1. Our Purpose
We believe that what happens to us can profoundly influence how we think, feel, relate and behave – but it does not have to determine what happens next.
Our purpose is to help people understand the impact of difficult experiences, develop the psychological resources needed for recovery, interrupt patterns that no longer serve them and move forward with greater agency, connection and choice.
We believe recovery involves more than understanding the past.
It involves learning how to live differently in the present and developing the capacity to build a meaningful future
2. Our Mission
Our mission is to make trauma-informed psychological support practical, compassionate and transformative.
We aim to bring together psychological understanding with structured, real-world application so that clients can translate insight into meaningful change in their everyday lives.
We seek to provide people with:
- greater understanding of themselves;psychological and emotional resources;
- practical recovery tools;
- greater self-compassion;
- healthier relationships and boundaries;
- increased confidence and agency;
- greater resilience; and
- a clearer way forward.
We do not believe recovery should be rushed.
We also do not believe people should remain stuck simply because change is difficult.
Our role is to help clients find the balance between compassion for what they have experienced and the courage to move towards what comes next.
3. Who We Are and Our Scope of Practice
Naked Recovery provides a range of psychologically informed and trauma-informed services.
Depending upon the Program, practitioner and jurisdiction, these may include:
- trauma-informed coaching;
- coaching psychology-informed support;
- recovery coaching;
- relationship and couples work;
- mediation and conflict resolution;
- mentoring;
- psychoeducation;
- emotional regulation and resourcing;
- structured recovery Programs;
- behavioural change work;
- retreat-based recovery Programs; and
- other psychologically informed services within the competence and scope of the practitioner providing them.
Naked Recovery is not a psychiatric or emergency mental health service.
We do not provide medical diagnosis, prescribe or manage medication, or provide legal advice.
Not every Naked Recovery practitioner holds the same qualifications, professional registrations or scope of practice.
Each practitioner is expected to work only within the boundaries of their:
- education and training;
- professional competence;
- qualifications;
- registration or professional status where applicable;
- insurance;
- supervision; and
- legal and ethical obligations.
Where a client’s needs fall outside the appropriate scope of Naked Recovery or the practitioner involved, we will seek to recognise this and recommend or facilitate appropriate additional or alternative professional support.
4. Our Core Ethical Principles
Respect & Dignity
Every person has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We respect differences in experience, identity, values, culture, beliefs, relationships and ways of understanding the world.
We seek to understand before assuming.
We do not believe that having experienced trauma makes somebody broken, deficient or incapable.
We recognise both vulnerability and strength.
Autonomy & Agency
Clients remain the authors of their own lives.
Our role is to help people understand themselves, explore possibilities and make informed choices – not to make their decisions for them.
We will not knowingly create unnecessary dependency upon a practitioner or Program.
Where appropriate, we may challenge, question, educate and offer alternative perspectives. However, the client retains the right to decide what they believe, what they choose and what they do.
Our ultimate aim is greater self-understanding, self-trust and agency.
Compassion & Care
Trauma-informed work requires compassion.
We recognise that behaviours which appear confusing, frustrating or self-defeating may have developed as understandable attempts to cope, survive, belong or feel safe.
We therefore seek to approach clients with curiosity rather than judgement.
Compassion does not mean avoiding difficult conversations.
There may be times when a practitioner respectfully challenges a pattern, assumption or behaviour because doing so may support the client’s goals.
Challenge should always be offered with care, respect and attention to the client’s capacity – never through humiliation, intimidation or coercion.
Competence
We take professional competence seriously.
Practitioners are expected to recognise both what they know and the limits of what they know.
We will not knowingly work outside our competence simply because a client wants us to.
Where additional expertise is required, we may seek supervision, professional consultation or recommend another appropriately qualified practitioner.
Competence also requires continued learning.
Naked Recovery practitioners are encouraged to undertake ongoing professional development, supervision, reflection and education relevant to their work.
Integrity
We seek to be honest about:
- our qualifications;
- our professional status;
- our experience;
- the services we provide;
- the evidence supporting our approaches;
- what we know;
- what remains uncertain;
- what our Programs can reasonably offer; and
- when another professional may be better placed to help.
