Evidential Medium, Author & Spiritual Teacher
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The Ethical Medium is a practical guide by evidential medium Hannah Macintyre, and the eighth book in the Mediumship Matters Mini Guides. It explores the ethics of working with spirit and with grieving people: consent, the power of your words, honouring a no, owning your mistakes, platform, teaching, and calling out harm in the industry.
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Who books a weekend called How Not to Hurt People?
Nobody teaches mediumship ethics, Hannah says, because nobody would pay for an ethics course. It sounds dry and crusty and boring. People would rather learn how to get a name or meet their spirit guide.
And yet she believes it’s the heart of all of it.
When you work with people at the most vulnerable points in their lives, saying the wrong thing can leave a wound they carry for years. As Hannah puts it, it’s uncomfortable to sit with “Oh my God, I got that wrong”. It’s much more uncomfortable to sit with “Oh my God, I’ve damaged someone.”
Your development isn’t just your mediumistic ability. It’s your mediumistic integrity as well. You need both.
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What This Book Is About
Hannah’s podcast didn’t start because a lovely idea floated in on a cloud. It started because she was angry. She’d watched people being frightened, exploited and hurt by readers who should have known better.
The Ethical Medium isn’t a book of rules. Rules work until something happens that isn’t on the list. Instead, Hannah gives you the thinking behind ethical mediumship, with lots of real examples, including plenty of her own mistakes, so you can work out the right thing to do when it’s all happening at once.
The book starts with your own motives and ego. It then covers the weight of your words, consent and unsolicited messages, honouring a sitter’s no, and the excuses mediums use when a reading goes wrong. It also covers the things you can never unsay, platform ethics, the risk of readings becoming addictive, owning your mistakes, teaching without becoming a guru, and calling out harm with grace.
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What You Will Learn
Inside this book, you will discover:
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How to be honest with yourself about why you’re doing this work, including ego and people-pleasing
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Why people believe every word you say, and how to give options rather than orders
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Consent: why being aware of a spirit isn’t the same as being invited to pass on a message
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How to honour a sitter’s no, including the yes that really means “get me out of here”
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The excuses mediums use when a reading doesn’t work, and what to say instead
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The things you should never say: death dates, health predictions and frightening hints
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Platform ethics: why you don’t read for friends, and why the bridge must be out of the way
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Why readings can become addictive, and how to help people need you a little less
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Why “I made that up” is one of the most ethical sentences in mediumship
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Teaching without keeping students small, and why a mentor isn’t a friend
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How to own and repair your mistakes, and call out harm without a pile-on
A Simpler Way to Understand Mediumship Ethics
Hannah is passionate about one thing above all: understanding how and why mediumship works is fundamental to your results with it, and to working ethically. So much harm in this industry comes from lovely people doing their best, with nobody ever having taught them otherwise. Hannah was one of them.
When you understand how mediumship actually works, many ethical mistakes become obvious:
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if you’re receiving energy and interpreting it, “they’re saying” puts your mistakes in a loved one’s mouth
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if you can’t tell psychic from mediumship, you can hand someone their own fear as a message from their dad
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if spirit choose who comes through, a grieving mother is left feeling rejected by her own child
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if spirit give options rather than orders, any instruction you hear deserves suspicion
As Hannah says, “The bridge is out of the way.” Your job is to give everything you get, gently, to the person in front of you.
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Who This Book Is For
The Ethical Medium is ideal if you:
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Are developing mediumship and want to work safely and responsibly
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Read for the public, or are thinking about it
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Demonstrate on platform or lead circles and development groups
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Teach or mentor other mediums
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Have had a reading that left you frightened or hurt, and want to understand what went wrong
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Want to know what to expect from a good, ethical medium
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What Is The Ethical Medium About?
