Ethics is Thicker Than Water

What do you do when the ethics class you aced looks nothinglike the job in front of you?

In this episode of Ethics Is Thicker Than Water, Dr. Charmaine Borda reconnects with Practitioner Marchae Jackson, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who went from her student to her supervisee to a clinical director in substance use and co-occurring disorders treatment. Suddenly she was the credentials in the building, answering to owners, staff, and clients at once. They talk honestly about what happens when treatment is also a business, why self-care is the first thing to go, and how silence can be a tool for clarity or, if you stay there too long, a warning sign.

Then they take on AI. A clinical director can tell when anote was written by a recording. Polished isn’t the same as true. Under the AAMFT Code’s standards on competence and confidentiality, “the software did it” is never a defense. And through it all, one thing holds: AI can’t hug a client who’s falling apart.

Marchae’s rule for staying grounded? Play in the wild, butknow when to come in the house.

In this episode:

-Stepping into leadership when you never planned to

-The business of treatment and the ethics it tests

-Self-care, community care, and the danger of staying silent too long

-Reviewing AI-generated notes and the problem with 'polished'

-Competence, confidentiality, and informed consent with AI tools

-Imposter syndrome, reinvention, and living out loud

Guest: Practitioner Marchae Jackson, LMFT

Song: New Attitude by Patti LaBelle https://open.spotify.com/track/71DxDMPiElIeGgvJvtITXR?autoplay_ok=1

What happens to clinical ethics when technology moves faster than our codes can keep up? In this first episode, host Dr. Charmaine Borda sits down with Dr. Jamie Richartz, her former supervisee turned colleague, consultant, and “therapy big sis” bond, to talk honestly about where our field is headed. They reflect on a relationship that grew from practicum to PhD, and then turn to the hard questions: AI-generated notes that invent quotes, documentation models that default to CBT, recorded sessions on platforms we don’t control, productivity pressures, and what all of it means for competency, confidentiality, and critical thinking. They also explore why consultation and supervision matter more than ever, how to check the “therapeutic ego,” and whyevery clinician needs to build their own guardrails.

In this episode:

-The mentor-mentee relationship and being a mirror for each other

-Grief, self-care, and returning to the therapy room too soon

-AI in documentation: convenience vs. professional responsibility

-Model drift and how it affects client engagement-Data, algorithms, and the attention economy

-Consultation, legal counsel, and creating personal guardrails

Because blood isn’t always thicker than water, but trust, honesty, and ethics are.

Guest: Jamie-Lyn Richartz, PhD, LMFT, CCTP, QS– Chief Program Officer, Center for Family Services of Palm Beach County, Inc.

Episode mentions:

“The Memory” won a Bronze Telly Award!https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2026/non-broadcast/general-fundraising-appeals/the-memory/360355/

Song: The Man by Taylor Swifthttps://open.spotify.com/track/3RauEVgRgj1IuWdJ9fDs70