2. Professional and Ethical Practice: Boundaries
Goals
Define boundaries as part of ethical practice and professional responsibility
Distinguish between boundary blurring, crossings and violations
Describe various types of boundaries and boundary breaches
Identify strategies for establishing and maintaining appropriate boundaries
Guidelines
Confidentiality
Respect & Sensitivity
Saying No/Participation
Making Mistakes/Compassion
Having Fun
Agenda
Welcome and Overview
Goals/Guidelines/Agenda
Professional and Ethical Practice
Blurring, Crossings and Violations
Addressing and preventing boundary breaches
Closing and Evaluation
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3. Professional and Ethical Practice: Boundaries
Overview
Professional boundaries are the lines of separation that distinguish clients from
counsellors in the helping relationship. They include the concrete contractual aspects of
the working relationship. They define the nature of the relationship between counselor
and client. They address those areas of judgment that have the potential to do harm.
Rationale
Professional boundaries are essential in the workplace, because they are meant to
prevent problems such as unfair treatment, law suits, exploitation, etc, within the
company and with business.
Each counsellor at various points in her/his profession will be faced with defining and
maintaining appropriate boundaries with clients.
Boundaries exist as part of the helping relationship. They provide for a safe therapeutic
connection and therefore should not left to chance.
Types
A boundary is a dynamic line which, if crossed, may constitute unprofessional behaviour
and misuse of power.
There are three types of breaches: blurring, crossing and violation.
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4. Professional and Ethical Practice: Boundaries
Boundary Breaches
Blurring
There are grey areas around professional boundaries that require the use of good
judgment and careful consideration of the context (e.g. the appropriateness of hugging
a client, attending a client function, giving a client a lift, giving a colleague advice about
their family member, etc.).
While each situation may appear harmless, when put together they may form a pattern
indicating that a boundary has been crossed or is likely to be crossed in the future.
Crossing
Behaviours that raise the need to be cautious are considered crossings, because they
may distort the professional boundaries that are in place to protect the client.
However, while lack of clarity may occur, these types of breaches may also be used in a
therapeutic manner. Therapeutic use can only happen if the counsellor is conscientious
about potential for harm and has the client’s best interest in mind. Some of these
behaviours include:
Gift giving
Dual/multiple relationships
Bartering/use of personal money
Social contact/out of office contact
Non-sexual touch/attractions
Workplace friendships
Excess counselling time
Personal disclosure
Violation
Boundary violation is a deliberate behaviour by a counsellor or helping professional that
is recognizably inappropriate and in violation of the nature of therapeutic relationships,
ethics and/or legal statutes. These types of breaches are those that lead to abuse,
sexual relations or romantic encounters, inappropriate contact or relationship and abuse
of power. They are never appropriate and are prohibited. They cross the line of decency
and violate or exploit clients.
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5. Professional and Ethical Practice: Boundaries
Prevention
Codes of ethics on their own cannot prevent counselors from acting in unethical ways.
Good judgment is nurtured and borne out of a willingness to be conscious of and reflect
upon one’s competences, to critically analyze, to challenge personal motivations and to
heed the warning signs that may lead from a boundary crossing to a violation.
Principles
Boundaries are guidelines that are based on the basic principles of
counsellor/practitioner codes of ethics and standards of practice. Corey (1996) briefly
outlines five principles in which therapeutic boundaries are based upon:
• Beneficence: a counsellor must accept responsibility for promoting what is good for
the client with the expectation that the client will benefit from the counselling
sessions.
• Nonmaleficence: “doing no harm”. The counsellor must avoid at all times, (even
inadvertently) any activities or situations with the client that could cause a conflict of
interest.
• Autonomy: the counsellor’s ethical responsibility to encourage client independent
thinking and decision-making, and to deter all forms of client dependency.
• Justice: the counsellor’s commitment to provide an equal and fair service to all
clients regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, disability and socio-
economic status.
• Fidelity: being honest with clients and faithfully honouring the counsellor’s
commitment to the client’s progress.
