How We Practice Our Work
More Than Stories Collective supports mental health organisations through communication, visibility, and systems work. Because this work shapes how care is understood and accessed, how we practice matters as much as what we produce.
This page outlines the commitments that guide our work and the boundaries we hold.
Care Comes Before Visibility
We do not believe more visibility is always better.
In care contexts, increased attention can create strain, misalignment, or unintended harm. We work with clinics to determine what kind of visibility is appropriate, at what pace, and with what safeguards.
We prioritise clarity over reach and consent over exposure.
Human Work, Not
Generative Substitution.
All writing, research, design, and strategy work at More Than Stories Collective is done by humans.
We do not use generative AI to produce written content, visual work, or research outputs. This is an intentional choice.
We believe care communication requires context, accountability, and authorship. Generative systems remove responsibility while relying on extractive data practices that often reproduce harm.
Our work is written, researched, and designed by people who are accountable to the clinics we support.
Respect for Artists,
Writers, and Creators
We do not scrape, imitate, or replicate the work of artists, writers, or designers without consent.
Creative labour is labour. We believe in proper attribution, fair compensation, and original work that reflects real relationships rather than mimicry.
Our visual and written work is developed in-house or with explicit permission and collaboration.
Environmental Responsibility and Refusal of Extraction
We are conscious that digital infrastructure has physical consequences.
Large-scale data centres, automated content production, and constant optimisation rely on intensive energy use, resource extraction, and land exploitation. These impacts are not evenly distributed and often affect communities already burdened by environmental racism.
Our refusal to use generative AI and high-volume automation is part of how we reduce participation in these systems.
We choose slower, intentional work because care should not come at the expense of other lives or environments.
Marketing as Communication, Not Manipulation
We do not practice persuasion-based marketing.
Our work focuses on accurate representation, clear language, and appropriate boundaries. We do not use urgency tactics, fear-based messaging, or optimisation strategies that prioritise conversion over care.
Marketing, in our view, is a form of communication. In care contexts, communication must be truthful, legible, and grounded in consent.
Limits, Capacity, and Saying No
We believe ethical work requires limits.
We take on a small number of partnerships at a time and are transparent about capacity. We do not promise timelines or outcomes that compromise care quality.
When a request falls outside our scope or values, we say so clearly and respectfully.
Boundaries are not barriers. They are part of how care remains possible.
On Ethics, Limits, and Ongoing Work
We do not believe it is possible to be perfectly ethical within the systems we currently operate in.
Care work, communication, and business all exist inside economic, technological, and political structures that carry harm. Participation in these systems involves compromise, constraint, and contradiction.
Our commitment is not to purity. It is to responsibility.
We make choices with awareness of impact, name our limits honestly, and remain open to change. When harm is identified, we take it seriously and adjust our practices where we can.
Ethical work, for us, is not a fixed standard or a completed state. It is an ongoing process of reflection, refusal, repair, and care.
We will not always get it right. What matters is that we are accountable, transparent, and willing to do the work of alignment over time.
Accountability and Ongoing Practice
We do not consider our approach finished or perfect.
Our commitments are shaped by listening, learning, and accountability to the communities impacted by our work. We remain open to feedback and willing to change our practices when harm is identified.
Ethical work is not a claim. It is an ongoing practice.
How This Shapes Our Partnerships
We work best with clinics and organisations that value:
❋
Consent and clarity
❋
Sustainability over speed
❋
Responsibility over optimisation
❋
Human work and relational care