ETHICS AND LEGAL
PRINCIPLES FOR PRACTITIONERS OF ENERGY THERAPIES:
THE SACRED CONTRACT BETWEEN HEALER AND CLIENT
A
CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE
Created by: Midge Murphy, JD, PhD with sections based
on the book Creating Right Relationships: a Practical Guide to Ethics in Energy Therapies by Dorothea
Hover-Kramer and Midge Murphy.
What This Course Is About
This 4-hour, on-line course will assist practitioners of energy based therapies
to understand the core ethical issues and legal principles that affect their practices. With the busy schedules of most practitioners,
this course is designed to be self-paced, so each participant can take the time they need to complete it.
Like other healing modalities within the broad field of complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM), the practice of energy based therapies is growing exponentially. Energy therapies are multidisciplinary,
comprised of many different types of healing professionals, both licensed and non-licensed. Each group has specific requirements
and concerns in conducting their practices. Ethical conduct is vital to the integrity, authenticity, and acceptance of CAM
practitioners, including practitioners of energy based therapies, as they participate in the larger health care industry.
The purpose of this course is to provide participants with the opportunity
to learn about ethical concepts and legal principles in CAM generally, and in energy based therapies specifically. This broad
framework is necessary as CAM practitioners increasingly intersect with conventional health care practitioners, work in conventional
medical settings such as hospitals, and participate in integrative health care clinics and facilities alongside physicians
and allied health providers. In creating “right relationships” with clients, participants will learn to define
the therapeutic relationship as a sacred contract between themselves and the individuals they serve. In addition to learning
to understand the overarching ethical framework, participants will be able to identify the potential ethical and/or legal
vulnerabilities that could be present in their practices. Practitioners also will learn the core psychological concepts in
ethics and how they apply to practitioners of energy therapies. From that foundation participants will be able to expand the
traditional view of ethics to include working with clients on an intuitive/energetic level and in non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:
1. Define “right relationship” between caregiver and client in the practice of
energy based therapies.
2. Define key ethical and related legal
issues governing the practice of energy therapies so as be able to identify behavior that is considered unethical, including:
a. Practicing outside the scope of practice.
b. Fraud/misrepresentation
c. Failure to obtain informed consent
d. Breaches of confidentiality and privacy
e. Boundary issues (physical,
emotional, intellectual, sexual and energetic boundaries).
3.
Identify the core psychological concepts in ethics and understand how the traditional psychological/medical ethical framework
can be expanded to include working with clients on an intuitive/energetic level and in non-ordinary states of consciousness.
4. Identify the terms of the sacred contract between practitioner and client and
how archetypes can assist in the therapeutic process.
