Ethics and approach

Working across counselling and coaching raises real ethical questions. This page sets out how I try to navigate them. Not as a legal disclaimer, but because clarity about how the work is done is part of how the work actually works.

You remain in control

TheraCoaching is collaborative. I am not an expert on your life. My role is to help you think more clearly, not to tell you what you should do, who you should be, or what the right answer is.

You set the direction. You decide what to bring and what to withhold. You tell me when something is not working, and we adjust.

This is counselling-informed coaching

The work draws on counselling principles: attention to emotional experience, relational patterns, meaning-making, and the influence of the past. But the primary framing is coaching: purposeful, collaborative, and future-aware.

Where the work moves into territory that feels more like counselling, exploring difficult feelings, past experiences, or relational patterns in some depth, it does so within the limits of my training, competence, and ongoing supervision.

Supervision

I work under regular professional supervision. This is standard practice in counselling and good practice in coaching. Supervision means that the work is held within a broader professional framework, and that I am accountable not only to you, but to my professional obligations.

Limits of the work

TheraCoaching is not suited to people in mental health crisis, people experiencing psychosis, severe depression, active addiction, or any situation requiring specialist clinical input.

If at any point the work reveals needs that go beyond what TheraCoaching can responsibly offer, I will say so clearly and, where possible, help you find a more appropriate source of support.

It is not medical care

TheraCoaching is not a medical service and does not replace input from your GP, psychiatrist, or other healthcare provider. If you are currently receiving medical or psychiatric care, it may be worth mentioning TheraCoaching to your clinician.

Professional framework

This work is conducted in alignment with the values and ethical principles of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), including commitments to: respect for client autonomy, confidentiality, working within competence, and maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.