We do not knowingly misrepresent professional titles, qualifications, registrations, evidence or outcomes.
Integrity includes being willing to acknowledge uncertainty and, where necessary, being willing to say:
“I don’t know.”
Responsibility & Do No Harm
We recognise that psychologically informed work can have significant effects.
Our responsibility is therefore not simply to pursue change, but to consider how change is pursued and whether the approach remains appropriate for the individual client.
We aim to work in ways that minimise unnecessary psychological harm.
Where a client becomes significantly destabilised, where risk increases, or where their needs exceed the appropriate scope of the service, we may:
- modify the work;
- slow the pace;
- pause the Program;
- seek supervision;
- recommend additional professional support; or
- discontinue the service where necessary.
Recovery should never become another experience in which a person’s voice, boundaries or autonomy are overridden.
Justice, Fairness & Inclusion
We aim to provide services without unfair discrimination.
We respect differences relating to:
- culture and ethnicity;
- nationality;
- gender and gender identity;
- sexual orientation;
- disability;
- age;
- religion and spirituality;
- socioeconomic circumstances;
- relationship and family structures;
- neurodiversity; and
- other aspects of identity and lived experience.
We recognise that people’s experiences of trauma, healthcare, relationships and psychological support are influenced by social, cultural and systemic factors.
We seek to remain aware of our own assumptions and biases and to address these through reflection, education and supervision.
5. Cultural Safety & Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Naked Recovery recognises that psychological wellbeing cannot be separated from culture, identity, whānau, relationships, community and context.
We are committed to developing culturally responsive and culturally safe practice.
Within Aotearoa New Zealand, we recognise the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and our responsibility to continue developing our understanding of Te Ao Māori, culturally safe practice and Māori perspectives on health and wellbeing.
We recognise that Western psychological frameworks represent only some ways of understanding distress, healing, relationships and wellbeing.
Where relevant, we seek to respect and make space for broader understandings of hauora, including physical, psychological, relational, spiritual, cultural and community dimensions of wellbeing.
Cultural competence is not considered something that can simply be “completed”. It requires continued learning, reflection, humility and willingness to be influenced by the people and communities with whom we work.
6. Trauma-Informed Practice
Trauma-informed practice is central to Naked Recovery.
For us, being trauma-informed means recognising that previous experiences may influence:
- emotional regulation;
- relationships;
- trust;
- behaviour;
- identity;
- bodily responses;
- healthcare experiences;
- decision-making;
- perceptions of safety; and
- the way a person responds to support itself.
We seek to work according to principles of:
- psychological and emotional safety;
- trust and transparency;
- collaboration;
- choice;
- empowerment;
- respect;
- strengths-based practice; and
- sensitivity to cultural and individual context.
Being trauma-informed does not mean assuming that every difficulty is caused by trauma.
We remain open to alternative explanations and recognise the importance of appropriate medical, psychological, psychiatric, social, relational and contextual assessment where required.
7. Psychological Safety Without Avoiding Challenge
Trauma recovery can involve difficult emotions and uncomfortable conversations.
We therefore distinguish between harm and discomfort.
Feeling challenged, emotional, sad, angry or temporarily activated does not necessarily mean that something harmful has occurred.
At the same time, trauma-informed practice should never use this distinction to dismiss genuine concerns about safety, coercion, boundaries or inappropriate professional behaviour.
Where a client raises a concern about psychological safety, we will seek to understand and respond to that concern seriously and proportionately.
We aim to create an environment where clients can both feel sufficiently safe and develop the capacity to approach difficult experiences.
8. Professional Boundaries & Power
Psychological, coaching and helping relationships contain an inherent power difference.
We take responsibility for recognising and managing that power appropriately.
Warmth, care and genuine human connection are important parts of our work, but practitioners are not clients’ friends, partners, rescuers or substitute family members.
We seek to maintain boundaries that protect both the client and practitioner.
Practitioners must not exploit a client emotionally, sexually, financially, professionally or in any other way.
We seek to avoid inappropriate dual relationships and conflicts of interest.
Where a potential boundary or conflict issue arises, the practitioner should consider it carefully, seek supervision where appropriate and act in the client’s interests within the applicable professional framework.
9. Informed Consent
Clients have the right to understand the service they are receiving.