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6. Professional and Ethical Practice: Boundaries
Strategies
Effective and diligent counsellors recognize that the intense feelings can arise in the
counselling relationship and how these can challenge personal and professional
boundaries.
Understanding the serious effects of one’s own power and how the relationship can be
misinterpreted by the client is a necessary caution that comes with understanding the
need to continually establish and maintain safe and respectful relationships with clients.
Steps:
1. Set the stage with appropriate boundaries from the initial contact.
2. Use judgment that puts the client’s well being and safety first.
3. Interrupt or address these breaches immediately, seemingly harmless comments
that can evolve into the uncomfortable territory of boundary crossings.
4. Report and/or seek help for questions or lack of clarity about a potential boundary
breach.
5. It is the counsellor’s responsibility to re-establish the professional boundaries,
regardless of who crossed the line.
6. Document inappropriate behaviour as well as the measures taken to re-establish the
professional boundaries.
Action Plan
What is a next step I will take as a result of this workshop?
What are the resources I can access to achieve my next step?
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7. References & Resources
Books
Linzer, N. (1999). Resolving ethical dilemmas in social work practice. Toronto: Allyn
and Bacon.
Murphy B.C. & Dillon, C. (2011) Interviewing In Action In A Multicultural World. 5th
ed. California: Brooks/Cole Cenage Learning.
Schneider-Corey, M. (2007) Becoming a Helper. 5th ed. California: Thomson
Brooks/Cole.
Websites
Pope, K. S. & Keith-Spiegel P. (2008). A practical approach to boundaries in
psychotherapy: making decisions, bypassing blunders, and mending fences. Journal
Of Clinical Psychology, 64, 638-652. Retrieved from:
http://kspope.com/ethics/boundary.php.
Pope, K. S. & Vasquez, M. (2011). Steps in ethical decision-making in Ethics in
psychotherapy and counseling: a practical guide. 4th ed. Toronto: John Wiley.
Retrieved from: http://kspope.com/memory/ethics/boundary.php.
Zur, O. (2011). Dual Relationships, Multiple Relationships & Boundaries In
Psychotherapy, Counseling & Mental Health. Retrieved from
http://www.zurinstitute.com/dualrelationships.html.
Resources
Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (2008) Code of Ethics
& Standards of Practice. http://www.ocswssw.org/en/code_of_ethics.htm.
Pope, K. S. Dual relationships, multiple relationships, & boundary decisions.
Resources http://kspope.com/dual/index.php.
Zur Institute. Ethics Codes of the Major Psychotherapy Professional Associations
Retrieved from http://www.zurinstitute.com/codesofethics.html.
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8. TRAINING & EDUCATION
Network for Therapeutic Alliances: For more information, call 416-691-1411 or email
nta@ca.inter.net
Courses: Clinical Workshops: Clinical
Cross Cultural Counselling for Understanding violence Against Women by
Counsellors: Introduction; Intimate Partners
Individuals & Family; Groups; Working with Abused Women: Overview
Communities; Documentation; Working with Children Exposed to Violence
Supervision The Impact of Violence on Child Development
Feminist Group Development and Group
Counselling Skills: Interviewing; Process
Assessment, Community Services Values, Ethics & Professionalism
and Referral; Theory, Methods & Working with Families and Children with
Documentation Special Needs
Workshops: Organizational Working with Youth/Transitional
Understanding Identity and Workplace Aged/Newcomer Youth
Dynamics Understanding Identity, Diversity and
Inclusive Conflict Resolution Workplace Dynamics
Principles, Policies and Practices in Welcoming Diversity in the Classroom
Inclusive Organizational Change Cross Cultural Counselling: Competencies &
Board Governance: Overview, ARAO Practice
101, Leading for Inclusive Documentation through a Cross Cultural Lens
Organizational Change Inclusive Supervision Practices
Staff Hiring and Recruitment
Establishing Inclusive Group Norms
Planning for Inclusive Organizational
Development
Leading Inclusive Organizational
Development
Strategies for setting up a Diversity
Committee
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