The APS Annual Meeting strives to provide a forum for exchanging ideas and research findings in a professional setting. As such, behavior that would not be appropriate in the workplace is not appropriate at APS Meeting events. In order to ensure that the Annual Meeting remains a safe and respectful venue, general guidelines for presenter and attendee behaviors are outlined below.

Child Care: The APS Annual Meeting is a family-friendly event.

  • Child Care: APS staff  and the headquarters hotel can help identify local resources for delegates in need of child care.
  • Lactation Room: Attendees in need of a lactation room should check with the APS registration desk.

Social Media: APS is aware that attendees may want to communicate conference findings and comment on them to an audience. These communications may occur in real-time, such that an individual is providing a running description or commentary on a presentation as it is occurring. If you are a presenter and do not want your picture, slides or research to be shared on Twitter or other social media, please mention that to the audience before your presentation.

Photography: By attending the APS Annual Meeting, registrants consent to be photographed during the course of the meeting, with the understanding that those images may be used in APS documents, publications and/or on the website. If you prefer to not have your image used by APS, please contact info@psychosomatic.org. We encourage you to ask permission before taking photographs or making any kind of recordings of individuals or small groups. Please don’t use photos or recordings for commercial purposes without express consent of conference planners.

Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages may be provided at some evening APS events.  Alcohol will only be distributed by commercial hosts following local and state statutes, which may include limiting consumption. Alcohol may not be brought into APS-sponsored events nor may alcohol be consumed by those not of legal age. Because excessive alcohol leads to impaired decision-making, APS discourages excessive drinking at any point during the meeting.

Harassment: APS is dedicated to providing a harassment–free experience for all attendees regardless of gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion (or lack thereof), nationality, or other group identity. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any meeting venue, including talks, workshops, social networking events, and online/social media unless it is scientifically justified. APS will not tolerate harassment of meeting participants in any form. Harassment includes any behavior that a reasonable person would find intimidating, hostile or offensive. Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

  • Verbal or written comments and negative behavior, either in real or virtual space, including those which are related to or are based upon gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion (or lack thereof), nationality or other group identity
  • Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following 
  • Harassing photography or recording
  • Sustained disruption of talks or other events
  • Unwelcome physical contact
  • Unwelcome sexual attention
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, and you feel comfortable speaking with the offender, please inform the offender that behavior is unwanted and offensive. Oftentimes, the offending behavior is unintentional, and the accidental offender and offended will resolve the incident by having that initial discussion. Presenters or attendees asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the conference organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender, expulsion from the conference with no refund and/or banning the offender from future APS events.

APS recognizes that there are many reasons that speaking directly to the offender may not be an option for you. If you do not feel comfortable speaking directly with the offender for any reason, seek out a conference staff member. To make a personal report of harassment, please contact Sarah Shiffert at Sarah@psychosomatic.org or Laura Degnon at Laura@degnon.org or ask for Sarah at the registration desk. You may designate any part of your report as confidential. Conference staff will help participants contact hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. We value your attendance.

Safety Resources:  The local police department, emergency and non-emergency medical center phone numbers and addresses and the phone numbers for the local sexual assault hotline and local taxi companies will be made available onsite at each Annual Meeting location.