Where relevant, we aim to provide clear information regarding:
- the nature of the service;
- the practitioner providing it;
- the practitioner’s professional role;
- fees;
- confidentiality;
- limitations to confidentiality;
- Program structure;
- cancellation arrangements;
- significant risks or limitations;
- alternative forms of support where appropriate; and
- the client’s right to discontinue participation.
Consent is an ongoing process rather than a single signature at the beginning of a Program.
Clients are entitled to ask questions, change their mind, disagree with their practitioner and raise concerns.
10. Confidentiality & Privacy
We treat information shared by clients with care and respect.
Client information will be kept confidential except where:
- the client has consented to disclosure;
- disclosure is required by law;
- safeguarding responsibilities apply;
- there is a serious concern regarding risk of harm;
- confidential professional supervision or consultation is required; or
- another lawful or professionally appropriate exception applies.
Where reasonably practicable and safe, we will seek to discuss necessary disclosures with the client beforehand.
Personal information and professional records are handled in accordance with applicable privacy and data-protection requirements and the Naked Recovery Privacy Policy.
11. Supervision & Reflective Practice
We believe responsible trauma-informed practitioners should not work in isolation.
Professional supervision is an important part of Naked Recovery practice.
Supervision provides practitioners with an opportunity to:
- reflect critically on their work;
- examine assumptions and blind spots;
- consider ethical questions;
- review boundaries;
- discuss safeguarding concerns;
- consider psychological formulation;
- monitor scope of competence;
- recognise the impact of the work upon themselves;
- identify when referral may be appropriate; and
- continue developing professionally.
Client work may therefore be discussed confidentially within appropriate professional supervision.
Where reasonably possible, identifying information is minimised.
Supervision does not transfer responsibility for the client’s work to the supervisor.
12. Evidence-Informed Practice & Intellectual Humility
Naked Recovery draws upon psychological research, established therapeutic and coaching frameworks, trauma-informed principles, professional experience and proprietary Naked Recovery recovery models.
We recognise that evidence evolves.
We aim to distinguish between:
- established evidence;
- emerging evidence;
- professional theory;
- clinical or professional judgement;
- client experience; and
- Naked Recovery’s own models and frameworks.
We will not knowingly present a theory as established fact where the evidence does not support that conclusion.
We are willing to update our thinking when better evidence becomes available.
We believe professional expertise includes not only knowing things, but recognising the limits of our knowledge.
13. Honest Claims About Recovery
Naked Recovery is committed to helping people make meaningful progress.
We are also committed to being honest about what psychological and trauma-informed work can and cannot promise.
We do not guarantee:
- recovery within a particular timeframe;
- elimination of psychological distress;
- reconciliation of a relationship;
- prevention of divorce or separation;
- particular career, financial or health outcomes; or
- a specific result from participating in a Program.
Where we publish testimonials, client experiences or outcome information, these should not be presented as a guarantee that another person will experience the same result.
Where we make claims about Program effectiveness, we aim to ensure that those claims are supported by appropriate evidence and described accurately.
Hope matters. So does honesty.
14. Safeguarding & Referral
Naked Recovery is not an emergency mental health or psychiatric service.
Where a client’s needs exceed the appropriate scope of the practitioner or Program, we will seek to recognise this.
Where appropriate, we may recommend support from:
- a doctor;
- psychologist;
- psychiatrist;
- psychotherapist;
- counsellor;
- specialist trauma service;
- addiction service;
- domestic abuse service;
- safeguarding service;
- legal professional;
- financial professional; or
- another appropriately qualified provider.
Where there is a serious concern about the safety of a client or another person, confidentiality may be limited in accordance with applicable law and professional obligations.
Referral is not failure.
Knowing when another professional is better placed to help is part of ethical practice.
15. Working With Relationships & Couples
Relationship work requires particular care because the practitioner is working with a relational system rather than simply one individual’s perspective.
Where working with couples, we aim to:
- treat both partners with dignity and fairness;
- understand the relational pattern rather than automatically identifying one person as “the problem”;
- maintain appropriate professional neutrality;
- recognise harmful or coercive behaviour where it occurs;
- support communication and emotional regulation;
- recognise attachment and relational injuries;
- respect each partner’s autonomy;
- maintain clear confidentiality arrangements;
- consider conflicts of interest; and
- remain alert to safeguarding concerns.
