Hey, Deserving listeners, I thought I would answer some of your patron emails.

This email is from annual long-term anonymous patron.

She says, would it be unethical for your past therapists to listen to your podcast?

Thanks, EOE, or end of email.

So the question is, would it be unethical for your past

therapists to listen to your podcast, to my podcast? Well, at first, reading this question, I think

it's a typo that you meant past clients. But if I were to answer this as it's written, which is also possible,

the key here is that we must understand what ethics are trying to get at, which is harm.

The ethical codes are there to prevent harm and to give us a guide regarding managing the risk of harm.

Because a lot of things in therapy do risk harm to the clients, but we have to balance

that with the justification to do so.

Like if we enter into PTSD treatment of any sort with a client, there is a risk of harm. But it is

justified, usually, you know, case-by-case basis by the fact that the research shows that the treatment

models that have been researched to work work if used by a competent therapist

most of the time there's tremendous benefits so there is a justification to risking that harm

now obviously if there's just not only risk but actual harm harm of a client, then that's a whole other story.

But typically when we're thinking about ethical codes, ethical decision-making questions on the internet about, is this ethical or not, usually we're in that limbo zone of possible harm, risk of harm.

So, for example, when I am given presentations

on this podcast or as a professor or in workshops or something, and I provide a case example,

there is a risk of harm. I could harm the client that I'm talking about

because I could break confidentiality. I could represent the profession in a bad way and cause

people to not want to go to therapy, that sort of thing. But when it comes to the justifications of providing a

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