We want to help people use dialogue, wherever you wish.

Dialogue groups are taking place all over the world and the practice is growing. Group Dialogues are places where people connect with the public, friends and colleagues. By coming together and making use of the powerful principles and practices of dialogic communication, new insight and knowledge is generated and cohesion is maximised in order to instigate better action and create growth.

Of course, we have no control over anyone using Dialogue for whatever purpose, wherever they wish, including setting up of groups and communities. As specialists in the field of Dialogue, we feel we have a responsibility to inform you and the public of what we perceive as good conduct.

The rules and guidelines below are for general public support only, for anyone who is NOT affiliated with Dialogica. 

Our Dialogue speciality is in Autism and Neurodiversity, a legacy which began in 2017 and of which we are proud. We therefore seek to maintain the highest standards and protect our interests for it to proliferate and grow in the best ways. 

Until October 2024, ‘Autism Dialogue’ / ‘Autism Dialogue  Approach’ / ‘ADA’ were protected registered trademarks and previously we asked that these were not be used without undertaking our specialist training and written permission, so that we could develop the framework without being compromised.

However, we have now established the model and during the writing of the ADA Handbook we decided it’s best that the Autism Dialogue Approach, is used as widely and freely as possible (and we have made this very clear in the book, which will be released in March 2025).

Dialogica has designed various workshops and training programmes, which fully addresses the practice of Autism Dialogue from our point of view and covers conduct and ethics in greater detail. You may also refer to your own Code of Conduct and Ethics, for example with BACP and EMCC, and the writing below.

This Code of Conduct clarifies what is and isn’t good conduct so we can all work towards ensuring that everyone has a good experience in any dialogue group, anywhere.  This code is meant to reinforce our position and complement the practice of Dialogue. 

This page does not include any information on guidance for you as a member of the public, in actually practicing Dialogue – that is your own responsibility, not ours. 

For convenience, this page is in two parts:

1. Quick rules for interacting with others (useful to get a certain kind of message across)…and the more sophisticated

2. Ethical Guidelines. 

Together, they make a clear boundary around where you build and grow your foundational  practices. Thankfully, if everyone uses and applies Dialogue Practices responsibly, these rules and guidelines, which are largely based on common sense, may seem obvious. 

Every user of Dialogue should feel like their voice can be heard, but not at the expense of someone else.

• Do not harass others or organise, participate in, or encourage harassment of others.
• Do not promote hate speech. It’s unacceptable and often illegal to attack a person or a community based on their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.  (UK Equality Act 2010)
• Do not make threats of violence or threaten to harm others. This includes indirect threats, as well as sharing or threatening to share someone’s private personal information.
• Do not try to hide your identity for malicious purposes, or otherwise circumvent devices which enable people to protect themselves.

HERE ARE SOME RULES FOR CONTENT ON DIALOGUE, WHICH INCLUDES VERBAL CONTENT SHARED DURING DIALOGUE:

• People’s personal data is protected by strict rules governed by GDPR – the European and British Law. Examples of personal data include someone’s facial image and email address. If you are unsure about this, use something like a social media platform to communicate to your group instead of emails or use Bcc (not Cc). You may refer to GDPR (international privacy laws) about this, which we adhere to. 
• You may not share private information about other people without their consent.
• You may not share information that glorifies or promotes suicide or self-harm, including any encouragement to others to cut themselves, or embrace eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia.
  
• You may not share accounts of sadistic gore or animal cruelty.
  
• You may not use Dialogue for the organisation, promotion, or support of violent extremism.
• In general, you should not promote, encourage or engage in any illegal behaviour. This is very likely to get you kicked out of our networks, blacklisted, and may result in you being reported to law authorities.
• You may not share content that violates anyone’s intellectual property or other rights.
• You may not spam anyone, including your friends, staff or any members including those of Dialogica.
• Making false and malicious reports may lead to further action being taken.

ETHICS OF DIALOGUE FACILITATORS

Dialogue facilitators and their group members:

·     Should be dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of professional competence and integrity. They should dedicate themselves to studying, teaching, disseminating and promoting the art, science, philosophy and practice of Dialogue.

Dialogue facilitators and their group members: 

·     Do not harass others or organise, participate in, or encourage harassment of others.

·     Do not promote hate speech. It’s unacceptable and often illegal to attack a person or a community based on their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.  (UK Equality Act 2010)

·     Do not make threats of violence or threaten to harm others. This includes indirect threats, as well as sharing or threatening to share someone’s private personal information.

·     Do not try to hide your identity for malicious purposes, or otherwise circumvent devices which enable people to protect themselves.

SOME RULES FOR CONTENT ON DIALOGUE, WHICH INCLUDES VERBAL CONTENT SHARED DURING DIALOGUE:

·     People’s personal data is protected by strict rules governed by GDPR – the European and British Law. Examples of personal data include someone’s facial image and email address. If you are unsure about this, use something like a social media platform to communicate to your group instead of emails or use Bcc (not Cc). You may refer to GDPR (international privacy laws) about this, which we adhere to. 

·     You may not share private information about other people without their consent.

·     You may not share information that glorifies or promotes suicide or self-harm, including any encouragement to others to cut themselves, or embrace eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia.

·     You may not share accounts of sadistic gore or animal cruelty.

·     You may not use Dialogue for the organisation, promotion, or support of violent extremism.

·     In general, you should not promote, encourage or engage in any illegal behaviour. This is very likely to get you kicked out of our networks, blacklisted, and may result in you being reported to law authorities.

·     You may not share content that violates anyone’s intellectual property or other rights.

·     You may not spam anyone, including your friends, staff or any members including those of Dialogica.

·     Making false and malicious reports may lead to further action being taken.