Ethics Blog


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Welcome!

Welcome to my webpage, and to my blog! For those of you curious about why I started this, I find that we as counselors often have ethically sticky situations that we aren’t sure how to handle or who to talk to about it. This blog provides an anonymous space for you to do just that! Let’s start with some housekeeping:

  1. How to contact me: Please send your inquiry to ryan.aquilina.lcmhc@protonmail.com. All inquires will have their names and any identifying details changed in order to protect anonymity. (So, yes – your information will be changed twice – once by you and once by me.)
  2. Let’s have some ground rules!
    1. We’re all counselors here, and so we must adhere to our ethical guidelines when submitting questions. Please de-identify as much as you can before sending me your inquiry. I will also de-identify you as much as possible so that your inquiry cannot be traced back to you.
    2. While I am a huge ethics nerd, I’m by no means a legal expert, or an ethical expert, for that matter. None of us are, and so we consult. Please don’t make this blog your last stop in consultation. Any sound ethical decision will take into account multiple opinions; this will simply be mine.
  3. While I give advice about ethics, I am not responsible for what you do with my opinion once you read it. I am not legally or ethically responsible for any negative outcomes that may arise as a result of my advice or opinion (though hopefully there won’t be any).
  4. The views and opinions I express are my own and not those of my employers, clients, or consultees.
  5. I am a mandated reporter in the state of New Hampshire. If you tell me something reportable (child abuse/neglect, elder abuse/neglect, incapacitated adult abuse/neglect), I am mandated by law to make the call to DHHS.
  6. No ethical territory is too uncomfortable for me to address. We all get into spicy situations that we don’t know how to handle – from sexual attraction to clients or supervisees, to boundary issues that are difficult to navigate, to having to violate confidentiality for legal reasons. Bring it on! I want to hear all of it!

You might be asking yourself, “Who in the heck is this Ryan Person and why does she feel like she’s an ethical authority?” I don’t! I just have lots of different perspectives from my time as a counselor and feel that I have a nerdy enough knowledge of ethics to be able to share a perspective. There are many out there, all valid, and I’m just adding my voice. I bring clinical and supervisory experience to the table, and let me tell you, there is very little that surprises me anymore based on what I’ve heard and what I’ve experienced. (Of course, I say that knowing that there will be some surprises here!)

My first few blog entries are going to be hypotheticals from my own experiences. They won’t necessarily have anything to do with a specific client, just sticky ethical stuff that I’ve run into in my experiences as a counselor working primarily with kids. Welcome, and happy reading!

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