The Ethics of Caring: Honoring the Web of Life in Our Professional Healing Relationships

This book was required reading for my while I was studying to attain my Reiki Master's certificate. I expected a rather dull ethics book, but this book is nothing even near dull. It takes the ethics of healing touch to a completely different (and clearer) level and gave me a much better understanding of my role as a Reiki Master. I understand why my teacher has her students study this book because of the depth of some of the issues are addressed in such a clear fashion that there can be no question as to how to handle them. It even covered things that I would have never thought of and explained our role explicitly. To me, it should be a must for anyone going into a healing touch profession whether it be Reiki or massage therapy or any related practices. We are responsible for our clients well-being and this is the overall theme of this book. Excellent source and easy reading.

This book covers a myriad of therapies. The format and scope was very appealing to me. It was not dry like most books I have read on ethics. A must for Complementary and Alternative practitioners.

Too often, ethical questions are considered dreary subjects best left to a committee. This book helps us see ethics as integrally related to how we do our work, and to our own personal growth. It also embraces a wide spectrum of consciousness, in a systematic way. It is particularly remarkable for its emphasis on non-ordinary states of consciousness, and how to handle these intense experiences when they occur in our work with clients (whether deliberately induced or occurring spontaneously). The Ethics of Caring will be especially valuable for trainee caregivers, supervisors, clients looking for the appropriate therapist, and any professionals who finds themselves, as we all do from time to time, out of our depth.

This is a very useful tool for any therapist, whether a mainstream counselor or doctor, or practitioners of complementary modalities such as massage. It discusses in plain language the ethical dilemmas we are all confronted by in our daily practice. I particularly appreciated the explanation of a client's vulnerability while in an altered state such as hypnosis or the deep relaxation produced by massage. The author also addresses the vulnerability of the therapist when faced with a client's issues that hook into the therapist's issues, creating a very murky situation indeed. The author assists us to provide appropriate loving care to our clients without violating boundaries.