The Ethical Medium by Hannah Macintyre is Book 8 of the Mediumship Matters Mini Guides, a series of short, practical books on mediumship development. It’s a guide to ethics in mediumship and working with grieving people. It covers motivation and ego, the weight of a medium’s words, consent and unsolicited messages, honouring a sitter’s no, honest responses when a reading doesn’t work, avoiding harmful statements such as death dates and health predictions, platform ethics, reading dependency, accountability, ethical teaching, and calling out harm in the spiritual industry. Written with honesty, humour and plenty of real examples, including the author’s own mistakes, it’s designed for mediums, teachers and anyone who wants to understand what ethical mediumship looks like.
About Hannah
Hi, I’m Hannah Macintyre — evidential medium, Amazon bestselling author, podcast host, and spiritual mentor. For over a decade, I’ve been supporting people to explore their sensitivity and connection with Spirit in a grounded, accessible, and deeply human way.
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I don’t believe mediumship is reserved for a chosen few. I believe it is a natural capacity that many of us carry, often quietly, and that with the right understanding and encouragement, it can be developed with confidence.
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My own journey was not instant or dramatic. Like many people, I doubted what I was receiving and assumed I needed certainty before I could trust it. What I learned is that mediumship is not about getting everything right. It is about listening, responding, and allowing communication with Spirit to unfold.
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My podcast started because I was angry about bad mediumship. This book is what I’d love every medium to know before they sit with someone’s grief.
Book Details
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Title: The Ethical Medium
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Series: Mediumship Matters Mini Guides, Book 8
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Author: Hannah Macintyre
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Edition: Second edition, 2026
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Category: Spiritual Development / Mediumship
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Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
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Topics: Mediumship ethics, consent, working with grief, platform mediumship, mediumship teaching, accountability, spiritual industry
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Frequently Asked Questions About Mediumship Ethics
How do I know if a medium is ethical?
An ethical medium respects your consent, never gives you death dates or health predictions, doesn’t tell you what you must do, and owns their mistakes rather than blaming you or spirit. They won’t tell you your grief is blocking your loved one, and they won’t encourage you to keep booking readings. A good reading should leave you needing them a little less.
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A medium told me something frightening. Should I believe it?
Hannah has met many people carrying frightening things a reader told them, from death dates to illnesses, and in her experience these things simply don’t come true. Spirit work from love. If something you were told is causing you fear, it’s very unlikely to have come from spirit. If it’s about your health, please speak to your doctor.
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Is it ever okay to give someone a message they didn’t ask for?
Very rarely. Free will is the one law, and being aware of someone’s loved one isn’t an invitation to pass on a message. In all her years, Hannah has felt spirit truly insist only a handful of times. Most of the time, the most loving thing you can do with what you’ve picked up is nothing at all.
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Why does understanding how mediumship works matter for ethics?
Because many ethical mistakes come from misunderstanding the process. If you don’t know whether you’re working psychically or with spirit, you might hand someone their own fear as a message from their loved one. When you understand how information comes through you, you can take proper responsibility for what you say.
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How often should someone have a reading?
Hannah asks people not to book an evidential reading with her more than once a year, or every six months if they’re really struggling. Hearing from a loved one is incredible, and that feeling can become addictive. She believes most people need maybe three evidential readings in their lifetime, and that the goal is to help people go and live.
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What should a medium say when a reading isn’t working?
The truth. Instead of excuses like “they’re resting” or “your grief is blocking them”, an ethical medium will say something like “I don’t feel like I’m with you today” or “I think I’ve got in the way”, ask who you’d like to hear from, or offer a refund. Nobody should go home thinking their loved one didn’t want to talk to them.
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Part of the Mediumship Matters Mini Guides
The Ethical Medium is Book 8 of the series.
Previous: The Fear Filter
Next: Strengthening the Link
See the full series
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A Little Bit Better
You haven’t been ordained by spirit to be better than anybody else. You’re not a prophet. You’re a person, and your job is to get out of the way.
Make it your work to ensure that everybody who comes into contact with you leaves feeling a little bit better. Not fixed, saved or converted. Just a little bit better than when they walked in.
Because when somebody comes to you with the most precious, fragile thing they’ve got, they should go home with it in one piece.