Professional Boundaries And Legal Boundaries

These are boundaries that the advocates or individuals set for themselves sometimes without realising. It is important that advocates are clear about boundaries of the relationship between themselves and the individual and how they can maintain that. If you are consistent at maintaining these boundaries you will have a good consistency with the individual you are working with.

February 2010 This is a companion document to the Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Nurses

In the video, Ajia Meux spoke about a staff member who was not acting in a professional capacity.  The dual relationship the staff had with the client though considered non-sexual, affected her professional judgement. For example, the staff was more committed to promoting the well-being of client by unethically violating boundaries, in which she invited him to reside at her home, versus providing resources and assistance or seeking consultation.  The staff assumed multiple roles in her client’s life such as social worker, caregiver, friend and family. Hence, we see a conflict between the staff personal values, the client's needs and her professional obligation. This is also considered boundary violation as the client initially did not want to reside with the staff, this also appears to be an unintentional coercion. The NASW Code of Ethics caution again dual relationship specifically,

To have good ethical practice within counselling it is important that there are boundaries and contracts in place that are agreed to and understood by both the counsellor and the client.

Boundaries and ethics are very important to know whether you a counselor, coach, pastor, and so on because there are limitations in what you can do and say. Almost everywhere you go a business, organization, church, etc. has a Code of Ethics to follow. Having a Code of Ethics in place is to protect the coach and the client to create professional boundaries that can help build a professional relationship. The American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) has very strong approach on how a coach should have professional boundaries with their clients. Having Code of ethic or professional boundaries is important to understanding before you meet your client so you and the client can have a proper environment during your time together. When

Hi, Vendelyn! I believe a good and safe healthy boundary is something that should be first thing you set for yourself as a case manager. This will allow you to know just how far you should go when handling your client without interfering strongly with their beliefs. Being judgmental defiantly is not a good thing to me when working with any client. This is why I believe being a case manager take great patience and good communication skills in order to listen and also apply what you have learned to get good results. Great Post!

Nursing surrounds the concept of patient care physically, mentally and ethically. The therapeutic relationship that is created is built on the knowledge and skills of the nurse and relies on patient and nurse trusting one another. The use of nursing skills can ensure these boundaries are maintained, it allows for safe patient care. Professional boundaries are the line that nurses cannot cross, involving aspects such as patient confidentiality and privacy, ensuring legal aspects of nursing and the boundaries put in place are not breached. However, nurses accepting financial or personal gain from patient can also cross these professional boundaries. It is only through education in this area that the rights of patients can be preserved, as

Most major professional codes of ethics have a policy or rule against dual relationships (Gottlieb, 1993). Dual relationships exist when a professional acts at the same time or sequentially in two roles (Gottlieb, 1993). Through the course of this paper, the concept of dual relationships will be examined. Ethical issues with dual relationships will be explained as well as the clarification and analyzation of a specific dual relationship. Not to mention the explanation of challenges presented by boundary issues in professional psychology.

In today’s psychology profession, a therapist and even the client can cross many boundaries if immediate boundaries are not put into place during the initial visit. Some boundaries that are crossed are not a problem at first and then the problem progresses. Leonard L. Glass called these, “the gray areas of boundary crossing and violation” (429). However, there is further description, “Boundary issues mostly refer to the therapist's self-disclosure, touch, an exchange of gifts, bartering and fees, length and location of sessions and contact outside the office” (Guthiel & Gabbard). This statement by Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D. & Glen O. Gabbard, M.D explains the meaning of boundary

Ethical principles provide generalized frameworks that may be employed in the resolution of ethical dilemmas in our daily lives. These principles may be applied to our interpersonal relationships as well as to our professional lives. However, as members of a profession, we will encounter more specific codes of ethics that are designed to govern our professional behavior and to offer some guidance for the resolution of commonly faced ethical issues that occur in the practice of our chosen professions (Syracuse University,

In this book at Personal Risk: Boundary Violations in Professional-Client Relationships by Marilyn R. Peterson is a valuable resource for those who seek a profession that helps other individuals. By that I mean putting someone else’s needs above their own. Peterson describes the lack of training professionals receive with regards to professional-client relationships. The book also describes the encouragement some professionals receive to objectify their clients and how it puts them at risk for committing boundary violations. Another situation described in the book is the value of equality professional have that tempt them to equalize relationships with their clients, also, putting them at risk of committing a boundary violation.

Boundaries are extremely important in a counseling session. Setting boundaries and limits in therapy sessions represents an ethical decision that is set by each counselor, when entering a therapeutic relationship. In this presentation, I will discuss pertinent boundary issues that the staff has encountered, since working at this agency. Finally, I will describe how these boundaries are addressed and resolved at this site.

Dual relationships and the ethical behavior that revolves around boundaries with clients present a multitude of very complicated situations to counselors where a clearly defined course of action is not always evident. Aside from no accord amongst mental health professionals and boundary issues being unavoidable at times, recognition and prediction of potential benefits or pitfalls correlated with dual relationships can prove to be troublesome as well (Remley & Herlihy, 2010). For most cases, it is best if an outline is used to discern when it is appropriate for a counselor to breach the client-counselor boundary.

Nursing is one of the most trusted professions in the community. This means that nurses are trusted to enter into therapeutic relationships that adhere to the concept of patient care physically, mentally and ethically. The therapeutic relationship that is created is built on the professional knowledge and skills of the nurse and the patient trusting in the nurse’s ability to care for them. Professional boundaries are an intricate aspect of a nurse’s daily work. These boundaries are based on trust, respect and the appropriate use of power. Breaches can be classified as boundary crossings, boundary violations or sexual misconduct. Breaches of boundaries lead to violations of a nurse’s professional responsibility. Nurses must maintain

Giving gifts to my clients, joining them in social events, or disclosing something personal might sound unethical to many professional counsellors ( Ipsupovici & Luke , 2002). What if, the cases are giving a bookmark with encouragement to a stressful student about to sit for an open examination, unintended encounter with some clients in church services, and unintentional disclosure of my interest in dogs when my client was sharing her experience with pets? When put into context, it is usually more difficult for us to judge if a boundary crossing is unethical than by simply defining it or banning it. The above cases exemplify the unavoidable, ethical (e.g. Barnett & Yutrzenka, 1994; Borys & Pope, 1989; Herlihy & Corey,1997; Ebert, 1997; Younggren & Gottileb, 2004), or even helpful (Lazarus & Zur, 2002) nonsexual boundary crossing and