Bengali Mental Health Movement Community Guidelines
Bengali Mental Health Movement, Inc. (“BMHM”) strives to create spaces that promote mental well-being, connection, and collective healing. We are committed to building inclusive and respectful spaces for people of diverse gender identities, sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds, racial and ethnic identities, spiritual and religious identities, socioeconomic backgrounds, abilities, and lived experiences.
Our community includes people from Bangladesh and India, including the Bengal region and the Indian state of West Bengal, as well as people from many other backgrounds. We recognize that the Bengali community encompasses diverse languages, dialects, religions, cultures, political perspectives, and lived experiences.
We seek to practice harm reduction in our community spaces. Participation in BMHM's programs, events, online platforms, professional networks, and provider directory is conditioned on compliance with these Community Guidelines. BMHM reserves the right to restrict participation in, suspend, or remove individuals, providers, listings, content, or accounts when we determine that conduct is inconsistent with these Guidelines or with the safety and integrity of our community.
Respect and Non-Discrimination
BMHM is committed to creating spaces where community members can participate without being subjected to racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, anti-Blackness, casteism, colorism, Zionism, or other forms of marginalization and harm.
We recognize that discrimination and marginalization can take many forms. This includes racial slurs, stereotypes, harassment, exclusion, threats, demeaning comments, and other conduct that targets or dehumanizes people based on their identity, background, beliefs, or lived experience.
BMHM's commitment to an inclusive community does not require community members to share the same political, religious, cultural, or social views. Members may hold and express differing views, provided that their participation complies with these Guidelines and does not constitute harassment, discrimination, threats, intimidation, or other prohibited conduct.
Creating a Safer Community Space
One of BMHM's goals is to build community, both online and in person, so that people can learn from one another's lived experiences and engage in collective healing.
No community space can guarantee that every person will feel completely safe, comfortable, or free from disagreement at all times. BMHM therefore seeks to create spaces that are as respectful, inclusive, and supportive as reasonably possible.
Community members are expected to:
- Treat others with dignity and respect;
- Avoid discriminatory, harassing, threatening, or demeaning conduct;
- Respect differences in identity, culture, religion, language, political perspective, and lived experience;
- Avoid making assumptions about another person's identity or experiences;
- Respect reasonable boundaries;
- Avoid sharing another person's personal or confidential information without permission;
- Follow applicable laws, professional obligations, and BMHM policies.
Challenging Racism & Discrimination
The Bengali community includes people from Bangladesh, India, the Indian state of West Bengal, and many other places and backgrounds. Bengali communities encompass diverse languages, dialects, religions, castes, racial identities, and cultural backgrounds. Language and cultural connection can be important sources of belonging and healing, but shared language or cultural identity does not mean that all community members share the same experiences or social identities.
BMHM recognizes that anti-Blackness, casteism, colorism, religious discrimination, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of prejudice can exist within South Asian and Bengali communities and can have serious implications for mental health and well-being.
We ask community members to remain attentive to these dynamics, reflect on assumptions and biases, and challenge discriminatory attitudes and conduct when they arise.
Participants should not be required to minimize, conceal, or deny their identities or lived experiences in order to participate in BMHM spaces.
Names, Pronouns, and Gender Identity
Please do not assume another person's gender identity or pronouns.
Respect the names and pronouns that people use to identify themselves. When appropriate, community members are encouraged to share their own pronouns rather than assuming another person's pronouns.
Misgendering, intentionally refusing to use someone's stated name or pronouns, or otherwise targeting someone because of their gender identity or expression may violate these Guidelines.
Professional and Community Boundaries
BMHM brings together mental health professionals, community members, advocates, organizers, and others with different experiences and relationships to mental health.
Providers participating in BMHM spaces are expected to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and to follow the professional and ethical obligations that apply to them.
BMHM community spaces are not a substitute for therapy, clinical supervision, professional consultation, or crisis care. Providers should not use community spaces to provide individualized clinical advice to people with whom they do not have a professional relationship.
Providers should also protect the privacy of current and former clients and should not share information that could reasonably identify a client, even if names or other obvious identifying details have been removed.
Professional status does not give anyone authority over other community members. Providers should not use their professional role to pressure, exploit, intimidate, or take advantage of others. Likewise, community members should not assume that a provider participating in a BMHM space is available to provide therapy, diagnosis, assessment, crisis intervention, or other professional services.
Participation in a BMHM community space does not by itself create a therapist-client, doctor-patient, counselor-client, or other professional relationship.
Privacy and Confidentiality
BMHM recognizes that conversations about mental health, identity, culture, relationships, trauma, and lived experience can involve deeply personal information. We ask everyone to treat other people's information with care.
Please do not:
- Share another person's private or confidential information without permission;
- Post someone's phone number, address, email address, photograph, or other identifying information without permission;
- Share private messages, screenshots, recordings, or communications from BMHM spaces outside those spaces without appropriate permission;
- Identify someone as a current or former client of a mental health professional without authorization; or
- Share confidential information about another person's mental health, treatment, or personal circumstances.
Community members should avoid pressuring others to disclose personal information, explain their identity, or share experiences they do not wish to discuss.
