Flanagan, Paul G.2013-06-042013-06-042013-04-092013Flanagan, P. (2013). Ethical beginnings: Reflexive questioning in designing child sexuality research. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research: Linking research with Practice, published online 9 April 2013.https://hdl.handle.net/10289/7673Counselling young children referred for sexualised behaviour can challenge therapists’ ideas about childhood and sexuality. This area of practice is complex and sensitive, and calls upon collaboration with a range of significant adults in children's lives. Purpose: This paper examines a researcher's process of movement from counselling practice into qualitative research practice, and the use of reflexive questioning to explore ethical issues within the study. Design: Shaped by social constructionist ideas and discourse theory, ethical questions are outlined within the design stage of a doctoral research project on sexuality in children's lives in Aotearoa New Zealand. Limitations: This paper explores ethics in the design of a current study: there are no results or conclusions.application/pdfenThis is an author’s accepted version of an article published in the journal: Counselling and Psychotherapy Research: Linking research with practice. © 2013 Taylor & Francis. Full text is embargoed until October 2014.child sexualitydiscoursereflexivityresearch ethicssensitive topicsJournal Article10.1080/14733145.2013.779734