Our objective is not necessarily reconciliation.
Ethical relationship work may involve helping people repair a relationship, redefine it, establish healthier boundaries, make difficult decisions or separate more constructively.
16. Mediation Ethics
Where Naked Recovery provides mediation, the mediator remains impartial and does not impose an outcome.
Our mediation practice is guided by:
- voluntary participation;
- self-determination;
- mutual respect;
- balanced participation;
- transparent communication;
- confidentiality;
- appropriate emotional safety;
- professional boundaries;
- neutral facilitation; and
- future-focused problem solving.
Trauma-informed mediation may include psychoeducation and emotional-regulation support, but the mediator does not use psychological knowledge to manipulate either participant or predetermine an outcome.
Where power imbalance, coercion, abuse or another factor makes meaningful voluntary mediation inappropriate, the mediator may pause or terminate the process or recommend another form of support.
17. Conflicts of Interest & Dual Relationships
Practitioners are expected to remain alert to circumstances in which personal, professional, financial or relational interests could interfere with their responsibility to a client.
Potential conflicts should be considered openly and, where appropriate, discussed within supervision.
Where a conflict cannot be appropriately managed, the practitioner may need to:
- modify the professional arrangement;
- refer the client;
- decline the engagement; or
- terminate the professional relationship appropriately.
The client’s welfare and the integrity of the professional relationship take priority over the practitioner’s commercial interest in retaining the client.
18. Working With Children & Young People
Naked Recovery services are primarily designed for adults.
Where work involves a person under 18, additional consideration must be given to:
- consent;
- parental or guardian involvement where appropriate;
- the young person’s developing autonomy;
- confidentiality;
- safeguarding;
- the practitioner’s competence to work with children or adolescents;
- applicable professional standards; and
- the law of the relevant jurisdiction.
A practitioner should not undertake work with a child or young person unless they have appropriate competence and the necessary consent and safeguarding arrangements are in place.
The welfare of the child or young person is paramount.
19. Marketing, Advertising & Public Communication
We aim for Naked Recovery marketing and public communication to be truthful, responsible and evidence-informed.
We will seek to:
- accurately represent practitioner qualifications and professional status;
- avoid misleading use of protected professional titles;
- avoid guaranteeing outcomes;
- avoid exploiting fear or vulnerability to sell services;
- distinguish testimonials from evidence;
- obtain appropriate permission before using identifiable client material;
- protect client confidentiality;
- describe Program benefits proportionately; and
- correct material inaccuracies where they are identified.
Marketing should create hope without creating false certainty.
20. Testimonials, Case Studies & Client Stories
Client stories can help other people understand what recovery may look like, but a client’s privacy and dignity take priority over marketing.
We will not knowingly publish identifiable client information, testimonials, photographs, recordings or case studies without appropriate consent.
Clients are never required to provide a testimonial as a condition of receiving support.
Where case material is used for education, training or professional purposes, reasonable steps should be taken to protect identity and confidentiality.
Consent for marketing should be freely given and should not be obtained through pressure arising from the professional relationship.
21. Practitioner Wellbeing
Ethical practice also requires practitioners to monitor their own capacity.
Trauma work can affect the people who provide it.
Practitioners have a responsibility to recognise when stress, illness, burnout, personal circumstances, vicarious trauma or another factor may impair their ability to work safely and effectively.
Where necessary, practitioners should:
- seek supervision;
- reduce workload;
- obtain their own professional support;
- take appropriate leave;
- transfer or refer work; or
- take another reasonable step to protect clients and themselves.
Being committed to clients does not require practitioners to ignore their own limits.
Yes – picking up exactly from Section 22 of the charter above:
22. Feedback, Concerns & Complaints
Clients have the right to raise concerns about their experience with Naked Recovery.
We want clients to feel able to question, disagree with or challenge their practitioner without fear that doing so will negatively affect the professional relationship.
