I.     The AATH member shall accurately represent his/her professional qualifications and experience in all oral, written, and electronic communications referring to his or her involvement in applied and therapeutic humor.

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II.     The AATH member shall act and speak professionally so as not to discredit the discipline of therapeutic humor nor knowingly offend an audience or others practicing applied humor for therapeutic purposes.

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III.     The AATH member shall exert diligence to understand clients’ situations, organization, approaches, and goals relevant to therapeutic and/or applied humor before delivering services.

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IV.     To the extent possible, the AATH member shall accurately represent theoretically sound applied and therapeutic humor knowledge and applications. The AATH member shall protect the public against fraud and inaccurate information and attempt to eliminate from the therapeutic humor discipline all myths that discredit the discipline.

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V.     The AATH member shall treat other applied and therapeutic humor professionals and practitioners with professional courtesy and dignity. Members shall respect the rights of program or material originators to retain ownership/authorship of said program or material. Prominent use of another’s program or material should be discussed with the original author(s) to provide a clear understanding of boundaries for use.

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VI.     The AATH member shall respect and maintain trust and confidentiality concerning the business or personal affairs of clients and fellow applied and therapeutic humor professionals.

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VII.     The AATH member shall not enter into any agreement to unfairly limit or restrain access to the marketplace by any other professional, client, or to the public, based on economic factors, race, creed, color, sex, age, physical condition, sexual orientation, or country of national origin.

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VIII.     Performance criteria and ethical standards required by members’ professional licensing and legal certification agencies or organizations shall take precedence over AATH rules and regulations.

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IX.     Violations of the obligations of the Code of Ethics shall be determined in accordance with the bylaws, policies, and procedures of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. AATH shall institute disciplinary actions in accordance with the bylaws, rules, and regulations established by the association. Any disciplinary action shall be final and binding upon the AATH member without recourse to the association, its officers, members or staff.