Please remember that BMHM community spaces are not confidential clinical spaces. Information shared in a public or broadly accessible space may be seen, copied, saved, or redistributed by others. Even information shared in a private BMHM space should not automatically be assumed to remain confidential. Use care and discretion when deciding what personal information to share.
Community Participation and Boundaries
BMHM community spaces are intended to support connection, learning, mutual understanding, and collective healing.
Community members are encouraged to:
- Speak from their own experiences rather than assuming that their experiences represent an entire community;
- Respect other people's boundaries;
- Give others space to choose whether and how they participate in a conversation; and
- Avoid pressuring someone to answer a question, continue a discussion, disclose personal information, or defend their identity or lived experience.
Participation in a conversation is not an obligation. People may choose not to respond, step away, or disengage from a discussion.
Disagreement and Difficult Conversations
Disagreement is a normal part of community life. BMHM does not expect people to share the same political, religious, cultural, social, or personal views.
We encourage community members to approach difficult conversations with curiosity, care, and respect for one another's humanity.
Criticism of an idea, belief, institution, policy, or social practice is different from targeting a person. Disagreement must not become harassment, intimidation, threats, personal attacks, discriminatory conduct, or demeaning treatment.
Community members are encouraged to recognize when a conversation is no longer productive and to step away when appropriate.
Harassment, Threats, and Intimidation
BMHM does not tolerate threats, intimidation, stalking, targeted harassment, or conduct intended to frighten, silence, humiliate, or harm another person.
This may include repeated unwanted contact, targeted insults, threats of violence, encouraging others to harass someone, sharing someone's private information to facilitate harassment, or other conduct that creates a hostile or intimidating environment.
Sexual harassment, unwanted sexual attention, sexualized comments directed at another person, and other inappropriate sexual conduct are not permitted.
Disagreement, criticism, or frustration do not necessarily constitute harassment. BMHM will consider the context and circumstances when responding to concerns.
Content That May Cause Harm
BMHM recognizes that community members may discuss difficult subjects, including trauma, abuse, racism, discrimination, mental illness, substance use, suicide, self-harm, sexual violence, and other painful experiences.
Difficult subjects are not prohibited simply because they may be upsetting. However, community members should avoid material that is gratuitously graphic, intended to shock or distress others, or likely to cause unnecessary harm.
Content that encourages suicide, self-harm, violence, abuse, exploitation, or other serious harm may be removed. Content that promotes or celebrates discrimination, dehumanization, or violence may also be removed.
When reasonably possible, please use a content warning when sharing material that may be particularly distressing. Content warnings can give others the opportunity to decide whether they wish to continue participating, step away from a conversation, or prepare themselves for potentially difficult material.
Content warnings do not prohibit discussion of difficult subjects. Rather, they are intended to support agency, consent, and care within our community spaces.
Reporting and Responding to Concerns
Community members are encouraged to let BMHM know when they experience or observe conduct that may be inconsistent with these Guidelines.
Community members do not need to determine whether something technically violates these Guidelines before raising a concern. Share as much relevant information as you feel comfortable providing.
BMHM may respond to concerns by communicating with people involved, providing guidance, removing content, limiting participation, suspending participation, removing a Provider listing, or taking other appropriate action. BMHM may respond to conduct that is inconsistent with these Guidelines even when the conduct does not violate the law.
BMHM considers the circumstances of each situation, including the nature and severity of the conduct, whether it was repeated or targeted, and whether there are ongoing concerns about community safety or well-being.
We may not always be able to share details about how a particular concern was handled because of privacy and confidentiality considerations. We encourage people to raise concerns in good faith and not to knowingly make false or malicious reports about others.
Crisis and Emergency Situations
BMHM community spaces are not emergency or crisis services. Community members should not rely on BMHM staff, volunteers, providers, online groups, or other participants for immediate assistance during a mental health emergency.
If you or another person is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
In the United States, you may also call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
We recognize that 911, 988, and other crisis-response systems may not feel safe or appropriate for everyone, particularly for people and communities who have experienced discrimination, violence, or harm from emergency or law-enforcement systems. You may wish to consider other crisis-support options that may better reflect your needs, identity, or circumstances.
Inclusive Therapists maintains a list of crisis support resources, including warm and crisis lines serving communities that may prefer alternatives to traditional emergency or police-based responses: Inclusive Therapists Crisis Support Resources.
If someone shares information suggesting that they or another person may be in immediate danger, BMHM may take steps it considers appropriate to protect safety, including contacting emergency services when appropriate.
A Note About Community Safety
Creating a genuinely inclusive community is an ongoing process. People may experience the same conversation, event, or community space differently based on their identities, histories, and lived experiences.
These Guidelines provide a shared foundation for participation while leaving room for people to bring their own experiences, perspectives, and identities into the community.
We encourage community members to approach one another with care, remain open to learning, and recognize that creating more inclusive and supportive spaces is a shared responsibility.
Relationship to Other BMHM Policies
These Community Guidelines work alongside BMHM's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Terms of Use describe the rules governing use of BMHM's website, Provider Directory, membership services, and other Services. The Privacy Policy describes how BMHM handles personal information. These Guidelines describe the values and behavioral expectations that apply to participation in BMHM community spaces.
BMHM may update these Guidelines from time to time as our community and our understanding of community care continue to develop.