This collection addresses the ethical complexities that codes of ethics acknowledge but can't fully resolve — the grey areas where principles compete and context determines the right answer. It provides practical ethical reasoning frameworks rather than rule-following checklists.
The programme covers six areas:
Scope of Practice — Knowing your limits: when coaching becomes counselling, when to refer, and how to have that conversation with a client who doesn't want to hear it.
Confidentiality — Beyond the simple promise: navigating three-way contracts, organisational pressure for information, safeguarding obligations, and what to do when confidentiality conflicts with duty of care.
Dual Relationships — Managing the complexity when you're not just a coach: internal coaching, social connections, previous professional relationships, and the power dynamics that come with them.
Power & Dependency — Recognising and managing the inherent power differential in coaching, avoiding creating dependency, and supporting client autonomy.
Contracting — The ethical dimensions of contracting: informed consent, managing expectations, renegotiating when circumstances change, and ending well.
Digital Ethics — The ethical considerations specific to online coaching: data protection, platform security, digital boundaries, and maintaining presence through a screen.