Where a concern is raised, we aim to:
- listen carefully and respectfully;
- take the concern seriously;
- avoid becoming defensive or dismissive;
- seek to understand what has happened;
- respond within a reasonable timeframe;
- acknowledge mistakes where they have occurred;
- take appropriate action where change is required; and
- use feedback as an opportunity for reflection and improvement.
Where appropriate, concerns may be discussed confidentially within professional supervision.
Where a practitioner is accountable to a professional or regulatory body, clients retain any rights they may have to use that body’s complaints or professional-conduct processes.
Raising a concern will not result in retaliation, discrimination or a reduction in the professional respect afforded to the client.
23. Accountability & Professional Responsibility
Ethical practice requires more than good intentions.
We take responsibility for examining the impact of our work and being willing to reflect when something has not gone as intended.
Naked Recovery practitioners are expected to:
- take responsibility for their professional conduct;
- practise within their competence;
- maintain appropriate professional boundaries;
- seek supervision when required;
- remain open to feedback;
- recognise and address mistakes;
- maintain appropriate professional development;
- comply with applicable professional and legal requirements;
- keep appropriate records;
- maintain appropriate professional indemnity insurance; and
- place client welfare above commercial interests.
Where a practitioner becomes aware that they have made a significant professional error, they should respond transparently and appropriately within the requirements of their professional framework.
We do not expect practitioners to be infallible.
We expect them to be reflective, accountable and willing to learn.
24. Professional Development & Learning
Psychological knowledge evolves, and ethical practice requires us to evolve with it.
Naked Recovery practitioners are encouraged to maintain ongoing professional development relevant to the work they undertake.
This may include:
- formal education and postgraduate training;
- professional supervision;
- clinical or professional consultation;
- research and academic learning;
- professional conferences and workshops;
- reflective practice;
- skills development;
- cultural competence and cultural safety training;
- safeguarding education; and
- engagement with changes in evidence and professional standards.
We do not regard a qualification obtained in the past as sufficient evidence that a practitioner should stop learning.
Continued professional development is part of the responsibility we accept when people trust us with difficult and important parts of their lives.
25. Research, Evaluation & Continuous Improvement
Naked Recovery is committed to learning from both research and practice.
Where appropriate, we may evaluate Programs, gather feedback and review outcomes in order to understand what is working, what could be improved and where our approaches need to evolve.
Any formal research involving clients or client information must be conducted in accordance with appropriate:
- ethical requirements;
- informed consent;
- privacy and confidentiality protections;
- research governance;
- professional standards; and
- applicable law.
Participation in research will not ordinarily be a condition of receiving Naked Recovery services.
Where anonymised or aggregated information is used for legitimate service evaluation, quality improvement or research purposes, appropriate ethical, privacy and governance requirements will be considered.
We believe that being committed to an approach means being willing to evaluate it rather than simply believing in it.
26. Our Ethical Commitment Across Jurisdictions
Naked Recovery operates through separate legal entities in New Zealand and internationally.
Where services are provided through Naked Recovery Limited (New Zealand), practitioners work within the legal, ethical and professional requirements applicable to their work in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Where services are provided internationally through Naked Recovery Global Limited, practitioners work within the legal, ethical and professional requirements applicable to their role, location and service.
Where a practitioner belongs to, is registered with or is working towards recognition through a professional organisation, they are expected to understand and comply with the standards applicable to their professional status and work.
Our ethical approach is informed by recognised principles across psychology, psychotherapy, coaching psychology, trauma-informed practice and mediation.
This includes principles reflected within the British Psychological Society (BPS) and, for relevant professional practice in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Psychotherapists Board of Aotearoa New Zealand (PBANZ).
Reference to these professional standards does not imply that Naked Recovery itself is accredited, regulated or endorsed by those organisations.
27. The Naked Recovery Ethical Code
Every Naked Recovery practitioner is expected to:
- Treat every client with dignity and respect.
- Respect client autonomy. Support clients to make informed choices rather than making decisions for them.
- Work within competence. Practise only within appropriate training, qualifications, experience and professional scope.
- Represent qualifications and professional status accurately. Never knowingly mislead clients about titles, registrations, expertise or experience.
- Obtain informed consent. Ensure clients understand the nature and boundaries of the service they are receiving.
- Maintain confidentiality and privacy. Protect client information except where disclosure is consented to, legally required or necessary under appropriate safeguarding obligations.
