Disclaimer

You may read the official legal disclaimer by scrolling down the page.

My Heartfelt Opinion on Disclaimers

Before I spell out specific disclaimers and terms, I’m going to give you my heartfelt opinion around disclaimers themselves, particularly as I see them used by spiritual teachers, mentors, and coaches in general. This is only my personal opinion and perspective. My hope is that this clarifies my professional relationship with those I work with on the heart level, as much as disclaimers serve to protect each other from a legal perspective.

Working with a mentor and teacher is necessarily and naturally personal, for both people. Because of this, a mutual understanding and clarity about the relationship for both student and teacher is incredibly important and only serves to deepen the connection and effectiveness of the relationship, regardless of where it leads. Often I have found establishing this shared understanding and clarity to be easy and frequently it is simply implicit without much needing to be said.

That being said, the world is growing ever more complex and there are many, many ways we can seek guidance from others. Not only that, many helping professionals work can overlap in service, and there is a good deal of undefined gray area. And really, this makes sense – our lives don’t fit neatly into a box, and accordingly neither do the ways in which we receive help, from professionals, friends, family, and society.

Because of this inherent, unavoidable overlap, I find it helpful to have a brief legal disclaimer about my mentoring and teaching with others and you, if we work together. Rather than being based out of fear, I hope it serves both of us through clarity, mutual understanding and heart-felt responsibility.

Legal requirements around these clarifications usually demand crystal clear specificity. For example, if you need medical attention, such as an operation, you want to know the person is helping you is qualified to perform that operation. Laws are in place to help insure this kind of safety and to protect us. In this sense, in my opinion, legal disclaimers are useful to me given how clear they are, but at the same, the way they are necessarily written can sometimes feel very impersonal.

In a desire to avoid a disclaimer feeling impersonal, cold, and distancing, I wanted to share with you my opinion and perspective before diving right into any legalese. I’m helping others because I care and genuinely want to be of benefit in whatever way I am able.

Disclaimer

By using this website, purchasing or attending a one-to-one session, attending a meeting or retreat or otherwise engaging with Ryan Oelke and Awakening in Life, you acknowledge that you have read, comprehended and fully agreed with the following disclaimer.

While I have an MSEd in counseling psychology, I am not a licensed mental health practitioner of any type and I do not diagnose or treat mental health disorders or substance abuse. I am not a medical doctor. I do not treat disease or prescribe medication. I am not a lawyer or an accountant.

Use of this website, or attending a meeting, retreat or one-to-one session with me, or having an email dialogue with me, is not a replacement for or substitute to face-to-face, in-person, qualified medical, psychological, psychiatric or legal advice, diagnosis or treatment.

If you think you are suffering from a medical or psychological disorder or condition, please consult your doctor or other appropriately qualified professional person or service immediately.

Our work together is an in-depth, honest, exploratory, private and confidential conversation. Sessions with me may be considered “spiritual”, “mentoring”, or “coaching” in nature rather then therapeutic or prescriptive.

A one-to-one session, meeting or retreat is intended and designed to be informational and educational for you, and provide information, support and encouragement based on information that you choose to share with me. You are fully and solely responsible for all information that you provide to me, for your interpretation of my words and actions, and for all actions resulting from or relating to your encounter with me.

Using my services is entirely at your own risk without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including without limitation any warranty for information given, advice, or opinion. The services are requested by your own choice and with your responsibility.

Confidentiality

All communication of any type will be kept confidential. Sessions with me are confidential within the limits of the law.