and consulting. Coach, external confidant, trainer, speaker, activist. Themes: sexuality - both trauma and pleasure.

For me, attunement is crucial in life. In attunement we can honor, respect and appreciate each other. In complete alignment, the most beautiful results are achieved. I stand for a world in which we may learn. In this way we grow together and this includes being able to call each other to account when norms and values are not respected.

I expect from the people around me, such as clients and participants, that I may address them. By setting an example, I hope to contribute to a culture in which this becomes a norm. The analyst in me likes to work carefully and with passion on subjects that are close to my heart. Justice is central to this.

People call me committed, loving, accessible and see that I express my masculine and feminine qualities with gentle strength.

WILRIEKE SOPHIA

They/them & she/her

Non-binary identifying, Dutch, neurodivergent, mother of three, highly educated, non-monogamous, kink/BDSM friendly, raised in a Catholic working class family in a small village, ecologist (MSc forestry and nature management). Intimacy educator, facilitator, and coach. Conscious kink trainer. Founder of Exploring Deeper, Cuddle Workshops International, and Cuddle Workshops in the Netherlands and Belgium. Facilitator, coach, speaker, activist, trainer.

Themes: consent, personal fulfilment, choice, non-monogamy, kink, sex, ritual, attachment dynamics, group dynamics, trauma-informedness, neurobiology.

Working with intimacy, on any level, in addition to bringing much beauty and initiating deep healing, can also touch much. In addition to there being a wonderful array of workshops, retreats, trainings, and sessions, there is also a lot that goes wrong. I like to contribute to making this sector as safe and transparent as possible, to increase the accountability of facilitators, and to have an appropriate plan for when things do go wrong.

As a participant who has experienced abuse of positions of power, and intimacy workshops that did more harm than good, I have great compassion and patience. I am direct and decisive.

TANYA ROZENTHAL

she/her

World citizen, pioneer, inspirational speaker, healer, medicine woman, mystic, trickster, mother, crone, teacher, wisdom keeper.

Facilitation, training, trauma therapy and coaching in the areas of love, attachment, intimacy and relationships. Sexual healing, sexual shamanism, sacred sexuality and Tantra.

Embodiment alchemist, facilitator of in-depth work for groups and communities, transformational retreats & intensives, shadow work & transpersonal counseling, psychotrauma, plant medicines and ritualism-systemic healing. Ecosexuality, ecology of love and relationships.

For me, it can't be enough about truth and maturity, being present in real life. Accountability is appropriating everything that belongs to me. And learning to navigate that, in integrity of connection with the other. I know what it feels like to be treated unfairly, to have to deal with rejection and bullying.

Ethics is the power to stay in the middle and be able to shine light from the core on all that gets in the way of living from our potential, seeing what damages us, removes us from each other and makes us smaller. Dealing with power, learning about hidden dynamics of cultural legacies, taboos and blind spots. Exposing shadow processes.

My life's work is about restoring origin and ecology of love and relationships in our human world. Because I work with trauma, I know very well the importance of the pure ground I stand on. What do I carry, and how do I walk my talk.

I am empathic, introverted, warm, intuitive and grounded. My strength lies in my compassion and inspired attunement in full attention.