Embodied Ethics Framework
A trauma-informed, relational approach to ethics as a living, embodied practice.
The Embodied Ethics Framework is a living ecology of practice designed to support ethical decision-making in complex healing environments.
It brings together trauma-informed care, relational accountability, spiritual and ethical discernment, and systemic awareness.
At its core, embodied ethics understands ethics not as a fixed set of rules or ideas, but as something lived through our bodies, our relationships, and the power we hold in real situations. It asks not only what is right, but how we show up, how we relate, and how we respond when complexity or harm arises.
Rather than offering fixed answers, the framework provides a reflective and practical structure to help practitioners and organizations navigate power, vulnerability, and ethical complexity with greater discernment, care, and accountability.
The Framework
Six pillars, three rings, and a living systems lens that support ethical care from the individual to the collective.
Levels of Care
Individual
Therapeutic and ceremonial relationships.
Relational Dynamics
Leadership, teams, and facilitator-client interactions.
Collectives and Organizations
Clinics, retreat centers, and programs.
Systems and Policy
Protocols, training standards, and institutional culture.
Who This Supports
Mental health professionals
Coaches and guides
Plant medicine practitioners
Ceremonial facilitators
Retreat facilitators and space holders
Integration specialists
Clinic, program, and retreat leaders
Organizations building ethical models of care
Those shaping programs and policy in healing spaces
Where Embodied Ethics Meets Practice
Clinical and ceremonial discernment and navigation
Training, supervision, and practitioner development
Program and protocol design
Team culture and leadership
Ethical reflection, accountability, growth, and repair
Integration and aftercare
The framework is designed to scale across all levels of care, recognizing that healing unfolds not only within the self, but between people and across communities, cultures, and systems.
How we hold what is tender shapes what becomes possible.
This work is held within an ongoing practice of reciprocity in support of Indigenous communities and land-based initiatives connected to plant medicines and the teachings they carry and share.
How we hold what is tender shapes what becomes possible.
This work is held within an ongoing practice of reciprocity in support of Indigenous communities and land-based initiatives connected to plant medicines and the teachings they carry and share.
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