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August 2025: Sally-Ann Lipson, Reference No 00530229 , Registrant ID 203702

Outcome Details

Consensual Disposal

Reasons

1. Sally Ann-Lipson, a Íø±¬ÃÅ individual member agrees to the following outcome of the investigation into a complaint of a failure to meet the Professional Standards under reference PCP/[…].

Background

2. Sally-Ann Lipson has been a Íø±¬ÃÅ member since […].

3. The Member works in […].

4. On 27 May Year 1 a complaint/referral was made about the Member’s conduct. In summary, the substance of the complaint was that the Member had breached the Complainant’s confidentiality by sharing the contents of emails sent to the Member by the Complainant with a third party. The Member then subsequently also shared emails from that third party (intended for the Member only) with the Complainant. This meant that the Member was sharing emails sent to her by the Complainant and the third party with each party, without consent from either party to do so, and this formed the basis of the breach of confidentiality complaint.

Admissions

5. The Member makes the following admissions which the Íø±¬ÃÅ accepts:

Allegation 1

1.1

Having received emails addressed only to her from the Complainant and the Complainant’s mother regarding potential joint therapy, the Member shared the contents of those emails with both parties without seeking their consent to do so.

1.2
The Member thereby failed to meet professional standards, including in particular by acting in a way which was inconsistent with the following paragraphs of Good Practice in the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2018:

12 - We will do everything we can to develop and protect our clients’ trust; and/or

21 - We will respect our clients’ privacy and dignity; and/or

26 - We will work with our clients on the basis of their informed consent and agreement. We recognise that exceptional situations may arise where we may need to prioritise the safety of the client or others over our client’s wishes and confidentiality; and/or

55a - We will protect the confidentiality and privacy of clients by: actively protecting information about clients from unauthorised access or disclosure.

Mitigation

6. The Member puts forward the following in mitigation, which has been taken into account by the IAC in deciding the appropriate outcome:

The Member accepts full responsibility and agrees that she should not have acted in the way that she did without appropriate consent. The Member acknowledges that she is an experienced counsellor, accountable for her actions, and does not seek to pass on responsibility for what took place to any other person for her accepted lack of judgment. The Member states that she wishes to apologise to the Complainant and the third party for her actions.

Conclusion

7. The issues identified and admitted by the Member amount to breaches of the professional standards reasonably expected of the Member having regard to the Ethical Framework set out in Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy 2018 in particular paragraph(s) 12, 21, 26 and 55a as identified in the admissions above.

8. One of the aims of the Professional Conduct Procedure is to protect members of the public. The IAC in considering the appropriate outcome and sanction for the admitted breaches in this case have taken into account the interests of public protection and determined that it is reasonable and proportionate to conclude it by agreement on the terms set out below.

9. In relation to the finding above the IAC considers it appropriate that the Member is subject to the following sanction(s) under Professional Conduct Procedure 2018 Section 5.12 Sanction:

a. A written apology to be sent to the Complainant and the third party within four weeks of the signed decision being notified to the Member.

b. A reflective piece to be provided to Íø±¬ÃÅ within 4 weeks of the signed decision being notified to the Member.

c. To complete Continuing Professional Development (CPD) relating specifically to consent and confidentiality within 4 weeks of the signed decision being notified to the Member.

10. The Member agrees that this Agreement will be published by the Íø±¬ÃÅ in line with the Publication Policy and that it will be disclosed to the complainant.

11. The Member agrees that she will not act in any way inconsistent with this agreement such as, for example, by denying the admission(s) in paragraph 5 above.

12. If the Member fails, without good reason, to comply with the sanction set out above or acts in a way which is inconsistent with this Agreement the matter will be referred to a sanction panel for consideration. A sanction panel may determine that it will

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