ethical standing of vivo

vivo is politically neutral and independent. It's ethical standing and work is particularly based on:

-UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

-UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW);

-UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC);

-UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

-UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

-UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees;

-UN International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children;

-The Hague Convention;

vivo's core principles are impartiality and ethical behaviour through psychotrauma work that is professional and measurable, based on scientific knowledge as well as field experience. Vivo acknowledges ethno-cultural differences as well as individual uniqueness. Psychological trauma has caused suffering throughout the evolution of humankind. Regardless of the specific cultural background of a victim, suffering from post-traumatic symptoms is a person-unique as well as human universal response to a horrifying or life-threatening experience. Vivo based its conviction on the knowledge and assumption of basic anthropological, psychological and biological equality of mankind in this respect, since trauma challenge the fundamental being of a person. Amid peril and pain, humans do not differ in their emotional and somatic involvement to which they experience the psychological exposure of traumatic impact! The body will always show survival preparedness, while the mind gets shattered and traumatized. The traumatic experience outweighs ethnic and cultural differences in psychopathology, although the importance of culturally sensitive treatment and assessment must not be neglected. The cross-cultural research fostered through vivo will consider indigenous expressions of disorders after traumatic events, native idioms of distress and show ethno-cultural sensitivity in the assessment, including the use of instruments, language and concepts.