What are the ethical considerations mediums must adhere to during sessions?
During sessions, mediums should communicate honestly, obtain informed consent, respect confidentiality and personal boundaries, and avoid presenting impressions as guaranteed facts. Ethical practice also means showing compassion, avoiding fear-based or manipulative claims, acknowledging the limits of mediumship, and encouraging appropriate professional support when a concern falls outside the medium’s role.
Ethical mediumship requires a clear professional framework for protecting a sitter’s autonomy, dignity and welfare. In practice, this means using responsible methods, managing the structure of the session properly, avoiding conflicts of interest and treating spiritual material with care rather than using it to control a person’s decisions.
Respect the sitter’s autonomy
A medium should support a person’s ability to make their own choices, not position themselves as the authority over those choices. Messages may be presented for reflection, but the sitter remains responsible for deciding what significance, if any, to attach to them. A responsible practitioner avoids language that pressures someone to return for further sessions, make a particular purchase or act immediately.
This principle is especially important when a sitter is distressed, grieving or uncertain about a major decision. Emotional vulnerability can make suggestions feel more authoritative than intended. Ethical practice therefore avoids creating reliance on the medium as the person’s only source of reassurance or direction.
Be transparent about the nature of the service
Before a session begins, the sitter should be able to understand what kind of reading is being offered, how it will be conducted and what the medium can reasonably provide. Descriptions should not imply a level of certainty, access or expertise that the practitioner does not possess. Transparency also includes explaining the practical arrangements, such as the expected format, any relevant charges and whether notes or recordings are retained.
Clear terms help prevent misunderstandings. They should be presented in accessible language rather than hidden behind technical or mystical terminology. If the session changes direction, the medium should explain why rather than quietly introducing a different service or additional cost.
Protect privacy and personal information
Mediumship can involve sensitive details about bereavement, family relationships and private experiences. Information shared during a reading should be handled carefully and only used for the purpose for which it was provided. Practitioners should consider who can hear a phone session, how written correspondence is stored and whether any recording has been made with the sitter’s explicit agreement.
Ethical confidentiality also applies after the session. A medium should not use a sitter’s story as promotional material, a teaching example or social media content without separate, informed permission. Even where names are removed, unusual details may make a person identifiable. Records should be kept only when there is a legitimate reason to do so and should be disposed of securely when no longer needed.
Use particular care with vulnerable people
Children, people experiencing acute grief and individuals affected by serious mental or physical illness may require additional safeguards. A medium should assess whether a session is appropriate, avoid exploiting dependence and recognise when participation could increase distress. Sessions involving a minor should follow suitable parental or guardian arrangements, while still respecting the child’s dignity and privacy.
A practitioner should never use a person’s vulnerability to justify alarming claims, demand secrecy or discourage contact with trusted relatives, carers or qualified professionals. Safeguarding concerns should be treated seriously and managed according to applicable legal and professional responsibilities.
Do not make unethical claims about other people
Readings about a partner, relative, colleague or alleged spirit should not be used to make definitive accusations about someone who is absent and unable to respond. A medium should be cautious about claims involving infidelity, criminal conduct, hidden medical conditions or family disputes. Such statements can damage relationships and may lead to harmful decisions.
Ethical practice also means refusing requests to invade another person’s privacy or to use a session as a substitute for direct communication, evidence or proper investigation. The sitter’s interest in a third party does not remove that third party’s right to dignity and fair treatment.
Maintain professional boundaries
A medium should keep the relationship professional and avoid conduct that could confuse spiritual guidance with friendship, therapy or a personal relationship. Boundaries may cover communication outside the appointment, gifts, personal disclosures and requests for ongoing contact. They also help the practitioner identify situations in which a referral or refusal is more responsible than continuing a session.
Ethical boundaries apply to money as well as personal conduct. Pricing, cancellations, additional services and payment arrangements should be explained plainly. A practitioner should not create artificial urgency, imply that repeated readings are necessary or increase a charge because a sitter appears emotionally invested.
Respect culture, belief and difference
Mediumship takes place within a wide range of religious, cultural and personal beliefs. A responsible practitioner avoids presenting one spiritual tradition as universally correct and does not disparage a sitter’s faith, identity or background. Terminology should be adapted respectfully, and assumptions about family structures, relationships, gender or bereavement should be avoided.
Overall, ethical mediumship is demonstrated through accountable conduct before, during and after the reading. A useful test is whether the session preserves the sitter’s freedom, privacy and dignity, while keeping the medium’s role clearly defined. If a practice depends on fear, secrecy, pressure or financial exploitation, it falls outside responsible professional behaviour.
Consent should remain ongoing throughout a mediumship session. Agreeing to begin a reading does not mean the sitter has agreed to every topic, method or disclosure that may arise. A responsible medium checks that the person is comfortable before exploring sensitive subjects, explains unexpected changes in direction and accepts a request to pause, change the subject or end the session without objection.
This approach also applies when another person is present or when a session is recorded. Everyone involved should understand their role and give permission before participating. Clear, ongoing consent helps prevent a reading from becoming intrusive and ensures that spiritual communication remains a voluntary service rather than an experience imposed on the sitter.