- Maintain professional boundaries. Never exploit the trust, vulnerability or dependency inherent in a helping relationship.
- Avoid inappropriate conflicts of interest and dual relationships.
- Take safeguarding seriously. Recognise when a client’s needs or level of risk require additional or alternative professional support.
- Do not work beyond scope. Refer or collaborate with other professionals when doing so better serves the client’s needs.
- Practise in a trauma-informed way. Attend to safety, trust, collaboration, choice, empowerment, individual context and the potential impact of previous experiences.
- Respect cultural difference. Seek culturally responsive practice and remain willing to examine personal assumptions and bias.
- Recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi within relevant Aotearoa New Zealand practice and continue developing culturally safe engagement with Māori.
- Use psychological knowledge responsibly. Do not use diagnostic labels or psychological concepts to shame, manipulate, dominate or unnecessarily pathologise another person.
- Be evidence-informed. Represent the strength and limitations of evidence honestly and remain willing to change practice when better evidence emerges.
- Make responsible claims about outcomes. Never guarantee recovery or knowingly create unrealistic expectations about what a service can achieve.
- Market ethically. Advertising should be truthful, proportionate and respectful of people experiencing vulnerability or distress.
- Seek supervision. Use appropriate professional supervision to reflect upon complex work, ethical questions, boundaries, safeguarding and professional development.
- Maintain professional development. Continue learning throughout professional practice.
- Monitor practitioner wellbeing. Recognise when personal circumstances, burnout, illness or vicarious trauma may affect the ability to work safely.
- Welcome appropriate challenge and feedback. Clients have the right to disagree, question and raise concerns.
- Take responsibility when things go wrong. Respond to mistakes with integrity, reflection and appropriate corrective action.
- Respect the limits of our influence. We can support, educate, challenge and guide; we cannot control another person’s decisions or guarantee their outcomes.
- Place client welfare above commercial interest.
- Leave people with greater agency, not greater dependency.
- What Clients Can Expect From Us
When you work with Naked Recovery, you can expect us to:
- take your experiences seriously;
- listen without assuming we already know your story;
- explain what we are doing and why;
- treat you with dignity;
- respect your autonomy;
- be honest about our professional role and competence;
- protect your confidentiality within appropriate legal and safeguarding boundaries;
- seek supervision where appropriate;
- challenge you respectfully when doing so may support your goals;
- recognise when you need something different from what we can provide;
- refer to other professionals where appropriate;
- remain open to your feedback;
- continue learning; and
- care about both how you recover and what you are recovering towards.
You should never be required to agree with your practitioner, disclose something you are not ready to discuss, adopt a psychological explanation that does not make sense to you or continue with a service you no longer wish to receive.
29. What We Ask From Our Clients
Ethical and effective work is collaborative.
We ask clients, where reasonably possible, to:
- engage honestly with the process;
- provide information relevant to safe and appropriate support;
- communicate concerns;
- respect agreed professional boundaries;
- treat practitioners and other participants respectfully;
- take responsibility for their own decisions;
- seek medical, psychiatric, legal, financial or other specialist advice where required;
- engage with agreed recovery work where they choose to do so; and
- tell us when something is not working.
Clients are not expected to perform recovery perfectly.
Difficulty, ambivalence, setbacks and disagreement can all form part of meaningful psychological work.
30. Our Promise
At Naked Recovery, we believe people deserve more than either endless analysis of what went wrong or pressure to simply “move on”.
They deserve the opportunity to understand what happened.
They deserve compassion for the ways they learned to survive it.
They deserve support to process what remains unresolved.
And they deserve practical help translating that understanding into a life that feels increasingly their own again.
We will not promise that recovery will always be quick.
We will not promise that it will always be comfortable.
We will not pretend to know things we do not know.
What we can promise is to approach our work with curiosity, compassion, courage, competence, integrity and accountability.
We will continue learning.
We will seek supervision.
We will respect the limits of our expertise.
We will take responsibility for the power entrusted to us.
And we will work towards leaving our clients with something more valuable than dependence upon us:
greater understanding of themselves, greater confidence in their own capacity, and greater freedom to decide what happens next.
